Oh Canada!

On Friday I woke up to beautiful weather and a plan to drive to Canada. As per usual, the plans changed at the last minute and the opportunities could not be missed. I have many friends in Canada but I would not have guessed that I would be able so see so many of them. These people are building scientists and are the best minds in the world in that circle of knowledge. I have learned so much from them over the years and now I have the opportunity to visit them in their natural habitat. I figured I had to pay the obligatory visit to Niagara Falls first so I parked the car and grabbed the bike.

 And just like that I was in Canada. I thought about telling the the border agent that I was here to trade my guns for healthcare but he was eying my car full of gear with suspicion so I was grateful to get across without a secondary screening and I wouldn't really trade my guns for healthcare especially if it came with a side of snow every fall. I headed up to Waterloo to meet with Chris Schumaker and John Straube at their building science lab. They showed me their test hut which is an amazing setup that can very accurately test wall assemblies for heat and moisture movement. It is quite complicated and if you are interested in the details we can discuss it over a Canadian beer. They did give me some great info about two of the products I will be using on my next project and I was happy for the real experience that they had to share.

Later I drove to Chris's house and met his wife Lori and his kids Ella Bella Boo and Owen. He has a nice home and a wonderful family.