Full House Renovations Celebrates 25 Years Tearing down the old and building up something new has worked physically and metaphorically for this unique company. By Nerissa McNaughton
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arry Jaenen’s experience with home renovations goes back to his childhood. His parents were in the window business and he would go door to door providing estimates. With a natural ability to foresee a finished product, Jaenen started giving clients advice on what renovations would improve the look and value of their homes. “For years clients would say, ‘why not get into the reno business?’” laughs Jaenen. “So I did!” When Full House Renovations launched, Jaenen was the sole owner and operator. To get the jobs done, he hired subcontractors. Two years later he had enough steady work to fill a 40-hour week, so he hired his first full-time employee. As it turned out, envisioning and executing great renovations wasn’t Jaenen’s only talent. His hiring prowess was, and still is, spot on. Twenty-five years on, some of his earliest hires are still with the company. Today’s staff of over 35 employees includes custom cabinet shop workers, office staff and field workers. Garent Selby is Full Houses Renovations’ longest-term employee and has been with the company for more than 23 years. His first position was as a cabinet installer. “He’s handy!” says Jaenen. “Now he comes in at the end and can do everything! Plumbing, electrical, cabinets, finishing…. he’s good at all of it, from having grown up on a farm in Saskatchewan. The clients now actually call and ask for him by name.” Partners Ken Horhut and Greg Pointe also found careers at Full House Renovations. Horhut started as a finishing carpenter in 1997 and built his way
Barry Jaenen
Greg Pointe
Ken Horhut
into a partnership in 2005. Today he oversees all the jobs as head of the operations department. Horhut holds a Red Seal journeyman carpenter certification. Pointe was one of the owners of Woodhaven Construction and sat on the renovation council with Jaenen for multiple years. After selling his construction business, he joined Full House Renovations as a partner. Pointe is the general manager and also helps Jaenen in sales. Jaenen’s hiring philosophy extends out of the field and into the office. His office staff of nine includes many valuable positions, including a full-time controller CMA and a full-time cabinet millwork designer that works with the clients one on one to design their dream kitchen. In January 2014, Full House added a full-time interior designer that deals directly with the clients to help them pick out their selections and finalize the drawings. One solid team, inside and outside of the office, takes care of each client from project commencement to completion. “We employ our own trades and a few handselected sub-trades,” explains Jaenen. “Your typical contractor has all subcontractors, but we employ all the trades on staff as full time employees. This includes our four cabinet makers in our shop, our office staff and 20 very top-skilled trades in the field. It’s huge because you have full control of the schedule and the quality. Our workmanship is consistent.” Consistency is key for Full House Renovations. It’s what Jaenen has built his company and his reputation on. “The biggest problem is there is so much work in Alberta and that people forget
Full House Renovations | 25 Years | Page 1