GEORGIE & CHBA AWARDS
Mid Island Cabinets’ project awards nominations recognize
builders’ partnerships and concept to completion service
Canadian Design and Construction Report special feature
Vancouver Island’s Mid Island Cabinets recently had
three of its projects nominated in the Canadian Home
Builders’ Association of BC’s annual Georgie Awards. The
company’s work was recognized when builder Windley
Contractors won for its Songbird Place project in
Nanaimo. Mid Island Cabinets is a family owned business with
locations in Parksville (manufacturing and showroom) and
Nanaimo (showroom). Owner Kathy Hatcher says her par-
ents began the business in 1992. While her father is still
involved, she and her brother have taken on more active
roles in running the company.
She says to see her builders recognized through these
awards gives the company a great sense of pride. “It is
due to the efforts of every person on our staff that we
have been able to grow, be part of projects like this, and
to help our builders succeed.”
Mid Island fabricates a wide variety of custom cabi-
netry ranging from built-ins to wall beds and bars. “Unlike
some other custom cabinet builders, we do all of our own
work in-house from crafting the pieces right through to
finishing.” Hatcher says this not only allows the company to con-
trol its own timelines and to ensure quality for the end-
user; it also ensures local people are employed.
All of the company’s wood comes from Canadian
sources as well, and much of it from B.C., which ensures
Canadians on a larger scale are engaged.
For the Georgie Award projects, Mid Island worked
with builders, looking at plans and suggesting ideas.
“Though some builders we have worked with before will
just contact us and ask us to proceed with the selection
of materials and styles, others, and homeowners, will
come into one of our showrooms to look around, feel and
touch samples and hear about the options we can pro-
vide.” Homeowners in particular she says, often require de-
tailed information and sometimes education in what will
work and what won’t and what design or material would
be best for the project they are considering.
Hatcher says her skilled team of designers and in-
stallers handle the work from the first measure, to the in-
stallation. This way, she says measurements are
guaranteed, other workers are not pulled away from their
work to do the install, and her team can ensure the units
are put into place properly and efficiently.
Later this year Mid Island Cabinets will be relocating its
Parksville showroom and factory to a new 30,000 sq. ft.
facility just minutes from its current location. Hatcher says
the move will allow the company to streamline its efforts
and to serve a larger area.
For more information about Mid Island Cabinets, visit
http://www.midislandcabinets.com. 48 – September 2016 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report
Canadian Urethane Foam Contractors Association (CUFCA)
develops training, certification
and field quality assurance services
Canadian Design and Construction Report special feature
The Canadian Urethane Foam Contractors Associ-
ation (CUFCA) is a not for profit corporation that has
been providing training, certification, and field quality
assurance services to the SPF (spray foam insulation)
market in Canada for 32 years. The association is a
long time Construction Specifications Canada (CSC)
associate member and this year was a sponsor of the
CSC Conference in Halifax.
CUFCA represents more than 350 member contrac-
tors employing more than 700 certified installers. The
association’s main focus is to ensure its contractors
and their installers are operating in compliance with
the applicable installation standards in Canada and
that their customers receive a defect free spray foam
installation. CUFCA participates with many groups and associ-
ations, executive director Andrew Cole says. “We are
involved with CEEA (Canadian Energy Efficiency Al-
liance) for instance. This is a dynamic group of com-
panies that work to educate governments at all levels
on where to look to invest or create awareness on
best return programs for energy conservation.”
Cole says the association has also supported the
CSC trade directory and will continue to support CSC
regionally and nationally. He says participation in in-
dustry events in the globalized era is critical in lever-
aging relationships in broader communities, rather
than operating in isolation.
“It is critical that specification writers have access
to unbiased information and specifications,” he said.
“Too often manufacturers use specifications as a
weapon against their competition and as such we end
up with specifications that may have contradictory re-
quirements and may actually not comply with stan-
dards. Errors of omission do happen and again we are
a resource to correct these situations.”
The Canadian Design and Construction Report — September 2016 – 49