Anyone tackling a heritage rehabilitation project these days has to answer to a lot of bosses. First there are the needs of the owner/developer.  The project has to make economic sense and meet the program needs of the users. Then there are the regulations:  building code, bylaws, and other legislation. Many jurisdictions now apply the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada. And there is also LEED...
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Readers may have seen a recent BC Hydro newspaper advertisement promoting Energy Star windows.  “Having old windows”, the half-page ad said, “is like having 
no windows at all”.  Heritage BC immediately wrote to BC Hydro, saying that “to imply, as the advertisement does, that one cannot live in comfort in an older house without replacing the windows, is simply not creditable”.  Our...
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On April 15, the minister responsible for housing, Rich Coleman, announced that new Building Code requirements to increase energy and water efficiency would come into effect on September 5, 2008.  The Heritage Branch has been working with the Office of Housing and Construction Standards for some time now to promote the development of the Code to facilitate rehabilitation and a more sympathetic 
approach to code compliance for...
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Engineering co-op student Mike Mutrie has just completed an investigation for the Heritage Branch of the traditionally-constructed residential building envelope.  
Mutrie’s findings support what many have known for years:  traditional building 
assemblies that breathe (transpire) require a different approach from modern ones that are sealed and need assistance to breathe. Further, new technologies...
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Climate change action is something everyone is concerned with today. The BC government has pledged to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption.  A new BC Green Building Code is coming that will require higher energy efficiency standards for both new construction and rehabilitation projects. Can heritage buildings measure up to these new demands without sacrificing the very qualities that we value in them?Many energy...
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