Old School Builders – Learning As They Go

Dave Gervais and Geoffrey Murray have both worked as carpenters, in the trades, and as educators. They both taught in Sharbot Lake, both at Sharbot Lake High School and later at Granite Ridge Education Centre, and retired years ago.

Just over five years ago, they took on a couple of building projects together, and out of that they decided to form a small construction company, Old School Builders, with a few goals in mind.

They wanted to remain active in the workforce on their own terms, they wanted to provide a competitively priced, quality product for customers, and they wanted to give young, would-be carpenters a leg up in the industry.

“When we set up our company, one of the things we worked on was to establish a good, long-term relationship with tradespeople and suppliers that we work with, so we can get projects built without delays, which saves us, and or customers, quite a bit of time and money,” said Gervais, in an interview at the Frontenac News’ office last week.

And they focus not only on using local contractors, but on sourcing building materials locally as well.

There are currently five employees working for Old School, and two of them are recent graduates from Granite Ridge Education Centre.

“The great thing about Granite Ridge. is they provide some of the training for the students while they are in school, and some of the certifications as well. That saves us money because we don’t have to pay the fees and we don’t have to pay our workers while they are at courses either. It’s great for us, and it helps to have workers who are motivated when in school, and when they come to work as well,” he said.

Gervais lives in rural Kingston, south of Battersea and Inverary, while Murray lives close to Sharbot Lake, and they see their company as a Frontenac County business, although they do take on work in Lanark, Stone Mills and Addington Highlands on occasion.

They see their business as circular. They provide employment for local youth, and use local materials to do renovations and new builds in Frontenac County. In that way they are supporting local businesses, and developing the trades in the community. All of this is needed to be able to serve current residents looking to upgrade, as well as new residents coming in either to build new homes, or buy up existing homes and make them more suitable for their own needs.

“We aren’t exactly young, but we still have energy, and passing on our skills to a new generation is something both of us were committed to doing while we were teaching, and now we are able to use our skills in the workplace and still play a mentoring role. It’s something we both enjoy.”

Old School Builders are taking on clients for 2026. To contact them, call 613-777-8451 or look to their website - oldschoolbuilders.ca.