Trusted Saskatoon Contractors K & S Contracting Share Information About Vermiculite Insulation

12. Aug 2020 Admin Saskatoon Contractors, Trusted Tips

K & S Contracting specializes in foundation repair for homeowners across Saskatchewan, in addition, they also offer general contracting services to Saskatoon and the surrounding area. In their latest Trusted Saskatoon contractor tip, K & S Contracting Trusted Saskatoon General Contractors and foundation specialists, discuss vermiculite insulation.

Vermiculite Insulation - What Is It?

If you have never seen vermiculite insulating an attic, it looks similar to little squares of coloured glass or little grey beads. Vermiculite is a naturally occurring mineral worldwide. When heated rapidly to high temperatures, this crystalline mineral expands into low density, accordion-like, golden brown strands. In fact, its worm-like shape is what gives vermiculite its name. The worms are broken into rectangular chunks about the size of the eraser on the end of a pencil. In addition to being light, vermiculite chunks are also absorbent and fire retardant. It also makes a good insulating material.

Where Was It Used?

Sold under various brand names, such as Zonolite Attic Insulation, the insulation came in big bags. Thousands of homeowners simply opened the bags and poured the vermiculite onto their attic floor and sometimes down exterior walls. It was generally not used in new construction.

When Was It Used?

Worldwide, vermiculite has been used in various industries as long ago as 1920. With the upsurge in homeownership during the baby boom, vermiculite insulation was a popular material in the 1950s and continued with the energy crisis into the late 1970s. In Canada, it was one of the insulating materials allowed under the Canadian Home Insulation Program from about 1976 to the mid-1980s. There have been some government-provided grants offered to homeowners to increase insulation levels, reducing energy consumption. Worthwhile checking in to see what may be available.

What Is The Problem?

The majority of the vermiculite used worldwide was from a mine in Libby, Montana, owned and operated since 1963 by W.R. Grace. The mine was closed in 1990. As well as being rich in vermiculite, this mine had the misfortune of having a deposit of tremolite, a type of asbestos. When the vermiculite was extracted, some tremolite came in with the mix. For Canadian use, the raw product from the Libby mine was shipped to Grace subsidiary F. Hyde processing plants in Montreal, St. Thomas, Ajax and Toronto, and Grant Industries in western Canada. At these plants, it was processed and sold as Zonolite.

What Is The Risk?

Asbestos minerals tend to separate into microscopic particles that become airborne and are easily inhaled. People exposed to asbestos in the workplace have developed several types of life-threatening diseases, including lung cancer. Workers in and around the Libby mine developed serious health problems.

Like any hazards, length and intensity of exposure are major factors in the risk of asbestos-related respiratory illness. To assess the risk of asbestos exposure at a house, a sample of the vermiculite would need to be analyzed by a lab. Since most of the vermiculite used in Canada was taken from the Libby mine, the odds are quite good that there is asbestos in the vermiculite in Canadian attics.

The good news is that we don’t live in our attics. In addition, as long as it is undisturbed, neither the asbestos fibres bound up in the vermiculite chunks nor the dust will be released into the air. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the U.S., “Most people who get asbestos-related diseases have been exposed to high levels of asbestos for a long time.” Lastly, most of the time the air in your house flows from the house into the attic, rather than into the house from the attic.

The bottom line is, like most household products that may contain asbestos, and there are many, doing nothing is often the best approach. Naturally, the risk of exposure increases with the amount of time spent in the attic.

Our Recommendations

If the attic or walls of a house contain vermiculite insulation, leave it alone. Avoid disturbing the material. Do not sweep it or vacuum it up. Do not store belongings in the attic.

If work is planned that involves these areas, for example installing pot-lights in a room below the attic, send a sample of the vermiculite to a private lab. Send several samples, and use a lab specializing in asbestos analysis. If it is found to contain asbestos, or if you just assume it does, precautions should be taken. The safest approach would be to have the insulation in the affected areas removed by a qualified environmental contractor.

For smaller jobs, it may be sufficient to isolate work areas with temporary barriers or enclosures to avoid spreading fibres, use disposable protective clothing, and use proper respiratory protection. An important note – disposable respirators or dust masks are not appropriate for asbestos. Again, it is best to consult a qualified contractor.

For more information about K&S Contracting, view their listing in the Contractors section on Trusted Saskatoon.

K & S Contracting is a Trusted Saskatoon General Contractor and foundation specialist.

