Posted at 12:00 p.m.
Andréanne Boulé and Jacob Verret were already living in Saint-Lambert, in a semi-detached house, when a duplex caught their attention. It was in the midst of the pandemic, in April 2021, at a time when properties were selling at lightning speed. After making sure with the municipality of Saint-Lambert that they could transform the building into a single-family home, they made an offer to purchase. Everything then happened at lightning speed.
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PHOTO BRIGITTE POISSON, PROVIDED BY CENTRIS
Facade of the former duplex when it was put up for sale in April 2021
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PHOTO BRIGITTE POISSON, PROVIDED BY CENTRIS
The court lacked love when Andréanne Boulé and Jacob Verret bought the property.
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PHOTO BRIGITTE POISSON, PROVIDED BY CENTRIS
Here is the old kitchen on the ground floor of the duplex. The new kitchen has been fitted out in the same location.
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PHOTO BRIGITTE POISSON, PROVIDED BY CENTRIS
View of the entrance and hallway of the old accommodation, upstairs, where the new staircase is now.
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY ANDRÉANNE BOULÉ
Very manual, Jacob Verret has put a lot of work into it. In particular, he demolished the old chimney, which was condemned.
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY ANDRÉANNE BOULÉ
The interior has been completely redone, including electricity and plumbing.
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY ANDRÉANNE BOULÉ
The temporary kitchen proved to be very useful, while waiting for the delivery of the new cupboards.
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY ANDRÉANNE BOULÉ
Here is the living room, before the finishing of the fireplace and the delivery of the custom-made furniture.
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“The fact of carrying out a complete major renovation pleased us a lot, indicates Andréanne Boulé. It was clear when buying the house that we were going to do this project. We just didn’t know how fast we were going to do it, because there were tenants. It was quicker than expected, because the two accommodations quickly freed up. »
The parents of two young children fell in love with the yard, which was bigger than the one they had. They also liked the place where the duplex was located, built around 1950. It was not this one, as such, that seduced them. But they saw its potential.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Andréanne Boulé is passionate about decoration and Jacob Verret is very manual. They worked closely as a team to complete their project. Little Flavie joined the family when the work was almost finished, while the custom-made furniture had not yet been delivered.
The project was done backwards. We had made the purchase offer when we put our house up for sale, specifying a takeover at the beginning of September. We thought that a good part of the work would be finished. The renovations were too extensive to live there.
Andréanne Boulé, co-owner of the residence
Andréanne is passionate about decoration and her husband is very manual. They had a good idea of what they were looking for. They had no intention of touching the structure, the foundation or the brick, which was still in good condition. They knew on the other hand that they had to change all the windows. Anticipating waiting times, they bought them before having the interior design plans. A great idea. The windows, ordered in June, were delivered four months later, in October.
Without delay, Andréanne contacted interior designer Nancy Lachance, of NancyInDesign, who had done a small project in her former home. “It had clicked between us, explains the owner. I get involved a lot, from A to Z, and she understands where I want to go. She validated my choices, she guided me and showed me other options. She is used to working with an architectural technologist, who quickly made technical plans. »
In April, the owners also booked the services of a contractor, who had carried out work on their premises. Luckily, Cédric could start the renovations in June.
Demolition began as soon as the last tenants left. Everything has been destroyed inside, on the three levels, each of which has an area of 950 sq.2 (88.25m2).
“We had carte blanche, but we still had to respect the square of the house and we had certain limitations in relation to the structure, specifies Andréanne. We knew, for example, that we would change the place of the staircase. My husband, who is an engineer by training, positioned it where it was easier to put it, structurally speaking. »
Jacob devoted a lot of time to the management of the construction site. The biggest challenge? “When we knocked down the load-bearing walls on the ground floor to have an open area, he reveals. There were 600lb steel beams to tuck in. As it was an old duplex, it was not easy. We didn’t have three weeks to erect the new structure, it was done in three days. We had no choice, at the speed at which we were going. I’m an electrical and computer engineer, but I have good civil engineer friends who did the structural plans. »
“It was a project that evolved a lot over the weeks,” recalls Adréanne. Nancy contributed every element, in every room. We went shopping together for ceramics, plumbing, etc. I often had to make decisions very quickly. I relied on his experience. We are also grateful to our family and friends for the hours worked, their support and their advice. »
They delayed their original move date and rented a nearby condo for three months, until November. All of the bespoke furniture, for the upstairs bathroom, living room, kitchen and entryway were not delivered until March 2022, after the birth of their baby Flavie. Part of the old kitchen, which had been temporarily preserved, has proved to be very useful in the meantime.
They are happy to have moved in, after several hectic months. They are also happy to have worked so well as a team. They are even planning a second phase of work… a little later.
In short
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Andréanne Boulé and Jacob Verret are particularly proud of their cuisine, which meets their expectations in all respects.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The owners have removed load-bearing walls on the ground floor. They chose windows with a wooden frame on the inside. These give a warm character to their decor, which is rather contemporary. A wood fireplace has also been installed in the living room.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The original square of the house has been respected. The staircase has changed places. It was positioned where it was easier to put it, structurally speaking.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The staircase gives access to the bedrooms, upstairs.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
A single, very spacious bathroom has been fitted upstairs.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Adele’s bedroom is one of the three bedrooms created upstairs.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Each room has been carefully planned, despite the speed with which the renovation has been carried out. Here is the bathroom on the ground floor.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The children have their little corner, bathed in light, in the living room.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The owners even transformed the yard during the summer of 2022. It now has an inground pool and a terrace.
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Budget: $350,000
Indispensable: three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, a bathroom on the ground floor, a basement, finished, with a bathroom and two bedrooms (which serve as an office).
Indispensable: windows with wooden interior framing, which give a warm touch to the decor, which is rather contemporary.
A great surprise : the discovery that it was not necessary to install a French drain. Savings: $25,000
Duration of work: from the beginning of June until November 2021
Interior design: Nancy Lachance, NancyInDesign
Kitchen designer: Mélanie Brodeur, Kitchen Bröder.
Projected phase 2: add a garage with a room above. This will become the master bedroom. There will then be an adjoining bathroom.