The owner’s tour | An unexpected resurrection

Owners open the doors of their exceptional homes, offered on the resale market

In the early 2000s, Alain Dubois and Pauline Belec were comfortably settled in a triplex in Boucherville, with no real intention of setting sail. But that’s life: a side road in the Laurentians, an acquaintance who gives you a hint, an old house that pops up, and there you are, hired for 20 years of sawing. “It fell into our hands,” says Mr. Dubois, a master carpenter and general contractor specializing in the restoration of old buildings, who brought this 1903 residence back to life with his wife.

It all started with work to be done on a friend’s cottage in Morin-Heights. A project like the one Alain Dubois has carried out over the 40 years of his career, from Quebec to Ontario via New Jersey. But one day, the materials ran out, and the craftsman took an old road leading to Saint-Sauveur to restock. On the road, a lot covered in “For Sale” signs with, in the background, an old multi-storey building left to its sad fate.

“This is your house, you should buy it,” his friend suggested. Mr. Dubois didn’t see it that way and replied that he had no intention of investing in this run-down property, any more than he intended to move to the Laurentians with his wife, Pauline.

But sometimes our loved ones force fate a little, and the couple’s friend secretly made an appointment with the real estate agent. “When we arrived at the place, there was no one there, but the doors were open. My friend walked around the place and kept telling me: ‘This is your house.’ When the agent arrived on site, I told him I didn’t even need to visit: I have X-rays in my eyes. And … we made an offer, which was approved,” the entrepreneur recalls.

Soul of wood and heart of concrete

Just because you fall in love doesn’t mean you lose your lucidity. Standing in front of this long-abandoned house, the couple knew very well that they were signing up for years of work. In total, two decades. “I could see very well what a mess we were getting ourselves into. Everything had to be redone, it was completely dilapidated. The heating was inadequate, the fireplaces were dangerous. We started with the most urgent. The very next day, I called a company to dig out the artesian well,” says the owner.

Then everything was staggered, year after year. The chimneys were rebuilt, followed by the roof and the attics, redone by Mr. Dubois, with the constant concern of preserving the original architectural style, his specialty.

The restoration of the third floor took three years of work. “The floors were concave by more than 4 inches by 25 feet. They had to be straightened, the beams changed, and reinforced with concrete slabs,” lists the carpenter, who paid particular attention to the wood used: pine floors and new sash windows, to respect the old appearance, hemlock beams (sometimes load-bearing, sometimes exposed, for visual harmony), new insulation with Maibec cladding (real wood paneling).

On the menu, not only renovation, but also an expansion, with an impeccably integrated extension of 4 meters by 9 meters (15 feet by 30 feet) on three levels, with heated floors and a cantilevered balcony. The work also allowed us to probe the soul of the house and discover the secret of its longevity, despite a long neglect. “When we demolished it, we realized that there were concrete walls that had held up the entire frame. The use of this material in 1903 is very surprising!” says Mr. Dubois.

Future

The culmination of these years of work is evident in the photographs of the premises, whatever the rooms. The kitchen is impressive (note the slate counters and the period stove), the staircases remarkable, the attics, charming. The couple was also very moved when The Press contacted him to discuss his project. And we’re not the only ones who’ve taken a closer look.

“Every summer, dozens of people pass by the house, stopping to take pictures and ask us questions,” Alain and Pauline confide. “One time, while we were doing some work on the balcony, a Mercedes pulled up and an elderly English-speaking man got out. He told us, ‘I’m 94 years old and this was our house when I was 4.’ Then he told us the whole story of this old farm. It gave us goosebumps.”

The initial intention was to turn it into a small inn or bed and breakfast, but that would require several more years of construction, which would overflow the cup of an already busy life. So today, the couple is ready to pass the torch. He who once couldn’t see himself leaving Boucherville for the Laurentians will head even further north, between Mont-Laurier and Maniwaki, on a wooded lot where Mr. Dubois once built houses for members of his in-laws.

But this time, he will move into a residence that has already been built. At over 70, you have to enjoy your retirement! “It’s our turn. We’re going to move on to something else, a simple house with a pontoon and a few fishing lines,” they say. Their house, which has been resurrected for years, has now been put up for sale, and “will take very special people who appreciate heritage.”

Hoping that a future buyer’s friend will make a detour through Morin-Heights and point out the old restored house and say: “Look, it’s your house!”

View the property sheet