Clear as glass

Mirror Works shower enclosure and mirrors in a recent renovation by Lagois Design·Build·Renovate

It was a small and simple shop when Richard Thibert opened it in Ottawa. It sold mirrors. And then it grew, slowly but surely.

Now, 33 years later, Mirror Works is the premier provider of custom glass installations and high-end glass solutions ( for example, shower enclosures, glass partitions and railings, mirrors, wine cellar enclosures, mirrors and mirrored closet doors) for homeowners in the Ottawa area. It is co-owned and run by Taylor Thibert, Richard’s son.

And despite its size, homeowner impact and superb reputation, Taylor says it is still like a family business ‒ a family of 55 to 60 employees with a fleet of 16 trucks, mind you, but still.

From the very beginning, Richard Thibert’s priority was always service, not speed. He wanted to keep his customers happy, and to this day the company’s Lifetime Limited Warranty is based on this early commitment.

Richard Thibert and co-owner Andre Lefebvre began stepping aside towards retirement about six years ago and Taylor stepped in. He knew the business well. He had started working there when he was about 16.

“At first it was just a job,” he says. “I mean, I was a kid. It’s not something I thought was in the stars for me. By then it was already a good-sized operation.”

He worked as a labourer in the shop, moved on to the tools, then to templating manager, then to road manager, and then to dispatcher.

In 2020, he bought shares in the company.

“I knew I was in a position to run it,” he says. “I realized my dad had already been grooming me for it. It was the opportunity of a lifetime.”

The business thrives on word-of-mouth. It is primarily residential. About 20 per cent of customers are “walk-ins”; the rest are renovators like Lagois Design·Build·Renovate and large home builders.

Mirror Works played a big part in the recent Lagois office renovations.

Almost everything is manufactured in-house. “Float glass”, or glass in its original state, comes from overseas.

“And then,” says Taylor, “we polish and cut to fit exact custom needs.”

Installers are Mirror Works’ own specialists, who, for the most part, the company train “from the ground up”. This is to make sure everything is consistently done to Mirror Works standards.

Mirror Works doesn’t install sealed units. It provides only custom installation, so it’s important that their specialized installers each do things exactly the same way. Taylor says an extra bonus of training their own installers is a high employee retention rate and loyal commitment to the company.

When Lagois designs, for example, a bathroom with a glass-enclosed shower, Mirror Works sends its skilled templater (with 25 years of experience) to the site. The templater creates a detailed model of the shower enclosure according to precise specifications of the design.

“From there we fabricate the glass,” Taylor says.

It normally takes about a week. Then they book the installation, which can take another week. (Mirrors have a quicker turnaround because they don’t go through the process for tempered glass.)

About six years ago Mirror Works acquired a fully-tested, Canadian-certified tempering machine. Taylor explains this means they don’t have to get tempered (safety) glass from Montreal or Toronto, so service is faster and more reliable. Tempered glass is four to five times stronger than standard glass and is often required by building codes.

Taylor and his business partner, Husein Haziresic, enjoy working with Lagois because Lagois, like Mirror Works, is “very high end”.

“They insist on 100 per cent quality,” Taylor says. “Obviously they expect excellent service as well, but above all, with Lagois it’s got to be quality.”

And, he adds, “We believe in that, too. We believe quality is everything.”