{"id":25111,"date":"2024-03-04T18:37:42","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T02:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/creative-eye-frontera-homes-canadian-contractor\/"},"modified":"2024-03-04T18:37:42","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T02:37:42","slug":"creative-eye-frontera-homes-canadian-contractor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/creative-eye-frontera-homes-canadian-contractor\/","title":{"rendered":"Creative Eye: Frontera Homes | Canadian Contractor"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Photo courtesy of Tony Colangelo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Taylor McCarthy, owner of Frontera Homes in Victoria, B.C., joins Canadian Contractor<\/em> to share the secret recipe for his team\u2019s award-winning build, \u201cThe Irving Grotto\u201d \u2013 \u00a0a remodel with a green roof \u2014 and their high-efficiency renovation, \u201cThe Fernwood Net Zero.\u201d<\/p>\n

Please tell us about the origins of these massive, striking renovations.<\/strong><\/p>\n

With The Irving Grotto, the existing house was nothing special architecturally \u2013 an older stucco house in a beautiful part of town with gorgeous views of the ocean. Bruce Greenway of Greenway Studio was the designer, with whom we\u2019ve worked before. Landscapes are the driving force behind his designs. We added a family room\/dining room that abuts a cliff, with an entranceway tucked into the stone.<\/p>\n

One of the challenges we faced was that we couldn\u2019t find a window supplier that had a thin enough rail style that Bruce was happy with, so we essentially built the windows. We bought the glazing, then we had to rout and rabbet all the posts to fit the glass in and install the trim work on top of that. It\u2019s not only tricky; it\u2019s risky. We incorporated a curved wooden bench on the inside that fits perfectly against a masonry wall in behind that follows the natural rock structure. There were a lot of materials meeting together.<\/p>\n

For the Fernwood Net Zero, the clients were a couple from Chicago, and they interviewed several other contractors before they hired us. I think we got the job because we had that hybrid: being able to execute the traditional character finishing they wanted, while making it as green as possible.<\/p>\n

The architects had never done anything green like that before, but they created a wonderful design. So, between our experience and the energy modeller we hired, we thought, if we add a few things we can knock this out of the park and make it a net zero. And in the end, we did, and this building produces a heck of a lot more energy than it consumes.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Tony Colangelo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I wonder what role the rugged BC landscape plays into your designs, your clients, your staff, and your mission of high-efficiency, environmentally sustainable projects. How would your company look different if it were in Manitoba or the East Coast?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I finished university, I had already worked for years as a carpenter in Montreal and Ottawa, and I had always been interested in sustainability \u2014 as broad as that sounds. I got my LEED accreditation and thought I could dovetail that into building green homes and so forth. I started working as a sustainability consultant for a big developer in Ottawa. The reality was I mostly chased sub trades around for paperwork.<\/p>\n

I did the Heritage Carpentry and Joinery program through Algonquin College out of Perth, Ontario and worked a few years in Ottawa after that. People talked about building green, but we never had clients approach us and say, \u201cwe\u2019d like to go Passive, or we have LEED goals.\u201d Nothing like that.<\/p>\n

But when I moved to Victoria, it was completely different. Victoria\u2019s climate makes it much easier to achieve those efficiency targets. There\u2019s more of a green slant out here, I mean, the Green Party is from Salt Spring Island essentially, right?<\/p>\n

I put myself through Passive House training, and I\u2019m about to put one of my carpenters through Passive House training, as well as another guy. There are a lot more discussions about these types of things. I\u2019m sure it\u2019s happening in Manitoba or Ontario as well, but it\u2019s twofold \u2014 there\u2019s the interest we as carpenters have in this type of building, and there\u2019s the client interest as well.<\/p>\n

We have a project coming up. It\u2019s an older character home for a retired couple. We\u2019re lifting the house, removing the siding, adding exterior insulation, wrapping the house in an airtight envelope. We\u2019re going to get pretty darn close to Passive with an existing house, which doesn\u2019t happen very often. But they\u2019re willing to spend a little more and take the extra time to go through an integrated design process.<\/p>\n

