Building BC - Fall 2008 | Homeowner Protection Office

Building BC is published by the Homeowner Protection Office for Licensed Residential Builders and Licensed Building Envelope Renovators, as well as our partners within the residential construction industry.

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Conference Provides Insight into Issues and Challenges Facing British Columbia’s Housing Industry

The Homeowner Protection Office (HPO) organized a landmark conference with the theme Next Generation: Future of the Housing Industry in British Columbia. The conference provided insight into issues and challenges facing the housing industry in the next 10 to 15 years. Industry experts provided their perspectives, and the results of new research were presented.

Video Explores 150 Years of Housing

To mark its 10th aniversary, the HPO produced a video that explores the history of housing in British Columbia. Entitled 150 Years of Housing in British Columbia, the video examines the importance of housing not just as a necessity but “as a thread in the very fabric of our existence.

Homes in 2026: Who will buy them? Who will build them?

The HPO commissioned original research into the changing forces affecting the housing market and labour supply in B.C.’s residential construction industry. The results are presented in a report entitled Homes in 2026: Who Will Buy Them? Who Will Build Them?.

Building Smart Seminar #10
Insulating Concrete Form Walls in Residential Construction

The HPO’s latest seminar is entitled “Insulating Concrete Form Walls in Residential Construction”. This 2.5 hour seminar provides practical methods for the design and construction of ICF walls.

Code Change Seminar Series a Success

The new green requirements for the BC Building Code came into effect on September 5, 2008. To help prepare B.C.’s building professionals for the changes, the HPO and the Ministry of Housing and Social Development conducted a seminar series entitled Greening the BC Building Code – Are You Ready for September? in 21 different communities across the province. More than 1,400 building professionals took part in the seminars between May and September.

New Homes Registry

The HPO’s website now includes a searchable public registry of new homes. This new resource is useful to homebuyers, realtors, lawyers, local governments and others interested in quickly checking the status with the HPO of a new home or a home under construction. Members of the public can access the online registry and search for a new home registered with the HPO after November 19, 2007.

New Maintenance Matters

The Homeowner Protection Office has just published two new Maintenance Matters bulletins, one dealing with sealants and the other with decks and balconies. Six easy-to-understand bulletins covering different aspects of the maintenance of multi-unit housing are now available.

New Builder Insight Bulletins

The HPO has released two new Builder Insight bulletins: one entitled Greening the BC Building Code about new energy and water efficiency requirements and other “green” changes to the Code; and one covering highlights from a six-year study sponsored in part by the HPO, which looked at the effectiveness of rainscreen technology in British Columbia’s coastal climatic region.

Builder Insight is a series of bulletins designed to provide practical information on new technologies, research results, good building practices and emerging technical issues in residential construction to Licensed Residential Builders and others in the industry.