Regrets, they’ve had a few
By HERB LAGOIS
When you’ve been in this business as long as I have, you hear some pretty hair-raising stories. Some of them are so horrific they remain with me to this day.
It still boggles my mind that people without expertise try to manage building or renovation, and when it fails, wonder why. It’s a little like deciding you can do your own surgery and not understanding why you’re minus a toe.
Are you KIDDING?
I remember the time a homeowner called me in a panic. It was in the fall. Winter was approaching rapidly. He had his new home framed, ready for windows and roofing. But the thing was, he had run out of money. And the temperature was dipping. Snow was on the horizon. Could I help?
My inside voice said, “HOW?” and “Are you kidding?” and “How do you run out of money before your project isn’t even half finished?”
But my more polite voice broke the news to him gently. It was: “NO.”
I had to say no because I couldn’t possibly give him a warranty for something we had not started. Can you imagine the lawsuits if something bad happened?
He was hoping Lagois might have access to better pricing, but I had to tell him he’d still need to pay for our expertise. I’m not sure he had thought of that.
I still wonder how he got himself into that situation. Did he receive bad information? Was this a pipe dream, one with no planning, one that might never have worked out anyway?
Black icky surprise
Another time we were hired to do a kitchen renovation. It was fairly simple in scope, until we saw what was behind a wall. Mould covered the ENTIRE thing. It was black, icky stuff that must have created the potential for serious health consequences. This really hit home with me about how critical it is to treat a home as a system. In this case, the problem was a failure to deal with proper vapour transfer and exterior water deflection away from the structure.
Even today I drive around observing homes under construction and noticing how some builders deal with water management. It’s rather frightening.
Run!
Years ago I met a unique individual faced with a stop-work order in the City of Ottawa. He was angry, vehemently blaming the City for ruining it for him.
Again, my inside voice said, “REALLY? And you want me to help…HOW??” I could see his project had many, many code infractions, so many I was surprised it was even standing.
There was a moment when the problem-solver in me thought it might be an interesting challenge… but the realist in me said: run as fast as you can! It was the warranty thing again. How could we possibly warrant something someone else did, especially when shortcuts were taken?
Bare feet horror
I remember the particularly nightmarish situation at the home of a really nice woman who asked us to help her with renovation. When I first arrived, I saw she had a handyman working on her deck. And then I noticed, to my horror, that he was wearing sandals, no socks, even, and he was cutting a piece of wood. It still sends shivers down my spine. How easy would it be to drop a hammer on his foot or chop it off if he set down the skill saw and the guard got stuck (which has happened to me a few times). Who would be liable if he seriously injured himself? It was only one of several infractions I saw that day. It still comes back to haunt me.
Bye bye friendship
Many years ago, when I was just starting out, I was framing a home near Metcalfe. It had rained and rained and rained for weeks, but somehow we powered through it. I recall being on the roof, just completing it, and I looked down to see the homeowner walking up the driveway. She was crying her eyes out. I went down the ladder to ask what was wrong.
“We have to move the house,” she said.
Again my inside voice: “Wh-a-a-a-t??!!” But I just listened.
She told me she and her husband were managing the entire project themselves. They laid out the house on property right next to the property of their good friends. Good friends, that is, until they found out the house was five feet on their friends' property. Rather than settle it amicably or sensibly, the friends turned out to be rather greedy. The money they demanded for the five feet was far too much, so much that it was cheaper to move the house.
Remember what I said about all the rain? The house was moved into a low swampy-ish area. The original foundation and septic were demolished. To make things even more miserable, the homeowners had been living with their friends/new neighbours-to-be during construction of their new home. Now both home and friendship were ruined.
This problem could have been perfectly avoided with planning and forethought – and a surveyor. Again it makes me wonder why anyone would think about managing such a big project, such a huge part of their lives, without experience and knowledge. Even small projects like a bathroom renovation can quickly become a horror show.
They know what they're doing
You have to let the experts do what they’re best at. They have the years of experience, knowledge, and ultimately, proof of quality and excellence. If I want my teeth looked after, I go to a dentist. If I want a legal issue settled, I go to a lawyer. If I want my car fixed safely and properly, I go to a licensed mechanic.
Hindsight might be a good thing, but regret is no fun at all.
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