Mr. FoundationGood service and a catchy name garner service.As the name suggests, Mr. Foundation Inc. performs waterproofing, installs System Platon, makes structural repairs, installs Ram Jack piers, and provides foundation-engineering services. Mr. Foundation works in the Ottawa, Ontario Canada market.
Mr. Foundation owner Patrick Lecours and wife Majella came up with the name Mr. Foundation in 1996 while at dinner with a friend who owned a "Mr. Rooter" plumbing business. According to Majella, "The Mr. Foundation name has been very valuable to us. Realtors and home inspectors have commented that we were the name they could remember." Mr. Foundation is definitely more memorable than TML Construction, which is the name Lecours started in business with. When the business started in the 80's, Lecours was a general contractor specializing in tenant improvements. In 1991, Canada instituted a 7% Goods and Services tax on all purchases, and tenant improvement work promptly plummeted. "With the GST, people just held on to their money. For three or four years the economy was just terrible," noted Lecours. 1991 proved to be a crystallizing point in time for Lecours. He decided he needed a business that was recession proof: homeowners with serious foundation problems do not have the choice of delaying purchases. So he ran an ad in the local Pennysaver and learned the system Platon Foundation Drainage System. The first call came in to repair to a massive house in town. He quoted the job and shortly thereafter was awarded his first foundation repair project.
Fortunately for Lecours, System Platon is a top-notch product, which he still uses today. "The Platon membrane is a slip layer that totally eliminates freeze adhesion (freeze adhesion is where clay soils stick to the foundation wall and lift the wall as the soil moves). The soil sticks to the Platon; when under pressure from soil the Platon, instead of the wall, moves," explained Lecours.
Lecours has upgraded System Platon's published method of adhering their material to the foundation wall by using two layers of sika 1A adhesive. "It costs a little more, but I do it for our customers' sake and our own benefit. A reputation for doing it right and successful repairs is more valuable than the cheapest price," said Lecours. In 1995, Lecours started working with structural engineer Tony Garwood. So he can now call in a trusted engineer to design repairs if the services of an engineer are required. This year, Lecours is embarking on the next wave of growth for his company: He has acquired a Ram Jack Foundation repair dealership, which he spent a year investigating before proceeding with. With Ram Jack he is now able to offer foundation piering. "I spent a lot of time and money researching Ram Jack. I traveled to Dallas to see their operations there, and I went to their dealer meeting in Colorado Springs," said Lecours.
Lecours also has hired Greg Galoska as operations manager. Galoska is experienced at successfully running a firm twice the size of Mr. Foundation. Says Lecours, "Greg can take us to the next level." Wife Majella is now also on Lecours business team. After years in the marketing and advertising business she will be focusing those skills on Mr. Foundation. There won't be a client, realtor, home inspector, or builder in town who won't know "Mr. Foundation." And who can forget that name, anyway? Mr. Foundation Find a Concrete Contractor 24 Services in 221 Metros -- U.S. and Canada © 1999-2012 ConcreteNetwork.com None of this site may be reproduced without written permission |
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