Communication Secrets of Great Leader, By: Hanif Hemani

27. Jun 2020 Admin Saskatoon HR, Saskatoon Legal & Professional, Trusted Tips

Saskatoon’s only locally owned and operated staffing and recruitment agency, that offers a full scope of staffing and recruitment solutions from professional search and headhunting to temporary staffing. Express Employment Professionals allow clients to focus their efforts and time on being productive and doing what they do best – their business! Let their team focus on finding that right hire – that is what they do best! In their latest Saskatoon employment agency tip they share an article on building employee loyalty.

Building Employee Loyalty.

Maintaining a productive workforce is the key to having sustainable success in business. However, with companies adapting to the current economic climate due to closures and social distancing measures, keeping top talent can be difficult. Not only do organizations need to focus on recruiting methods when opening up this summer, they also need to develop best retention practices to ensure stability as the economy ramps back up in the third and fourth quarters.

And with the economy facing tremendous hurdles, one thing a company cannot afford to lose is its employees. According to a study by Employee Benefits News, the average cost of losing an employee is 33% of their annual salary. So, retention needs to remain a major focus.

One of the key measures to retaining workers is building employee loyalty. For businesses that furloughed workers amidst temporary closures, or had to lay off employees due to economic hardships, rebuilding loyalty is paramount to ramping up business efforts.

Enhance Employee Development Plans

Though some professional development plans may have been put on hold during these past few months, it’s more important than ever to pour energy back into your workforce. Employees want to work for a company that invests in their future. And the best way to do this is through education, cross-training or tuition subsidies to name a few.

According to a BlessingWhite study, most employees who were willing to quit their job cited lack of career opportunity, with 26% citing lack of growth opportunities. If your business doesn’t have the capital to invest in development now, what you do have is time and talent. An inexpensive way to utilize these tools is through mentoring programs and cross-training among employees. These are all great ways to engage your workforce and build excitement about their roles.

Continue to Create Culture

A company’s culture is the heartbeat of the organization. It ties everything within a business together, binding values, mission, work ethic, and environment. It is one of the most important tools a company has for retention and loyalty. In LinkedIn’s Workplace Culture report, 86% of Millennials say they would consider talking a pay cut to accept a position at a company with a mission and values that align with their own. And a Hays report found that 43% of workers are seeking a new job with culture being the main reason.

Employees want to work for a company they believe in and also work in an environment where they feel safe and secure. Your culture is your key to not only recruiting new talent this year but also retaining your current workforce.

Engage Your Employees through Empathy

If your business was forced to temporarily close or your workforce was required to work remotely during these past few months, you’re probably tasked with building re-entry plans to safely bring your team back to the workplace. While this will be a great time full of opportunity to increase production, it also may be a difficult time for your employees. They have developed new habits by adapting to the work-from-home environments and may have difficulty adjusting to the new normal. This can cause employee disengagement and emotional detachment. Because of this, empathetic leadership will be a major factor this year.

According to Businessolver, 93% of employees would stay with an empathetic employer while 82% would leave their position to work for a more empathetic company. Consider adopting a partial remote schedule so employees can easily adjust. Or offer new projects between teams to help create newness and excitement in the workplace. By understanding their needs and helping them through the transition, you will be able to not only build trust and engagement, but loyalty as well.

Express Employment Professionals allow clients to focus their efforts and time on being productive and doing what they do best – their business. Let their team focus on finding that right hire – that is what they do best!

Click Here: Saskatoon JOB SEEKERS
Click Here: Saskatoon EMPLOYERS

Contact Hanif and the team today! Connecting employees with great companies like yours.

'It's What They Do'

Express Employment Saskatoon Your Trusted Saskatoon Headhunters and Employment Agency

A warning for consumers about fraud in the furnace and air conditioning industry in Saskatoon

9. Jun 2020 Admin Saskatoon Air Conditioning & Furnace, Saskatoon Plumbing, Trusted Tips

JOB Heating & Air Conditioning’s wonderful staff will be more than happy to provide you with an estimate for any home comfort improvement that you have in mind. They also offer training classes at your personal site for maintenance and they also offer home heating tune-ups. JOB are Trusted Saskatoon Furnace experts and they can also help you with all your Saskatoon plumbing needs!In this Saskatoon HVAC article, Jeff Bolton, owner of JOB, highlights how important it is to be aware of scams in the Saskatoon air-conditioning and furnace marketplace.

JEFF FROM JOB WARNS AGAINST FRAUD IN SASKATOON’S HVAC INDUSTRY

The feeling of being ripped off is horrible, and I count myself fortunate that I haven’t been the victim of fraud very much in my life. However, I am sad to say that I deal with victims of contractor fraud too often in Saskatoon. In my latest article, I share another example that happened recently, as I want to educate consumers on what to look out for.- Jeff , owner of JOB

Fraud takes many different forms

I was recently at a lady’s home to provide a quote to replace the furnace and air conditioner. Her house was the same as most other homes in our city, in fact she lives just 4 blocks away from my family. She invited me in and we exchanged pleasantries, then I asked her the burning question that had been top of mind since I pulled up outside. Why was she requesting a quote for a new home comfort system in a house that was no more than 12 years old?

