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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1983-05-04, Page 17Serving over 25,000 homes in Listowel, Wingham, Mount Forest, Milverton, Elmira, Palmerston, Harriston, Brussels, Atwood, Monkton, Millbank, Newton, Clifford, Wallenstein, Drayton, Moorefield and Arthur. Wednesday, May 4, 1983 ew home designs combine comfort with supereconomy How would you like to be able to heat your home for less than you probably are spend- ing now just to heat your water? And to do it without an array of com- plicated gadgets or esoteric technologies that change its appearance,' boost the cost and require constant maintenance or ad- justment? If it sounds like just what you've been waiting for, you don't have to wait much longer. Houses like that are being developed and tested right now by selected builders across Canada under the federally - sponsored R-2000 super energy efficient home program, and will be on the market soon. One of the builders involved in the R-2000 program is Royal Homes Ltd. of Wingham, a leader in custom-built modular homes, which will be putting its first super energy- efficient model on display in Wingham's Maitland Estates subdivision this month. From the outside, there is little to distinguish the attractive, cedar -clad house from others around it. Even from the inside, it appears quite conventional; many visitors will probably be more impressed by the well-equipped kitchen or the sunny bay window in the dining room than by any obviously energy-saving features. That is part of the beauty of an R-2000 home: it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. Though the large, double -glazed, south - facing windows are part of the plan to cut heating costs, the key really is in what you don't see: things like super -insulated walls and ceilings, careful fit and finish to, make the house virtually air -tight, and a heat exchanger to ensure adequate ventilation without heat loss. In short, an R-2000 home lets you heat your living space without having to heat half the neighborhood as well. By holding heat inside the home, it makes sure you pay for only what you need. The result: a home with about 1,330 square feet on the main floor and an equal amount in the heated, walk-in basement can be heated electrically to a comfortable 70 degrees F. (21 C.) for under $300 a year. In fact, a computer projection based on design and heat -loss factors estimates the heating cost at $270 a year for electricity, $206 for natural gas or $356 for oil. All his is not accomplished without some extra costs, of course, but they are sur- prisingly modest. A spokesman for Royal Homes, Doug Kuyvenhoven, calculated the additional cost of producing a super - insulated home at $2,900 for the extra in- sulation, energy-saving house wrap, caulking of all joints and testing to verify air tightness. The air-to-air heat exchanger, a "must" in an air -tight home to avoid stale air and humidity problems, adds an additional $1,390. All told, this package offers homeowners the prospect of more than halving their heating bills for a total outlay about by Henry Hess equivalent to the cost of a heat pump. Even better, it is virtually maintenance -free, and the savings can keep on piling up for years after the investment has paid for itself. To get some idea just how much a home- owner can expect to save in an R-2000 home, Royal Homes did a survey of homes in a Listowel subdivision insulated to con- ventional standards and heated electrically and found that in 1981-82 heating costs amounted to an average of $720. At that rate, saving $450 a year, a home- owner could pay off the extra cost of an R- 2000 home in 10 years and, as energy prices go higher — as they undoubtedly will — the savings will mount even more. The insulation and sealing package is also available as an option on any of the other models Royal Homes offers, Mr. Kuyvenhoven said, adding about five per cent to the cost of the house but paying for itself through energy savings. In its model home, the company has chosen an electric furnace for space heating. Future models may use baseboard heaters, which permit varying the tem- perature for different areas of the home. Why conventional resistance heating rather than something like a heat pump? The answer is in dollars and cents, Mr. Kuyvenhoven explained. "You have to look at the cost efficiency of it." Although a heat pump might cut heating bills even further, because the house requires so little energy to heat it the ad- ditional dditional savings wouldn't offset the interest and maintenance charges on your invest- ment. And, although a heat pump also offers air conditioning in the summer, an R-2000 home shouldn't need it. "With this house, if you run the air ex- changer at night it cools; «f and with the insulation it won't heat up during the day, so you don't need an air conditioner. "It's insulated for winter, but you get the benefits in summer too." This prototype home also incorporates some innovative features which will be available to customers, such as a wooden instead of poured concrete foundation and trusses in place of solid joists under the floor. The reason for the wooden foundation — 2X6s, sheathed with treated plywood, wrapped in plastic and backfilled with sand to provide good drainage — was mostly to see how it worked out cost -wise, Mr.) Kuyvenhoven said. "This home was sort of an experimental project with us and we tried a few different things in it." Cost -wise it worked out about the same as a poured foundation, .he added, "but in the location we used it, I'd say it was cost- efficient." To meet government deadlines for the R-2000 program, the foundation was put in in the middle of winter, when it is hard to keep poured concrete from freezing before it cures, and the particular site