FAMILY GETS ‘FEEL-GOOD’ HOME AS BLACK MOULD BANISHED
Joshua Svatek had been struggling with allergies since moving to Ottawa almost nine years ago.
He had all the common symptoms — sneezing, sore eyes, and a stuffed nose — in addition to pounding headaches that began when he woke up.
The symptoms would likely had worsened if he hadn’t chosen to renovate his home near Westboro Beach.
Turns out it wasn’t just allergies. He was feeling the effects of having an invasion of black mould in the ceiling of his bedroom.
“It had clearly been growing there for a long period of time,” said veteran renovator Herb Lagois who discovered the mould. Lagois calls it instinct but as soon as he saw proof of condensation on the couple’s bedroom ceiling and heard about Svatek’s symptoms, he knew.
After discovering the mould, the homeowners made a quick decision to do a major renovation rather than a simpler one they had originally been considering.
“Particularly with young kids, we didn’t want to mess around with the mould and so that made the decision to entirely remove the old roof and do an extensive rework of the upper floor an easy one,” said Svatek who lives with his wife and two young daughters.
Their post-war home was built in the late 1940s and like many houses of that era, it was small and cramped. Their two children shared an upstairs bedroom and all four shared a tiny bathroom.
The home was barely recognizable on the inside after Lagois and his team at Lagois Design-BuildRenovate spent about six months transforming the space. What was once a dark, dingy home became bright, spacious and modern.
Lagois built an addition on the rear of the house, adding about 840 square feet. This created enough space to allow for another bedroom and updated bathrooms, one for the children and one for the parents.
The floor in the new master bedroom was raised to create higher ceilings on the main floor, which now features an attractive openconcept kitchen, living room and dining area.
Lagois said he was most excited about integrating natural light into the home.
“I’m a firm believer in indoor/outdoor integration. I love natural light. I think it makes a big difference in our psyche and our everyday living,” he said. “I love the fact we were able to achieve that. It’s a bright, open, airy space. It’s a feel-good space.”
The character of the existing home was maintained in parts of the design, such as the original staircase, existing flooring and millwork.
Similarly, the exterior kept its overall appearance but was updated with an extended front porch, updated back porch and the addition at the rear.
“We really wanted our house to feel consistent with the architecture of the neighbourhood,” said Svatek.
The family and Lagois worked closely throughout the renovation process and while Svatek said it was exciting he also found it a little scary — understandable considering the entire upper floor was stripped and the roof was removed.
“As the house came together, however, we were happier and happier,” said Svatek. “It was instantly ‘our home’ the moment we moved back in. Even though it was a pretty radical renovation it still felt like the same house, just better.”
As for his health, Svatek is feeling better.
He’s back to just regular old allergies, now that the mould has been eradicated.
It was instantly ‘our home’ the moment we moved back in. Even though it was a pretty radical renovation it still felt like the same house, just better.