Renovation in Saint-Hippolyte and Prévost.
The buildings here
Cottages and lakefront homes in the Laurentians. A large share of the stock is small three-season buildings on stilts, on lots now worth several times the building that stands on them.
That imbalance defines most projects here. The right decision is rarely to demolish and rarely to leave as is.
What we're asked for most
Turning a seasonal cottage into a four-season home. Redoing or entirely replacing a foundation under an existing building. Enlarging without losing the character of the building or the view that justified buying the lot.
The area's own constraint
The shoreline. Protection strip, distance from the high-water line, bearing capacity of soil close to the water table, and municipal regulations that precisely define what qualifies as a renovation and what tips into new construction. The difference between the two categories changes everything: the process, the lead times, and sometimes the very feasibility of the project.
A waterfront project is designed within that framework from the first sketch. Designed otherwise, it gets refused, and in a region where the construction season is short, the time lost can't be made up within the year.
The original foundation. The stilts of a summer cottage don't carry the load of an insulated four-season home. So the foundation question comes first, before the layout, before the finishing, before everything.
What we know how to do here in particular
Working in phases. Rebuilding a foundation under an existing building without taking it apart. Keeping a building load-bearing while its sections are replaced one by one.
That's exactly the Saint-Hippolyte site, and it's the kind of project we get called for after someone else has said no.
So, what are we working on?
Eight questions, two minutes. We call you back to talk it through, and we tell you frankly whether it's a project for us or whether you'd be better served elsewhere.