Lagois Anniversary 30 Years and Still Loving It

COMPLIMENTARY
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PLANNING
FINANCING
DESIGN•BUILD
reno
GUIDE
2014
Cover Photo
Deslaurier Custom Cabinets
Photo: Gordon King
ottawarenovates.com
JUST IMAGINE YOUR HOUSE!
YOUR FRONT DOOR SAYS IT ALL
STAIRWAY AS ART
KITCHEN TO THE MAX
AND MORE!
OttAwa’s RENOVATION SPECIALISTS
Next Level Bungalow
2014 GOHBA Design Award Finalist - Renovation
2014 OHBA Design Award Finalist - Most Outstanding Home Renovation
Improving Function & Flow
Creating Escapes
Indoor/Outdoor Connections
For 30 years, Lagois has been designing custom homes and
renovations that enrich lives and provide efficient and healthy
homes for Ottawa homeowners. Our expertise in both design and
construction ensures that we will build your dream home to meet
the highest standards, with impeccable attention to detail, all while
providing outstanding service from start to finish.
Please visit us online at LAGOIS.COM
5921 Prince of Wales Drive Ottawa ON K0A 2T0
Tel. 613-489-2345 | Fax. 613-489-2165
Email: info@lagois.com
Before
UrbanOttawa.com
Lagois anniversary
Looking for a property to renovate?
Need advice on which improvements will bring
you the greatest returns?
30 years and still loving it
Call Natalie for a no obligation consultation.
Trust. Knowledge. Experience.
metro-city realty ltd. | brokerage
613.747.9914
Broker | Courtier
Natalie Belovic
Modernize.
Transform.
Update.
Renovate your staircase.
Want to update the
look of your
staircase and railing?
BEFORE
Let the experts at
StairWorld help.
AFTER
Before
A stair recap transforms
your carpeted staircase
into a hardwood staircase
By Francie Healy
It was the year Pierre Trudeau retired from politics,
Brian Mulroney was elected prime minister, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip visited Ottawa, the Chicago White
Sox defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, and Ethel Merman
died.
It was also the year a young fellow by the name of Herb Lagois started a business called
Lagois Drafting & Construction that would flourish and expand for many years into the
future.
And now, in 2014, the re-named Lagois Design-Build-Renovate, Ottawa Renovation
Specialists, is happily celebrating its 30th anniversary.
“It’s wild how quickly time goes,” says
Herb Lagois. “I can’t believe 30 years just flew
by.”
Herb started out framing houses. He loved
it; he loved, still loves, carpentry. But he also
loves design. He is trained as an architectural
technologist.
Not surprisingly, he has learned a great
deal over the past 30 years. One of the biggest
learning curves was the art of business. Herb
loves seeing ideas come to life, but he says
A railing replacement can
instantly modernize your
home decor
After
Recap.
Reface.
613.838.6111
continues on next page
56 | OttawaRenovates.com
Replace.
sales@stairworld.com
www.stairworld.com
The leaders in garage organization and the 1st in Ottawa
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Lagois anniversary
30 years and still loving it
58 | OttawaRenovates.com
he wishes he had taken business courses. It would have made life so
much easier.
On the other hand, people tell him trial-by-fire learning is a good
thing, because you learn by experience.
“I just could have circumvented some of those experiences,” he
says with a laugh.
When Herb graduated, he worked for a builder for the summer. He
thought: “I could do this!” And then he thought: “But I guess I need a
truck.”
So he went looking for one without even securing financing,
because he realized he could actually afford it.
But then there was the next step: finding the work.
He framed a house near Carleton Place. It went well.
“Now,” he thought, “I need a crew.”
So he put together a crew and took on a job in Picton, Ont.
As it happened, that was the worst winter Picton residents could
remember. Herb had to hire one person to shovel the snow away fulltime just to keep it off the materials. It was a house at the edge of a
field, where the wind and snow blew mercilessly. It was so bad at one
point that the snow was level with the second floor.
“I didn’t make money on that venture,” says Herb.
But the next year he had as many as 25 houses to frame.
“It was crazy,” he recalls. “Insanely long hours. But I was young
and foolish. I thought all I had to do was to expand the crew.”
And that’s when he learned, the hard way, that just hiring people is
not enough. You have to hire the RIGHT people. He also learned not
to expand too quickly.
“Growth should be slow and measured,” he says. “The most
important thing is to keep quality in mind – and what’s best for the
client.”
But at that point, not having learned these critical wisdoms, he was
grabbing crew members from anywhere. Herb winces at the memory of it.
continuesd on next page
What We Do
• Rubaroc Rubberized Coatings
• Concrete Coatings
Your tools will drool!
• Concrete Polishing
• Steel Cabinets
• Car Lifts
• Motorcycle Lifts
• Plastic Slat Wall
• Audio Video Solutions
• Insulation and Drywall
Showroom Address
298 Richmond Road
Ottawa, ON K1Z 6X5
613-850-6837
www.garageguyz.ca
OttawaRenovates.com 59
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Lagois anniversary
30 years and still loving it
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“Now,” he says, “we have a very in-depth hiring and interview process.”
Bit by bit he developed the design part of the business. Design, after all, was
his passion. And with hands-on experience, he knew exactly how things went
together. He now exposes all his designers to construction projects so they can
visualize the final result and understand the process.
The design work began to take off about three or four years later. At that
point, he started planning to build an office.
“It was the height of the recession,” he says. “The banks didn’t want to lend
money to businesses, so I had to go to an independent lender, and my interest rate
was 20 per cent.”
It was a struggle making ends meet, especially because he had a young family
to support. But he says he had great support from his wife, Irene. “She always
believed in me,” he says.
There are still always challenges, of course, but it’s part of the excitement of
the work, to figure out the next steps.
“There’s always a solution to a problem,” says Herb. “It’s just finding the best
one.”
Despite his busy 30 years, Herb has been involved with charitable ventures.
Ronald McDonald house is a big part of Lagois history. From the very start, Herb
was building playhouses to be raffled off. Those alone raised about $300,000.
About five or six years ago, he built, pro bono, an addition for Ronald McDonald
house – a bright, sun-filled playroom.
Lagois Design-Build-Renovate has won numerous awards over the years.
Herb is modest when he talks about them. “It’s nice for our team to be recognized
for all their efforts,” he says simply.
Will he retire some day?
“My goal is to retire at 70,” he says, but that will really just be to step back a
bit from the company’s day-to-day operation.” He’ll want to stay involved with
design, his first love.
Does he have any regrets? Herb says no.
“But if I were to give advice to someone starting out,” he says, “I’d say take
the time for your family and for yourself as well. I should have taken more time,
but my focus was always business. You have to have a balance.”
Herb must have struck that balance, because he and Irene are still married
with three happy grown-up kids in their 30s.
“When I reflect back on it,” he says, “I think just getting up in the morning
and being happy going to work is success in itself.”
❏
60 | OttawaRenovates.com
now he’s 28.
That old tub sure holds a lot of memories. But not much else.
Time to renovate? Check out Habitat for Humanity NCR ReStores.
At two locations, we resell donated, new and used building, renovation
and decorating materials to keep them out of landfills — and to fund
Habitat’s good work right here in the National Capital Region.
Learn more at www.habitatncr.com.
New! Our ReStores now accept
donations of home and office
electronics. The usable materials
recovered from these products
are sold to support Habitat’s
operations and home building
programs.
east: 2370 Walkley Rd. — 613-744-7769
west: 7 Enterprise Ave. — 613-225-8400
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