STAYING SMALL
Legault keeps building on family legacy of producing a handful of homes each year
Go big or go home? More like stay small and build homes.
At least that’s the way it’s done by Legault Builders, founded by the late Lucien Legault in 1976 and now run by his son Luc Legault. (Legault explained that his father had been a home builder since 1949 — hence the tag “since 1949” on the company website — but started this particular company a little more than 40 years ago.)
Legault prides itself on being a small builder, producing only a handful of homes each year, with lots in and around Orléans being its palette all this time.
The senior Legault passed away in April 2015 at the age of 84.
“He was still on site, even before me, every morning,” Legault said of his dad’s habits right up until the end.
He said his father was “never one who had an interest in going big,” quoting a French-language motto that translates roughly into, “A small train will go far.”
A benefit of dealing with Legault Builders, he said, is that customers deal directly with him — the owner — throughout the whole process: for the sale, during construction and for after-service.
“Even if something goes wrong in a couple of years with the house, even if the warranty is way past, I’m going to be there and help my client,” he said. “If it’s something that should not break or something like that, I won’t even charge a client.”
Legault is on the work site daily. One purpose is to be available for customers. Also, it gives him a chance to ensure subcontractors are doing things correctly. He said the crews don’t mind having the boss around and appreciate him being available for questions.
“There’s always some tweaking needed to be done, some decisions to be made,” he said. “If you’re not there, trades will — not because it’s a bad decision — take a decision, and it might not be the right one for my client.”
Legault said the company does little advertising, depending mostly on word of mouth to attract new customers.
Most of the time, Legault is the only person who works for the company, with subcontractors doing the hands-on construction. Sometimes, he has one or two people helping him during the summer. This summer, his son Patrick has been on staff as he takes a break from mechanical engineering studies at the University of Ottawa. The jury’s still out on whether Patrick joins the family business long-term.
The build rate for Legault has usually been about 15 homes annually, but recently has gone down to as few as three a year. Legault said this is because its focus over the last seven years has been Dream Court, a 20 home cul-de-sac subdivision, just north of where Jeanne D’ Arc Boulevard South intersects with Innes Road. It features custom single-family, two-storey homes and bungalows, ranging in price from about $600,000 to just under $1 million.
Doing custom homes takes a little longer, he said.
“I sit down with the client,” Legault said. “We draw up plans that they like and then we build it. It’s a longer process, for sure, but it’s very rewarding for myself, and also for the client. They actually get what they want.”
As of earlier this month, 11 lots were still available in Dream Court. Seven were occupied, a buyer was to take possession of another by the end this month, and still another will serve as a model home this fall.
Legault said the bungalows and two-storey homes, which range from 1,400 to 3,250 square feet, are almost equally popular, with young families preferring the latter and empty nesters liking the bungalows.
He said Dream Court prices are higher than average, on the surface, but he includes several standard features that would be extra with other builders — things like stone facades, brick walls around the exterior, spray-foam insulation, air conditioners and insulated garage doors with automatic openers.
Gaetan Murray was one of the first residents of Dream Court, taking occupancy of a two-storey home there in May 2011. He has high praise for the quality of his home and his experience dealing with Legault.
“You get to choose everything, from the floors to the tiles to the cabinets,” he said.
“It’s basically like buying a lot anywhere and building it custom yourself. It’s just that you have someone who assists you.”