By Julie Canepa • Photos by Jessica McCafferty
There is a domino effect that occurs once a homeowner has voiced the desire, hope and dream for expanding their home. One of the early, important steps in making that dream a reality is the foundation. That is when the phone rings at the provisional office of Complete Concrete on the Military Turnpike in West Chazy. Often, it is the familiar voice of James Moser of Moser Engineering calling owners Daryl Peryer and Guy Peryea.
The relationship between these building professionals is tried and trusted, built over 12 years. Peryer and Peryea know Moser’s designs are always simple, easy to follow and specific to the jobsite. They discuss how the foundation contractors will approach certain aspects of the master bedroom and bath addition for an existing home in the area. This type of project is firmly squared in Peryea and Peryer’s wheelhouse. They are a perfect fit for the job.
Skill Building
The partners who make up Complete Concrete have been friends since high school. Both West Chazy natives, Peryea and Peryer worked in the construction industry for years before going out on their own. Peryea cut his teeth on foundation work in high school and then on and off after graduation. Later in his career he became a union contractor in Plattsburgh. Peryer’s introduction to the trade started the summer after he graduated from high school. “I worked summers and weekends for a local foundation company out of West Chazy while I was at SUNY Plattsburgh and for two years after graduating,” he said.
In the summer of 1997, the contractor Peryea was working for experienced a work shortage. “Guy approached me and asked if I was interested in starting my own foundation company,” said Peryer. “We decided to move forward and work under the name Complete Concrete. We spent July and August buying equipment.
Working to Your Strengths
With their combined years of experience working on jobs throughout the region, the transition to running their own business was smooth. Both owners had watched and learned from their previous employer’s successes and from their mistakes. A steady flow of work followed, and they have not looked back. “We try to stay in our niche,” said Peryer.
That niche is residential and small commercial foundations, additions, garages, and the occasional inground pool. “Most of our work comes from repeat contractors,” said Peryer. “We get work from excavation contractors as well.” They also get referrals from architects and engineers. For James Moser, when considering who to refer for a job like the metaphorical master bedroom project, Peryea and Peryer are top of mind.
“Complete Concrete has always been very responsive and does excellent work,” said Moser. “It is important for the foundation contractor and engineer to be on the same page and Complete Concrete will contact me if they have any questions or see any possible issues with the plan.”
Work/Flow
“Excavation contractors are the first on site in any concrete project,” explains Peryer. “Once excavation prep is done, we are the next step in the building process.” It is rare for the pair to arrive at a project and be met with a problem they have not seen before. But challenges do arise.
There are rare times when Peryer and Peryea have arrived on site to work on an addition to an existing home to find the foundation is “out of square.” In non-contractor-ese that means that the corners and edges are not forming perfect 90° angles or parallel lines. The risks of proceeding with a foundation under those circumstances might result in structural weakness, difficulty fitting walls and trim together, and uneven surfaces.
The fix? “We’ve had to involve the architect and the framer to see how best to proceed with the foundation for the new addition,” said Peryer. “We want to be sure that our foundation is square.”
Can We Build It?
Like most businesses in the region, the partners have found it difficult to find skilled labor. “Concrete work is labor intensive which is the biggest challenge in finding laborers,” said Peryer. At its busiest, the company had five people in its employ. Currently, they have one full-time employee, Mike Generoux, who has been with Complete Concrete for over ten years.
“We only get involved with projects we know we can successfully handle based on our labor force,” said Peryer. “We cater to our repeat contractors and take on any other projects we can to keep a full schedule. Smaller is better,” said Peryea. A master bedroom and ensuite bath project fits perfectly within the duo’s comfort zone.
Solid Footings
Footings are the mainstay of foundation construction. They provide structural support for the base of a building and are typically made of concrete poured into an excavated trench and reinforced with rebar (steel reinforcing rods). “The type of concrete and the rebar specifications are determined by the engineer/ architect,” said Peryer. “Specs for residential construction are pretty standard as to concrete strength and rebar size and layout.”
Peryea and Peryer source approximately 95% of their concrete locally from R. Deso Ready Mix Concrete. “They helped us out from day one,” said Peryea. “They gave us an account to charge concrete on a monthly basis, which was a huge part of getting us off and running.” Because the pair bought concrete exclusively from R. Deso, they also receive project referrals from them. “We couldn’t have asked for a better working relationship,” said Peryer.
While the concrete quality has remained top notch, the price has tripled through no fault of the distributor. Pandemic shortages and supply chain issues challenged all sectors of the construction industry. Rebar prices have remained relatively the same.
Nuts and Bolts
The specs for the addition of a master bedroom and bath are typically straightforward, but recent trends can come into play. “Snowbirds are interested in building single-story homes with no basement,” said Peryer. Known in the industry as “slab-on-grade,” the foundation is a concrete slab poured directly on the ground over a layer of Styrofoam insulation. Slab-on-grade works best for homes with a smaller footprint and can be more cost and heat efficient. “It’s a more modern approach,” said Peryea. “There are no heat ducts, therefore no dust and they use less concrete.” Many homeowners opt to have radiant heating installed in their floors.
For a job like the master bedroom, Peryer and Peryea arrive at an excavated work site with their most trusted piece of equipment, the boom truck. “We use it to carry baskets that hold twenty-two form panels,” said Peryea. The boom allows the partners to easily put the forms for the foundation in and take them out of the trenches before and after a foundation is poured. In their early days, they physically carried panels in and out of the hole one at a time.
At The End of the Day
The fun part of Peryer and Peryea’s work are the one-off jobs, like creating an eight-foot-tall seawall with a ramp running from the paved road to the lake level for a homeowner who needed a place to land a sea plane. They love a logistical challenge like the one posed by a logging bridge that required heavy rebar, thicker walls, and bigger footings to withstand the weight of the logging trucks that passed over it.
On the job hazards include the wear and tear on the body of the workers, but the partners say the perks outweigh any downside. “The homeowner is happy to see us come in,” said Peryea. From mid-April to mid-December, the patrons are full speed ahead. When the off season arrives, they breathe a sigh of relief. “We get about a hundred days off,” said Peryea.
Peryer and Peryea have learned how to be good foundation contractors. “Don’t start too early in the morning and be respectful of the neighbors.” They follow those rules whether they are working on a small residential addition or a larger commercial project. “Probably the one thing I have learned is to be honest with people,” said Peryer. “Don’t tell someone you’re going to be at their job tomorrow and then not show up for a week. People respect honesty. Building a house or adding on to their home is one of the biggest investments most people make in their life.”
In the local developments of Heritage Heights off the Military Turnpike and Vintage Estates off the Wallace Hill Road, the partners can proudly point out dozens of homes they serviced. They are proud their work is standing the test of time.
“There are not a lot of second chances in this line of work,” said Peryer. “But if you do it right, the lifetime of a foundation can easily be a hundred years or more.” Now that is a lasting foundation.
Complete Concrete
2836 Military Turnpike
P.O. Box 133
West Chazy, NY 12992
518 562-8700
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