would,. have been difficult to get at with a ready - mix truck. Other advantages to the foundation in- clude ease of insulation to an R-20 standard without losing inside room and ease of finishing off the interior walls. The truss joists allow placement of the ductwork up inside the floor instead of under it, making it possible to finish the basement ceiling with nothing sticking down. The company chose to finish the home in cedar siding so potential customers could see what it looked like, he said. Most buyers ask for brick exteriors, but cedar is far less expensive and warmer. In this case, it gives the house a rustic i001[ which blends well with the wooded riverside: location. The R-2000 program, developed by Energy, Mines and Resources Canada in cooperation with HUDAC (the Housing and, Urban Development Association of Canada), requires that builders design a home which meets certain standards of heat loss. How the builders meet those standards is up to them, though there are also criteria to ensure the house is comfortable and livable and not some experimental mon- strosity. Approximately 300 R-2000 homes are being built across the country this year, with the government subsidizing engineering and other special costs required by the program. The builders provide materials and labor and agree to monitor the energy con- sumption for two years. In the end, the government hopes the R- 2000 label on a home will become a selling feature, like the Energuide labels on ap- pliances, ' encouraging .builders to make homes more energy efficient. When that happens, Royal Homes intends to be, there, right up among the leaders -in' the industry. NO AIR LEAKAGE shows up around this window, despite a brisk, 30 mph wind outside. Bill Boyd of Can Am Air Leakage, Toronto, uses a smoke pencil to check for infiltration. Using more elaborate gadgetry, he was able to measure the number of air changes per hour in this R-2000 hdme constructed by Royal Homes Ltd. of Wingham to make sure it met the air -tightness standard of no more than 1.5 air changes per hour. It passed with flying colors; in fact, its mark of 0.78 was the second- best he has ever tested, Mr. Boyd said. Conventional houses average four to eight changes per hour. HOME OF THE FUTURE—(Below). Nothing appears very unusual about this attractive, cedar -sided home in the Maitland Estates subdivision, Wingham, but what doesn't show is what makes this home the shape of things to come. A specially -engineered design, super insulation and careful, air -tight assembly allow this house to be heated for about one-third the cost of a conventional home. Built by Royal Homes Ltd. of Wingham under the federal R-2000 program, the house goes on display this month. Big Brothers offer youngsters friendship and understanding by Kim Dadson John and Chris enjoy bowling. Steve teaches Jeff soccer tricks. Joe taught Chad how to repair a flat bicycle tire. Jim and Scott just like to talk sometimes. The names are different, the interests vary but each is special to the other. They are all big and lit- tle brothers, unrelated men and boys who have committed themselves to a special friendship. Since an Elmira branch of Big Brothers began over a year ago, several matches have been made between local residents. Joan Caesar of Elmira is the caseworker or the matchmaker between big and little brothers. After finding out the little brother's interests, she sets out to find a match, someone who would have similar in- terests, someone she believes would be a positive influence on the little brother. Little brothers come from all types of families — they may be only children, they may even have natural older brothers but for various reasons, do not have a steady male influence in their lives. Their fathers may be dead but in many cases, the parents are divorced and the father has either no or very Tittle involvement in the boy's life. A big brother becomes someone the little brother can depend upon, someone to do things with, share fun with, someone the lit- tle brother can talk with and someone who provides a positive male influence. Big brothers range in age from 18 right on up to 72 years in Elmira. They are single or married, some are fathers and one has nine grandchildren. They all share a desire to do something really worthwhile with their time — share it with someone who needs it. John Schelter of St. Jacobs has been a big brother to Chris Floto of Elmira for a little over a year and the relationship has grown over that time. John is one of the youngest big brothers. At 20, an age when many are too busy with their own lives, John has found he really en- joys time spent with his little brother. "People even say we look alike," John "He's there when you need him" laughs. He just decided "out of my own head" to become a big brother. He hadn't even heard of the Elmira branch but was directed to Mrs. Caesar by the Kitchener branch. "The thought of not having a father is the main reason," John says. "I thought of all the things I've done with my dad. Just the fact of helping — lending a hand, it gives you a good feeling. Hopefully Chris will do the same when he is older." Wouldn't someone his age rather be out doing something else than spending time with a little brother? "I do have other things and I do them," says John. "There's lots of time to go around — so you should spread it around." John is Chris' second big brother. His first big brother became too busy with personal concerns so they parted but Chris found the experience pleasant enough that he was willing to try again. "It's fun," says 11 -year-old Chris. "You get to go places your normal brothers don't take you." And he adds that he can do things with a big brother that his mother might not enjoy. "It's like having a brother, only one who is married and moved away." John says