homes by Andre Gagne
Patrick Despatie likes to get down to the foundation of things. In fact, you can say he’s made a career out of it and is probably somewhere underneath the city as you read this. If you have cracked or bowed walls, sloping floors, a basement full of water or feel your house might be sinking, Despatie and Action Restoration is there to patch you up, prop you up and ensure your home is stable no matter what the season.
with each building he works on needing a different course of action.
Despatie doesn’t seem to mind the winter chill as he works in the frigid basement of a Glebe home, proudly showcasing the tools of his trade and pointing out interesting pieces of the house’s foundation that look like they might date back decades.
These are just the kind of challenges Despatie and his crew relish. To them, if they are told it can’t be done they make it happen! Looking underneath the city is a passion for him because each job unveils new surprises and, despite his years of working in the trade, the old buildings in Ottawa continue to provide new learning experiences. Looking at them, he can see back into the past, at the way things worked then and how former craftspeople applied their trade.
As Ottawa’s specialist in foundation repairs, Despatie follows in the footsteps of his great uncles; people he says were the inspiration for starting his business back in 1996.
It’s not easy work though. His toughest job was digging 13 feet THE PROBLEMS OR RESTORE below the British High SOMETHING TO ITS ORIGINAL Commission building STATE SO NO ONE CAN TELL IT on Elgin Street. That WAS A REPAIR. THAT IS FUN TO one took a while. Sometimes, however, ACHIEVE. “I was working in the he comes back up union restoring buildings from these jobs with like the Supreme Court and the Museum interesting finds like a 1930 bottle of of Nature,” he told Ottawa Life, adding Pepsi or a beer bottle made out of clay! that such projects didn’t provide enough work for his taste so he took matters – To Despatie, the most rewarding aspect and bricks and trowels – into his own of his work is coming up with an idea hands. that no one else thought of — he has no problem thinking outside of the box (or His mandate when founding Action the basement) to get the work done. Restoration was a simple one. He wanted to come up with the most cost-effective “It’s just another way to show our way for his customers while ensuring the customers what to expect from Action job was done right. You can’t miss the Restoration,” he said. wit implied in his logo. Here’s a hint: it’s a certain leaning tower in Italy! Check out Actionrest.ca for more information on the services Action A typical job, like his current project in Restoration provides or call 613-294the Glebe, provides numerous challenges 9239 for a free appraisal n He recognized then that there was a strong need for his kind of profession when working on some of the city’s most wellknown landmarks.
PHOTO: ANDRE GAGNE
“It all depends on the nature of the work,” he said. “I will either fix the problems or restore something to its original state so no one can tell it was a repair. That is fun to achieve”.
I WILL EITHER FIX
13 OTTAWALIFE APRIL 2017