She explained that the night before her furnace had stopped working. This was especially an issue as the overnight temperature in Saskatoon had dropped to about -30C. Unfortunately, she was unaware that JOB offers 24-hour emergency service and she had called another company.

The other company turned up, identified the problem but they didn’t have the part required ( It was 4 am, so I give them a pass on that one,) . They returned at 8:30 am with the correct part to fix the issue and the tech took it upon himself to go through her furnace and air conditioner. He noted that there were old watermarks both on the side and at the base of the furnace, which I can verify. As someone that has a career in the furnace and air conditioning industry, the source of the water was very evident to me.It was clear that at some point, probably in the summertime, the evaporator coil had frozen and then melted.

One indication about this was the plugged air filter leaning up against the furnace.

The other technician told this very nice lady that her furnace was over ten years old and a crack COULD happen in the heat exchanger (even though he couldn’t find any crack) and that would send carbon monoxide into her home potentially killing her, her partner and her dogs!! If that ominous threat was not enough, he also told her that her air conditioner unit had a leak and would also need to be replaced.

Now, it is possible that she may have a leak in the air conditioner, but there’s simply no way to determine that when it’s -26C outside! Saying that she has a leak when there is a dirty filter right there is, “bullcrap!”

The other thing that I haven’t mentioned yet, is the 3 carbon monoxide detectors I saw in her home. I will not downplay carbon monoxide poisoning, because it is the biggest threat to life that we face in the HVAC industry, however, there was no sign of that here. When questioned, she confirmed that the carbon monoxide detectors had never gone off. In addition, one of the detectors displays the level of CO present and when I checked it showed zero.

Let me be VERY clear here, this person was simply using fear tactics to sell a new furnace and air conditioner to this lady.

If you get a flat tire on your Chevy do you buy a new Mercedes??

“But he said I’m in imminent danger!” Said the lady

The moral of the story about fraud in Saskatoon’s HVAC Industry, is to be careful, ask questions and deal with the right people. Start by looking for businesses on TrustedSaskatoon .com.

JOB Heating has been a TrustedSaskatoon partner from almost the beginning. We are both locally owned and accountable companies and we deal with local companies. Local people always care the most, we care about service and we care about people. We care because this is my city and my home too.

Contact Jeff and team at JOB Heating today.

JOB products and services include:

JOB Heating & Air Conditioning Trusted Saskatoon Furnace, Boiler and Air Conditioning Experts

JOB. Heating & Air Conditioning are Trusted Saskatoon Plumbers

Trusted Saskatoon Employment Agency Express Employment Shares Nine Workforce Trends Post Pandemic

20. May 2020 Admin

Saskatoon’s only locally owned and operated staffing and recruitment agency, that offers a full scope of staffing and recruitment solutions from professional search and headhunting to temporary staffing. Express Employment Professionals allow clients to focus their efforts and time on being productive and doing what they do best – their business! Let their team focus on finding that right hire – that is what they do best! In their latest Saskatoon employment agency tip Hanif shares an article from SIA about workforce trends out pandemic. Express Employment Saskatoon Is Your Trusted Saskatoon Headhunters and Employment Agency.

NINE WORKFORCE TRENDS POST PANDEMIC

1. Contingent Workers

Expanded use of contingent workers is one of nine human resources trends that will impact the future of work following the Covid-19 pandemic, according to research from Gartner Inc.The research organization cited one of its surveys that found 32% of companies are replacing full-time employees with contingent workers as a cost-saving measure.
Using more contingent workers will provide greater workforce management flexibility, according to Gartner.

“However, HR will also need to consider how performance management systems apply to contingent workers as well as questions around whether contingent workers will be eligible for the same benefits as their full-time peers.”

The other eight trends noted in the report are:

2. Increase in remote work.

A Gartner analysis found 48% of employees will likely work remotely at least part of the time after Covid-19.

3. Expanded data collection.

Companies are increasing their passive tracking of workers. Already, 16% are tracking employees passively via methods such as virtual clocking in and out as well as tracking computer usage.

4. Employer as a social safety net.

Employers will increase their involvement in the lives of the employees by increasing mental health support, expanding healthcare coverage and providing financial health support.

5. Separation of critical skills and roles.

“Separating critical skills from critical roles shifts the focus to coaching employees to develop skills that potentially open multiple avenues for them, rather than focusing on preparing for a specific next role,” said Emily Rose McRae, director in the Gartner HR practice.

