Dave Gray
Gone Fishing
Renovation ContractorWhen he’s not on the tools, he likes nothing better than to drop a line in the water and be able to yell, “Fish on!” Here’s the story of how he’s managed to combine his two passions.
Dun For You Home Improvements
Welland, Ont.
Many readers will already be familiar with Don Vloet, of Dun For You Home Improvements in Welland, Ont. He’s attended our Renovators’ Roundtable every year – where he’s been a guest speaker – and has frequently contributed articles to the magazine. When he’s not on the tools, he likes nothing better than to drop a line in the water and be able to yell, “Fish on!” Here’s the story of how he’s managed to combine his two passions.
In 2006, I was doing a second job for one of the very first clients I’d had back when I started out in 2003. While I was there, she got a phone call from her brother asking if she wanted to partner with him and buy a fish camp. Back then I had know idea what a fish camp was, so she explained what it was, and that it was in the middle of nowhere on Lake Manitou in northwestern Ontario.
Fast-forward a few years and I’d gotten hooked on fishing. I was with a friend at the local Sportsmen’s Show when lo and behold, who do I see standing in an aisle calling out, “Don, is that you?” One thing led to another and before you know it I was up at her family’s fish camp in late July.
While there, I meet the brother, Duane. He tells me about his vision of having a wood-fired sauna and hot tub sitting at the edge of the lake. “I hear lots of great stuff from my sister about you. Do you think you would be interested in building it for me?”
That September I drove back up to the camp with my truck and tools. It’s about a 20-hour drive from where I live – you actually cross a time zone – and the drive ends on a logging road, followed by an hour-long cruise from the boat launch.
I guess I passed because since the initial build it has become a tradition that I go up every year to do a project around camp and stay there for a week while meeting great people and building relationships! For me, it’s peace and tranquility. No cellphone ringing, no email, no Facebook. Just trees, rocks, and water. And lots of fish.
Never in a million years did I think I would have built a sauna, deck, and 24’ x 36’ cabin in the middle of nowhere, all because I worked hard for one of my first clients and in turn get to play harder in their wilderness playground!
Don Vloet won a Porter-Cable 20V MAX cordless brad nailer, courtesy of Porter-Cable.
We’d like to make sharing our readers’ passions an ongoing part of the magazine. If you think you’ve got a better tale to tell, send it to Allan Britnell: allan@renocontractor.ca.
