The Foothills Builder Series: Owen Gardiner Construction

We are continuing to shine the spotlight on the custom home builders behind the beautiful homes building community at The Foothills. Today we are talking with husband-and-wife duo, Owen and Pam Gardiner, Owners of Owen Gardiner Construction.

The Foothills: We are seeing OGC signs a lot these days, so business is clearly busy, but can you start at the beginning and tell us how Owen Gardiner Construction came to be?

Owen: We started our company in 2005. Growing up in a family of engineers, entrepreneurs, and healthcare workers, I developed a love for building and creating. I would spend countless hours in the shop with my dad, who was an engineer and small business owner. From a young age, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in building things. Throughout my upbringing, I was taught the values of compassion, empathy, and generosity towards others by many people in my life. They also emphasized the importance of delivering high-quality and impartial goods and the significance of teamwork in achieving outcomes that benefit everyone involved. At a young age, I was able to save some money. While many people my age were out buying a new truck, my family and employer at the time encouraged me to invest in property and build my own home. So, I did that at 19 years old and never looked back!  From there I started building spec homes and now, I build a combination of spec and custom homes.  I used to design and draft my own plans; however, I have since transitioned in to working with some great draftsmen. Nevertheless, my prior experience and understanding allows me to envision what I want and leave it to the experts to put that vision on paper!

The Foothills: Was this or is this at all a family business? 

Owen: I started this business on my own when I was dating my now-wife Pam. We expanded the business over time, which would not have been possible without the unwavering support of my entire family. Pam previously worked as a Labour and Delivery Nurse while concurrently contributing to the business and it’s behind the scenes operation. As our family and business developed over time, we both decided to work full time for our business.

The Foothills: How do you staff your team? Do you have a big full-time staff or do you onboard as needed per project/other trades?

Owen: We typically have between 12-20 full time staff members. This allows us to run 5 full time crews who can take on various jobs from excavating to finishing and everything in between. Additionally, we have a team of wonderful tradespeople that we subcontract out for their specialties.

The Foothills: How do you both split your responsibilities?

Pam: Owen does the majority of the work with the clients to see their vision come to life, assisting with understanding the lot and how to build a home that maximizes the benefits of the landscape, house plans, estimating, and ensuring that the project moves along smoothly. I manage the behind pieces including accounting, HR, permitting, contracts, editing Owen 's emails - haha, and keep things moving along smoothly behind the scenes.

The Foothills: Do you solely do custom homes, or do you also take other projects - Millwork? Multifamily? Commercial? Renovations? 

Owen: We primarily build single family homes but do take on renovations and additions from time to time.

The Foothills: Is there a certain style of build or philosophy that is unique to you in the world of custom homes? 

Pam: We have a passion for building West Coast homes in a variety of styles, from modern to craftsman style, and enjoy creating unique features in each build. If you’ve met Owen, he’s hard not to love. He has a remarkable ability to ease stress and bring a smile to people’s faces, making him stand out. Building a home can be a very stressful process, but we love finding solutions and bringing our clients’ dreams to life. Owen adds a touch of fun to even the most tedious tasks and believes in supporting everyone to live their best life. As we are a small team, you’ll have the opportunity to speak with both Owen and me throughout the build process. Our size allows us to maintain excellent quality control, adhere to timelines, and build trusting relationships with our clients. While working in the Central Island and developing strong relationships with our trades, we have established a good reputation for our timeliness and highest quality standards.

The Foothills: Turning to The Foothills, how many homes have you and/or are you currently working on? 

Pam: We have completed 5 homes in the Foothills and are looking forward to breaking ground on our next project there later this month.

The Foothills: Are there any unique challenges building in such a unique landscape The Foothills provides? On the other side of the coin - the benefits? 

Pam: We love building in the Foothills because it encompasses some of our favourite aspects of island living! Ocean views and endless forest spaces in your backyard! In particular, we enjoyed the challenge of designing a unique home for a challenging site on Copley Ridge that was often overlooked. We worked in collaboration with our designer to bring our vision to fruition and were so please with the end result!

The Foothills: Turning to you personally, what does life look like for you and your family when you aren’t working….if there is a time you aren’t working. Favourite places you like to eat at, where do you play - bike/surf/run? 

Pam: When we’re not working, we enjoy spending time outdoors with our three children. We have a few favourite activities, such as mountain biking on the island and snowboarding at Mount Washington. We love exploring the coast and remote areas of BC by boat, where we can surf, paddleboard, and camp. We also love to travel, letting our kids see and experience the beauty in different parts of the world and also knowing that there is no place like home on Vancouver Island!

The Foothills: I believe you are closely related to the Rugged Coast Society. Can you share your involvement in that group or any other community philanthropy that OGC supports. 

Owen: I am one of the founding members of the Rugged Coast Research Society, which started as a group of our friends with a shared passion for the ocean and environment. Rugged Coast was created with a mission to protect and restore the natural and coastal habitats of British Columbia & we absolutely love the work we have been able to do with Rugged Coast. Initially, we volunteered our funds, time and resources to map areas of plastic accumulation in remote areas. This information helped Rugged Coast focus clean-up efforts but since then, Rugged Coast has expanded to cover a wide range of activities promoting the health and restoration of our coastline. To date Rugged Coast has removed over 100,000kgs of debris from mapping efforts. We also work to support other community organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Loaves and Fishes, and local parks and sports teams.

To learn more about the work that Owen and Pam do, check out Owen Gardiner Construction.