Designers and the Ontario Building Code
160 Kendal Ave. M5R1M3 Toronto, ON, Canada

A head of the curve and flattening it at the same time! Commercial real estate company Cushman & Wakefield recently introduced the Six Feet Office concept to showcase some of the ideas it envisions companies will be adopting soon. These include desks spaced 6 ft. apart, along with bold color and visuals such as circles embedded in the carpet to remind people to distance themselves. Cushman & Wakefield

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Modular homes can be constructed to comply with Building Code, even when constructed off-site and assembled on site. Building officials must still issue permits and conduct site inspections.

Tips on performing renovations from the Ontario Building Officials Association

Hard to believe the trend is back to sectioned-off floor spaces again. Could make interior designing more difficult to come up with a design that does not make you feel like your living in multiple shoe boxes. https://www.thestar.com//the-pandemic-will-change-our-home

Ok, architectural designers, time for some plumbing training. The red circled pipe in the photo is a vent pipe that serves a basin to be installed in a bathroom. The location of the vent pipe is required by the Building Code to be a certain height. You can see that the pipe could have been installed at a lower height and would still vent the system, as a vent pipe is required to do. The vent pipe is installed at this height because it is required to be above the flood level r...im of the basin, or the top of the basin. The reason, if there is ever a blocked drainage pipe below the basin and the vent pipe was lower than the top of the basin, the water would drain through the vent pipe and not the drainage pipe as designed. Sounds like it is ok, what does it matter as long as everything is draining. However, drainage or sanitary sewage carries solids and dirty water. Draining this sanitary sewage through the vent pipe can start to adhere to the sides of the pipe and if you get a vent pipe blocked, unlike a drainage pipe you cannot simply clean it with a device. You would need to remove the interior finish to get at the this vent pipe. Bottom Line: ensure your plumber is qualified and all work is inspected by the municipality is your best defense against an upset client.

A head of the curve and flattening it at the same time! Commercial real estate company Cushman & Wakefield recently introduced the Six Feet Office concept to showcase some of the ideas it envisions companies will be adopting soon. These include desks spaced 6 ft. apart, along with bold color and visuals such as circles embedded in the carpet to remind people to distance themselves. Cushman & Wakefield

Province announces that any building permit issued after April 4 2020 for residential renovations/construction or has not started before April 4 2020 must stop or close immediately. You are permitted to do only work to close your construction project. Construction Construction projects and services associated with the healthcare sector, including new facilities, expansions, renovations and conversion of spaces that could be repurposed for health care space.... Construction projects and services required to ensure safe and reliable operations of, or to provide new capacity in, critical provincial infrastructure, including transit, transportation, energy and justice sectors beyond the day-to-day maintenance. Critical industrial construction activities required for, the maintenance and operations of petrochemical plants and refineries, significant industrial petrochemical projects where preliminary work has already commenced, industrial construction and modifications to existing industrial structures limited solely to work necessary for the production, maintenance, and/or enhancement of Personal Protective Equipment, medical devices (such as ventilators), and other identified products directly related to combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. Residential construction projects where, a footing permit has been granted for single family, semi-detached and townhomes an above grade structural permit has been granted for condominiums, mixed use and other buildings, or the project involves renovations to residential properties and construction work was started before April 4, 2020. Construction and maintenance activities necessary to temporarily close construction sites that have paused or are not active and to ensure ongoing public safety.

Please be advised that the spring offering of Introduction to the Building Code for Interior Decorators at George Brown College has been cancelled do to the COVID 19 pandemic. Hopefully we can offer the course in the fall. I will also see if we can increase the maximum student level for the offering. Please be safe.... Update: working on getting this course to offered on-line this fall.

Everyone loves before and after photos. Transforming an unfinished space to a living space requires planning and drawings. The selection of interior finishes for basement areas requires the designer to consider materials that are not prone to damage in semi-damp locations. Thank you #anacoleinteriors for permission to use the photo.

When cooks don’t know anything about fire sprinklers.

Showers and leaks When showers leak, you usually have to start all over (demolish) as the leak is very difficult to locate. In this photo the circled areas are possible areas for leakage. Ensure the rubberized membrane covers all surfaces that could be exposed to water and is a minimum 300 mm up the adjacent walls.

Designer's Christmas Card Courtesy of Ziti cards

Plumbing Systems As a designer, do you know the difference between a venting system and a drainage system? You should at least know the difference. Look at this photo and see if you can determine what piping is for the venting and which piping is for the drainage. Review the definitions below for assistance; Venting system means an assembly of pipes and fittings that connects a drainage system with open air for circulation of air and the protection of trap seals in the drain...age system. Drainage system means an assembly of pipes, fittings, fixtures and appurtenances on a property that is used to convey sewage and clear water waste to a main sewer or a private sewage disposal system, and includes a private sewer, but does not include subsoil drainage piping. When considering the installation of plumbing for a client, ensure the company employs persons with plumbing Certificate of Qualifications from the Ontario College of Trades.

Fires in Ontario Homes Statistics. The cooking fires are mainly fires from cooking spreading to the kitchen cabinets.