Happiness is a warm house

Cold? Think of what it was like to live in a house during Ontario winters before the age of modern insulation.

The walls were stuffed with old newspapers, or sawdust, or cork, or rags ‒ anything people could find to try to stay warm. Of course, it didn’t really work. The icy winds of winter would blow right through.

Blake Saucier-Curtis, Estimator and Project Manager at the insulation company O’Reilly Brothers Ltd, had a taste of what people in bygone eras experienced when he grew up in a cottage built in the 1940s in Aylmer, Quebec.

“It was a really cold house,” he says. “I think that could be where my passion for warm houses comes from.”

Blake’s heart has always been in construction, even before and during university.

Blake and "friend"

“Office work is not for me,” he laughs. “I’m more of a hands-on person.”

He was a carpenter for years, “always trying to figure out how to put things back together, like re-doing somebody’s bathroom or kitchen, in the best way possible.”

He was working on a job site when he met the owners of O’Reilly Brothers. They hit it off, and Blake was invited to join the company. That was about seven years ago.

He talks about the challenges of living in Ottawa. It's a beautiful place, but there are a lot of ups and downs in its ever-changing climate: melting snow, rain, humidity, heat. That often means moldy basements and attics as well as uncomfortable living.

Insulation is a challenging trade, he says, especially when you have to deal with asbestos in homes built in the 50s, 60s and 70s. When these homes are being renovated, great precaution and skill is involved in removing it. Abatement of hazardous materials is one of the many specialized services O’Reilly brothers provides.

Bobby Joanisse of O'Reilly Brothers Ltd hard at work

The company was started in 1967 by Richard O’Reilly and has been a family-owned-and-operated business ever since. Other services besides insulation, abatement and removal of hazardous materials, include fireproofing, media blasting, protective coatings, mold and lead removal.

Radon mitigation is also in the forefront of the work at O’Reilly Brothers. Blake recently completed a course in radon mitigation.

“There’s a lot of overlap with our other services,” he says. “Foam is a radon barrier and can be used to seal block or stone walls and crawlspaces with tricky access. It can even be sprayed directly on the ground.”

He adds: “If you’re in the midst of a renovation, opening walls and so on,” he says, “it’s a good time to investigate or do radon mitigation. At this stage it’s fairly easy and inexpensive.”

There are more than 40 O’Reilly employees and the work, in residences, hospitals, schools and government buildings, is all in-house. Little of it is sub-contracted, Blake says. The exception might be for subsequent drywalling or electrical work. One estimator works with a project from start to finish.

He explains other companies often have an estimating team and then they hand the work over to an implementation team. But, he says, O’Reilly Brothers estimates and manages the whole project “so we’re your ‘one stop’ throughout the process.”

Blake meets you at your home, takes a look at the problem, proposes a solution, and works with the crew to get the job done.

“And, you know ‒” he says, “make sure everybody’s happy.”

“Happy” in Blake’s world also means working with Lagois. He says he loves getting an email from them. “I’m like, Oh, another project with Lagois!”

He says partnering with them is “fantastic” because they’re always so organized.

“And they care so much about detail,” he says. “Shahrzad [Khezri, Lagois Construction Estimator] sends over a really well broken-down list of what they need from us. Everything, the square footage, the material… it makes it very easy for me to do an estimate just from that.”

He explains he and the Lagois team meet on site to go over everything.

“They have really high standards and expectations around safety,” he says.

He is also impressed by their dedication to being on time.

“When they say they want to start on a specific date, for example, they almost never change that. They’re always on time. They’re always ready for us.”

He says this commitment to being on time makes his work go smoothly because he knows he’s not going to have a crew waiting around or have to reschedule the day; and that reduces cost.

He’s looking forward to a big project with Lagois in the next few weeks. Usually his work with them is insulation, but this one involves a complicated abatement procedure.

He expects to be on that site with Lagois for awhile, in his happy place: fixing problems and making homes comfortable and safe.

For more stories about the exciting people, events and places in Ottawa and surrounding communities, please sign up for The Art of Living, our monthly newsletter, here.