Alberta Government Flood Mitigation policy

The Alberta Government has posted some directions for homeowners affected by our recent flood on it’s website.  To view these policies please CLICK HERE.

 

Wood shake roof conversions can require extra effort

wood shake tear off reveals gaps in roof deck

after removing the wood shakes it was revealed that the substrate required additional material

You never know what you’re going to find when you take off an existing roof. In this instance the asphalt shingles had been installed over a wood shake roof. It became apparent as to why when we removed the cedar shingles. This heritage home had 1″ x 10″ slats for a roof deck substrate that were spaced up to 4″ apart.  The solution was to inlay 1″ x 4″ pieces into the gaps to create a continuous surface.  Just another example of some of the unknowns that must be addressed when you renovate.

fills gaps in roof deck

the gaps in the roof deck had to be filled to create a complete surface on which to install the new asphalt shingles

Advantages of Spray Foam insulation

Advantages of Spray foam insulation

 

Our partners at Icynene have provided this informative graphic which outlines some of the benefits of Spray foam insulation.  Spray foam is an effective insulation tool who’s uses are gaining more popularity all the time.  If you’re interested in the advantages of spray foam check out our webpage and then call IDEAL to speak with one of our team members.

 

Options for flood wet insulation customers

We’re trying something new here at IDEAL to aid in the renovation and reconstruction of the flood damaged areas of the greater Calgary area.  Please visit our Insulation page to review information posted under Flood Damaged Insulation.  

Under normal conditions we would site measure all potential jobs with new customers but due to excessive demand we don’t have to man-power to do so.  By providing packages to meet some of the most common scenarios we hope that Homeowners & new Contractor clients to IDEAL can make an informed choice on whether our services can meet their needs.  Please visit our Flood Damaged Insulation page for the details and contact our sales department at (403) 723-3385 for further information.

 

IDEAL helps out the High River flood clean-up effort

high river flood damage

On Wednesday, July 10th 2013 IDEAL sent our 5-ton trucks, 1/2 ton pickups and 25 staff members to High River, AB to volunteer in the flood clean-up efforts. To say the help was needed is an understatement. Everywhere we went there were damaged possessions, building materials and infrastructure.  The evidence of the waters impact on the town was startling.

high river flood clean up

We did our best to pick up whatever we could find and managed to take over 20 truck loads to the landfill.  Along the way we encountered numerous people and companies who were also helping out with heavy equipment, trucks, man power, supplies, food, transportation and support. Truly an awe inspiring environment that shines a light on how communities can come together to help each other out.  Our thanks to our staff for their time and our best wishes to the town of High River on it’s recovery.

high river flood team photo

IDEAL Employee Appreciation Day

paint ball

IDEAL staff got together for a fun day of paintball this weekend.  The weather was great and the paint was flying.  Thanks to all staff for making it out!

paint ball 2

 

Proper install of Plumbing Boots

proper plumbing boot install

plumbing boots or “oaties” are rubber gaskets that surround the plumbing vent stack to prevent water where the stack penetrates the roof deck

When evaluating the quality of install of Plumbing boots please consider the following:
– shingles overlapping the flanges of the vent are solid pieces
– a minimum 1″ space between the vents base and the shingles surrounding it
– tar over all nail heads

Proper Gooseneck Vent install

proper gooseneck vent install

Gooseneck vents are used to exhaust bathroom fans, kitchen exhaust fans and dryer vents

 

When evaluating the quality of a Gooseneck vent installation look for the following:
– shingles overlapping the flanges of the vent are solid pieces
– a minimum 1″ space between the vents base and the shingles surrounding it
– tar over all nail heads

Information on Mould

Found this brochure produced by Alberta Health Services outlining some facts about Mould.

check it out at this link

Alberta Health Services mould brochure

Attic insulation tips diagrams

insulation diagram - summer

diagram comparison of positive attic situation vs. negative under summer conditions

Found these 2 diagrams on a Google image search.  I think they do a good job of outlining the difference between a positively performing attic vs. a negative situation.

insulation diagram - winter

comparison of a positive attic scenario vs. a negative under winter conditions