he did most of the talking when he and Chris first met but now Chris has opened up and freely talks about his week and school. They don't always go bowling, to a movie or for a bite to eat. Sometimes Chris comes over to John's and they work on John's van. "The whole family enjoys hav- ing him around," John says of his two sisters and parents. "it's not the money you spend, it's the time you spend. The time is most important — not what you do." Like Chris and John, big brother Joe Leh- mann and Chad McDonald often talk on the phone through the week. Although they have been matched just over two months, 11 - year -old Chad will call Joe as he did recently when he knew Joe wasn't feeling well. Joe has two grown sons, one who still lives at home and he likes to be of service. He was also motivated by a church program that urged him to think of what he has and others don't. And it isn't always the special plans that count the most. One day Chad's bicycle tire popped and he walked over to Joe's house and learned how to fix it. Joe likes to teach children but adds "we can all learn — even from kids. I think I've learned to be a little more open because of Chad." Chad says that knowing someone is there is a good feeling. He adds, "You know that other kids have a dad and you can can say you have a big brother and talk about him." Chad's 12 -year-old brother Jason is wait- ing for a big brother. The two used to share a big brother from Kitchener who moved away and when the Elmira branch opened Jason decided he could wait. "I didn't know if 1 had anything to offer, you never know," comments Joe. "You can't go in expecting a pat on the back — it's something you have to feel." Echoing other big brothers, Joe adds, "it will give you a peace of mind. i come home feeling pretty good." Steve Lillico is another of the youngest big brothers, 21 years old. His little brother, Jeff Basler is 11 and shy but if you ask about the ice fishing rrip he took with Steve he begins to open up. Steve also comes over to Jeff's regularly and they play board games, a favorite pastime of Jeff's. "And he teaches me soc- cer tricks," Jeff adds. Jeff's mother, Diane Basler thought Jeff "would benefit from the male influence. She adds, "it's not so much fun going with your mother all the time." it was Jeff who motivated Steve into he - coming a big brother, something he had been thinking about since he heard about the Elmira branch. A teammate on Jeff's hockey team had become a little brother and Jeff said to Steve, "I've been waiting a long time." Steve went almost immediately to see Mrs. Caesar and although he never men- tioned anything to Jeff he did voice the hope he would be matched to Jeff. Their time together isn't always planned. "It's often a case of, if I'm doing something and he isn't, he'll come. Our interests are so similar," Steve says. "They (Big Brothers) like you to spend three hours with your little brother but three's very easy if you like spending the time with him." Steve has found that his own enjoyment is doubled because of Jeff's presence. "I get a lot of enjoyment seeing the way he enjoys himself. His enthusiasm rubs off on you." And there are accomplishments for both. "We built a model aircraft together. Neither of us had done one before." The two have been matched just over two months. Steve's advice to other possible big brothers is, "Stop sitting around and get out and enjoy yourself. It doesn't take as much time as you think it might." Jim Bauman and his little brother Scott McPeak also find there are benefits on both sides of the friendship. As a father of three daughters, Jim comments, "There are dif- ferent activities that Scott and i can enjoy. It's .good for me too. it's given me a friend. Just an extra bonus in your life." Fourteen -year-old Scott comments, 'It seems like he is a big brother and he does stuff that a big brother should be doing." Scott is honest and admits when his school counsellor told him about big brothers, he was skeptical. "i didn't really want one at first. 1 thought he would interfere in my life." After one year Scott discovered, "Instead of interfering, he's really helping me. "He's there when you need him." To other possible little brothers who may feel like Scott did at first, Scott says, "If you need one, you should get one, because it fills that space." Scott and Jim knew each other before they were matched. Although they knew each other, becoming official big and little brothers cemented a commitment on Jim's part. "I make regular contact with him rather than wait for the families to get to- gether. i realize I have more responsibility to find out what's happening. I take more of an interest in him." Jim is also a board member of the local Big Brothers and as a board member helps organize fund-raising events and activities throughout the year to which big and little brothers are invited. There is a need for three big brothers in Elmira and Mrs. Caesar is sure there are more little brothers out there. She inter- views each prospective big brother. Diane Basler comments, "i was impressed with her ( Mrs. Caesar's) checking." Mrs. Caesar looks for a "flexibility in atti- tude towards people and children and the ability to be child -like without being child- ish. Someone who is able to deal on a child's level but still be in control. " Another important factor she looks for in a big brother is stability hi a job, an indication the big brother intends to remain in the area. "This is a job," she explains. It re- quires a commitment and someone who is likely to remain a part of the little brother's life for a good length of time. She looks for a variety of interests and "someone wto knows who they are and someone who is realistic about children." Anyone interested in becoming a big brother may contact Mrs. Caesar at 669- 1464.