Your website mentions heritage restoration and the cultural value of homes. What are your aims with that type of work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I do think history is important to any town in Canada. We\u2019re still a fairly new country, so wherever we can save something that\u2019s significant to our heritage, I think that\u2019s important. If you look around at any city that has old character homes like Montreal, or Ottawa, or Victoria, there\u2019s a heck of a lot more 1950s, 60s, 70s stucco, concrete, kind of drab homes than there are these beautiful old wood homes, which are the ones that interest me.<\/p>\n

These character homes have already stood for 100 years and if there are no major structural issues, I believe it\u2019s better to keep these homes than to landfill them. If you can find the right clients with the same priorities, it\u2019s really worth it.\u00a0 Aesthetically, they stand the test of time. They\u2019re beautiful, they\u2019re classic, and they always will be beautiful. I admit I\u2019m biased towards old wooden homes, but they give neighbourhoods a value that you can\u2019t put a price on.<\/p>\n

Does having a niche help or hurt you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you have a niche, you want to be better than average, if not the best. And if you\u2019re up there in the top tier, you\u2019ll have work coming to you. And I\u2019m not saying we\u2019re the best, I can promise you we\u2019re not \u2013 I totally look up to a lot of other builders. But you hear a lot about boutique hotels, right? We\u2019re like boutique craftsmen. We have great clients, we do beautiful work on interesting jobs that win awards, and we\u2019re doing well.<\/p>\n

The other thing about a niche is you really have to love your niche. In a perfect world, each year we would do one Net Zero or Passive-driven new build \u2014 just as green as you can be. And then one large heritage restoration that added some green elements but really focused on traditional trim and stain-grade carpentry. Someone may call us for a character build, but they don\u2019t care about installing solar panels or an airtight barrier, or triple pane windows. On the other hand, we just did a very green project, but it was a super modern square box. We liked it, but from a finishing standpoint I wouldn\u2019t say my trim guys found it as challenging as an older character home. They\u2019re not always in the same conversation, so we don\u2019t want to niche ourselves to just be the heritage guys, or just be the green guys.<\/p>\n

How big is your company and how many projects a year do you take on?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s myself and anywhere between six and eight carpenters. We\u2019re a company of 10 and under. We predominantly have two larger, year-long projects per year, and then three or four smaller renovations that range between three weeks to a few months. I don\u2019t really see much need to grow. I definitely don\u2019t have any dreams of being a massive company because I really love the craft, and being detail-oriented, being on-site with the guys, chatting with the owners and architects \u2014 being part of the process.<\/p>\n

There will probably be some inevitable growth. Maybe a few more people for larger scale jobs, and a couple people helping with administration. I always thought that being a design\/build firm would be interesting, but that, also in itself is a niche, and then you\u2019re always working with the same types of design. I think we all prefer to work with different architects, designers, new people \u2014 of course we\u2019ll take return clientele, but we like to change things up and keep it interesting for ourselves.<\/p>\n

When you reflect on your career, what are some key points you learned along the way?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Somebody told me once, \u201cyou have to make your own passion.\u201d Everybody has this point in their career where they\u2019re feeling bored or stuck. The beauty of carpentry is there\u2019s always room to do something different.<\/p>\n

When I was working in Montreal, I was stuck in a loop working for a contractor doing kitchens and bathrooms and kitchens and bathrooms. I remember walking up three flights of stairs in the middle of winter with a mitre saw in my hands, worrying about parking, and just thinking, \u201cwhat am I doing? Is this it<\/em> for the rest of my life?\u201d It was just by chance that I came to Victoria and that transition really renewed my passion for what I thought carpentry could be.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying you have to stop working or go back to school for 10 years. But if you\u2019re willing to do a night course in something you\u2019re interested in \u2014 like timber framing, or woodworking where you learn wood types, stain types, or different styles of joinery \u2014 these are the types of things that can drastically change your outlook on something and renew a passion and maybe lead to that next step that you need.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n