Fenestration Canada and Win.door provide insights for evolving window and door manufacturing industry Building code changes: Overcoming confusion and misinformation Canadian Design and Construction Report special feature Heading into its twentieth year presenting the Win.door Show, Fenestration Canada continues to sup- port the nation's window and door manufacturing industry both behind the scenes and publicly. President Skip MacLean says the changing building code is the industry's biggest issue. There is much con- fusion and misinformation. “Fenestration Canada has a clear understanding of the code and where it originates from,” he said. “Unfortu- nately there are still grey areas when it comes to interpre- tation by authorities having jurisdiction. We are working with NRC (National Research Council) to improve the lan- guage in the code to clarify these grey areas.” MacLean says the steepest path to compliance will in- volve entry doors. Despite the fact they are usually opened and closed more than windows, they number fewer than windows, and that means they receive less at- tention and fewer demands, so manufacturers and sup- pliers are further behind. 36 – Summer 2014 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report While a few companies are progressive and are pro- ducing products well beyond the code requirements, he says these are the exception and that most companies are far more reactive. Building code enhancements have a theoretically pos- itive impact, in that the regulations can help combat the underground market and create a more level playing field for the housing industry. However, MacLean says there are also challenges. “Even now we’re seeing fabricators without the means to test their product who have to look to others to provide them with finished product.” MacLean says this could lead to the loss of the entre- preneurial design and development spirit, with fabrication taking place through fewer, larger sources. He is pleased though that through proper labeling, doc- umentation and testing results, Fenestration Canada member fabricators will continue to provide quality prod- ucts to consumers along with better information to help them deal with any issues that may arise. Fenestration Canada has created powerful web tools including a simple NAFS (North American Fenestration