6. Humanization (and dehumanization) of workers.

“Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, some employees have formed more connected relationships, while others have moved into roles that are increasingly task oriented,” according to Gartner. “Understanding how to engage task workers in the team culture and creating a culture of inclusiveness is now even more important.”

7. Emergence of new top-tier employers.

Employers must balance the concerns today with the long-term impact on their employer brands in upcoming years.

8. Shift from designing for efficiency to designing for resilience.

Gartner says 55% of organizational redesigns prior to the pandemic were focused on streamlining roles, supply chains and workflows to increase efficiency; however, this has led to fragile systems. After Covid-19, companies will focus more on resilience through activities such as training employees with cross-functional knowledge.

9. Increase in organization complexity.

There will be an acceleration in M&A leading to larger companies and changes in operating models that will create challenges for HR leaders.

Click Here: Saskatoon JOB SEEKERS
Click Here: Saskatoon EMPLOYERS

Contact Hanif and the team today! Connecting employees with great companies like yours.

'It's What They Do'

Express Employment Saskatoon Is Your Trusted Saskatoon Headhunters and Employment Agency

7 Signs It’s Time to Replace Your Windows From Trusted Saskatoon Window Pros at Wiebe Windows & More

8. May 2020 Admin Saskatoon Windows & Doors, Trusted Tips

Owner, Bradley Wiebe has been installing windows and doors in Saskatoon and area for over 10 years. They only install Canadian manufactured windows and doors. These products are built for the Saskatchewan climate. Brad takes pride in ensuring that his client’s windows and doors are installed correctly and that quality products are being used. In their latest Saskatoon windows and door tip they share a helpful article originally written by Ply Gem on the 7 signs your windows need replacing. Wiebe Windows & More are Trusted Saskatoon Windows & Door Experts!

7 SIGNS IT'S TIME TO REPLACE YOUR WINDOWS

Connecting the inside to the outside, windows have the important job of helping to keep your home well-ventilated, comfortable, and safe. Windows can last anywhere from 20 to 40 years, depending upon the type of window, where it’s located and the amount of maintenance provided. Wear and tear from exposure to the elements also affects their condition over time, decreasing energy efficiency and comfort by creating drafts and leaks

So how do you know when it’s time to replace your windows? You probably pay little attention to them until they stop working properly, but here are 7 signs that the time is now!

Opening and closing them has become difficult.

When your windows are difficult to open and close it will prevent you from allowing fresh air into your home. If they don’t close properly or you have trouble locking them, the window won’t provide a tight seal against leaks and drafts and can also impact the safety of your home. New windows and doors are designed to open and close with ease, provide protection from wind and rain and help keep your home safe. Learn more about how different types of windows operate and the benefits they can provide for your home.

You notice a draft.

If you can never seem to get your house warm enough during the winter, you may be suffering from drafty windows. Over time, deterioration and normal wear and tear will cause old windows to stop protecting your home like they should and allow significant amounts of cold air inside. Noticeable drafts mean your windows are not functioning properly and you should consider replacement windows.

They look old and outdated.

You may not realize it, but replacing old, worn-out windows can drastically improve the look of your home’s exterior. Faded paint, antiquated storm windows, and old-fashioned window grilles often detract from your curb appeal, making your home look and feel outdated. New windows give you a refresh and can better complement the overall design of your home. (Yes, you can replace your windows during the winter!).

You struggle with “dropping" windows.

Windows that slide down when you raise them are not only annoying but can also be dangerous. This occurs on double and single hung windows when the spring system is broken or has deteriorated over time. For parents with children, it’s important to watch your children around windows that have the potential to fall down and injure them. If you’re tired of propping up windows that won’t stay up and have safety concerns, it’s time to look for newer, safer windows that function properly.

Your energy bills spike.

During the winter, an abnormally high energy bill may tell you that your windows aren’t operating efficiently – letting cold air in and warm air out. This means your heater has to work overtime to compensate for the loss of heat. Instead, reduce your heating and cooling costs by installing energy-efficient windows that are good for your wallet and the environment.

You can hear outside noise.

Your home is where you find peace and quiet away from noisy neighbors and busy traffic. However, when your refuge is disturbed you can possibly blame poorly sealed windows and outdated glass. Noise-reducing windows with dual-insulating glass units decrease sounds coming into your home. For added protection against unwanted outdoor noise choose a sound-reducing glass package.

You can see visible damage.

Signs of chipping, deterioration, or water stains on or around the window may indicate rot and water infiltration. Visible damage to the windows not only looks unattractive but can also reveal that the integrity of your windows may be compromised. Leaky windows can lead to unwanted water infiltration that can also cause additional water issues in your home.