The special features of the house in Hamilton are a response to the technical requirements laid down in 1991 by Energy Mines and Resources Canada in a challenge aimed at improving the capaâ€" bilities of the housing industry to address the environmental issues in the years ahead. and it is, indeed, a neat house c the 1,900 square feet in two sto1 grab bag of innovative products niques. I have made a couple of visits to the NEAT Home which is under construction on Highway 53 just west of Highway 6 in Hamilton. On my last visit, the walls were up and the roof rafters were in place with the roof due to go on the next week. There has been only a little publicity about the home and the project of which it is a part, but I expect we will be seeing a lot more of it as it nears completion and the public is invited to tour. NEAT is an acronym for Novel Environmental Advanced Technology and it is, indeed, a neat house containing the 1,900 square feet in two storeys and a vrab bas of innovative products and techâ€" NEAT Home: Better than Râ€"2000 Dozens of teams across Canada $248,.500 overlooks the wart summer vacation ar with its own lawn s Please call ANELL RAVEN** 849â€"9800 ¢= [‘ Lat! 110 |€ & 1 (ER HAS | armtl 1E ANELL FRANCIS REAL ESTATE o 1 t l4 ]] Nevertheless, 11 winners were selectâ€" ed from the many entries. The only winâ€" ner in the Golden Horseshoe (Torontoâ€" Hamiltonâ€"Niagara) was the NEAT Home submitted by the Hamiltonâ€"Halton Home Builders‘ Association (HHHBA). This seems rather surprising in view of the tremendous surge of private home building in this area during the ‘80s, but In addition, they had to maintain or improve indoor air quality and end up with an energy consumption that did not exceed 50% of a similar sized Râ€"2000 Since Râ€"2000 has been the paragon 0 energy saving homes for several years this seems to be a very ambitious goal. entered the competition to develop proâ€" posals for innovative and more environâ€" mentally friendly demonstration homes for the Advanced Houses program. They were charged with minimizing water and energy use, incorporating a high percentage of recycled materials in the building components and eliminating the use of CFC‘s for cooling. house aag n C i MCnmntadoidrcicnce a * Owned and Operuted Member of Coldwell Bunke wdently Ooued and tiperated Memher of Cabdw < ! ATH AMERICA? 88 DUNN ST. OAKVILLE 849â€"9800 CALL USI and techniques. The results are mindâ€" boggling. The 11 winning proposals are unique unto themselves and show a different emphasis on the rules. The Hamilton house, for example, focuses more on energy efficiency while the Waterloo Green Home stresses environment conâ€" cerns. The only other Ontario winner is in Ottawa â€" Innova House â€" and it stressâ€" es energy as the NEAT house does. Those of us in the Hamilton area are fortunate indeed to have the NEAT house so nearby. We can watch it being built and visit it during the twoâ€"year monitorâ€" ing period. There will be continual testâ€" ing and monitoring of the house for two years to assess how accurate the predicâ€" tions of its efficiency were and to allow the public to have access. is a credit to the local association. HHHBA invited submissions from all sectors of the building industry so they could use the best available new products I will write more, soon, about the exciting innovations such as: a granny Oakville Beaver Real Estate ... $P4J9, J Orchart system profess interloc system, customized Cclosets, professionally landscaped and interlocked front and twoâ€"tiered Eatio deck with nightscaping. xtra-la'r:gF(‘e MBR w/ensuite, stone FP in . _DOUG or WENDY PEARSON 3383737 844â€"5000 329â€"5193 Pager SHIREEN PREKSTA Assoc. Broker 20 FT. X 33 FT. HEATED INGROUND POOL GLEN ABBEY $187,500 ROYAL LePAGE = l Around the House I Gle flat in the double garage; Duraâ€"loc roof that is more attractive and more environâ€" mentally friendly than the ubiquitous asphalt shingles; ultraâ€"efficient windows (Râ€"8, I have been told!\. There is a good glossary at the end where he has clarified all of the terms used in the book. Throughout the book, there are at least two good photos or diaâ€" grams on each page giving the same kind of assistance you receive from a video presentation. There are chapters devoted to the tools of finishing including the new but very The work requires very little skill and you can expect success on your first venâ€" ture. But there are also tricks and refineâ€" ments that are continually learned by the old hand as he hones those simple skills. Sterling Publishers has just published Finishing Basics by Sam Allen and it fits comfortably into their huge list of some of the best doâ€"itâ€"yourself books on the market today. Allen wrote this particular book for people with little or no wood finishing experience. All the products and proceâ€" dures, descriptions, and illustrations were chosen with the novice in mind. Drive by and have a look. There is a good opportunity to see some innovations right now such as the foam sandwich foundation walls and the Spaceâ€"joist sysâ€" tem. This Truswall system eliminates the use of fast disappearing longâ€"length lumâ€" ber and still provides sturdy walls and floor joists with plenty of space for insuâ€" lation and service wires and pipes by joining shorter lumber with galvanized V webs. Finishing Wood Finishing or refinishing furniture has many followers, some of whom have litâ€" tle or no interest in building furniture or even in handyman projects. But even those with considerable experience can benefit from comprehenâ€" sive information, especially on such subâ€" jects as the new water based strippers and finishes. Plain sawn grain shows long "U"â€" shaped lines of the type that can be seen in plywood which is made by peeling off sheets of veneer from a log as if it were a roll of toilet paper. more on theâ€"outer edge and on the sumâ€" mer growth. This causes cupping and warping in plain sawn lumber but very little change in quarterâ€"sawn and even then only on the width. There is no denying the sense of accomplishment that comes with taking a ratty looking table or chair that has sufâ€" fered years of abusive wear and restoring it to something of its original charm. Things discussed are those like grain pattern which is determined, not only by the characteristics of the tree itself, but also by the manner in which the wood is sawn from the tree. Quarterâ€"sawn lumber, for example, is taken by sawing through the centre of the log as opposed to plain sawn lumber which is taken from the sides. You get only one or two slabs of quarâ€" terâ€"sawn lumber from a tree and that is reflected in its cost. It is more desirable because its grain pattern shows closely spaced and even parallel lines. and preparation In wood When wood dries out. it shrinks far The first chapter deals with the pros cons of various popular woods showâ€" _ how certain properties affect the (See "Some" Page RE 18) staining, and finish of each