Blog
Building an energy-efficient home in Canada
For many Canadians, energy efficiency is not top-of-mind when they imagine their ‘dream home.’ But Daragh Hayes was part of a growing number of Canadians who do dream about building an energy-efficient home. With the help of Just Working Construction, Daragh’s dream...
Inside High-Performance Construction Innovations (The Future of Building)
Just Working Construction's (JWC) project, the Hayes Passive House Design, exemplifies the growing demand for energy efficiency and the reduction of operational costs, highlighting the importance of integrating advanced building materials and techniques into...
Passive House Case Study: A Journey Towards a Sustainable Future
The story of Daragh and Yuki Hayes takes place in London, Ontario and starts with a desire to recover and rebuild sustainably after a devastating house fire. This unfortunate event catalyzed their exploration into passive housing, guided by the expertise of Just...
What is a Fourplex? A Community-Centric Solution to Housing Challenges
In Kitchener and Guelph's evolving housing market, fourplexes emerge as a beacon of hope. The mayors of these cities propose allowing the construction of fourplexes on residential lots, an innovative step to address affordability concerns and supply issues, especially...
Creating meaningful pathways to employment for newcomers: Milton’s story
Milton was a licensed architect in Colombia with 20 years’ experience. However, he understood that employment opportunities in Colombia were limited for him and his young family. For years, he explored many possible avenues to use his qualifications and experience in...
Housing for New Immigrants: A Vision of Community and Support
Every year, countless newcomers arrive in Canada, seeking a fresh start and a place to call home. However, their challenges, especially in terms of housing, are immense. This is where the vision of Just Homes, an initiative by Just Working Construction, comes into...
Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation – Restoration of the Council House
The Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, located in southern Ontario, is a vibrant community with a rich history and cultural heritage. Among its many landmarks, the Council House, originally opened on September 15, 1882, stands as a symbol of unity,...
The Benefits of Passive House Construction: A New Era of Energy Efficiency
Embracing the benefits of passive house living is more than just a trend; it's a commitment to sustainable living and a brighter future. This is a sentiment deeply shared by Jeff Van Gyssel, president of Just Working Construction, and Adam Vandersleen, our dedicated...
Jesus in the Workplace: A Journey of Faith and Restoration
You'll notice something different when you step onto a Just Working Construction site. It's not just the hum of activity or the precision of our work but the underlying ethos that guides us - a commitment to embodying Jesus in the workplace.A Second Chance Jeff Van...
The Working Centre Project: Affordable Housing for Women who are immigrants (or single mothers)
Over the past year, Just Working Construction completed a major project at 44-54 Queen Street South. They designed and constructed twenty-one apartment units in downtown Kitchener. The project is part of The Working Centre’s intensive efforts over three decades to...
For love of the family: building a backyard home
Ryan Hoefler is passionate about creating beautiful living spaces. After three years, he has almost finished building a backyard home and has added a duplex to his house. For years he dreamed about building a backyard home to care for his family’s changing needs. When...
Breaking down barriers: Women in the construction trades
There are women who have the aptitude, the desire, and the need to work in the construction trades. They know that the construction industry pays well for both skilled and non-skilled labour. And the pay gap for women in construction is narrowing. Yet women make up...
Love Wears a Safety Hat: JWC Wins The Elizabeth Witmer Small Business Health and Safety Award
Jess Van Es, office manager at Just Working Construction, returned a call from the WSIB the Tuesday after Thanksgiving 2022. She was astonished to learn that JWC had won the Elizabeth Witmer Small Business Health and Safety Leadership Award. In fact, the company had...
A big vision: building a multi-generational home in New Hamburg
How the dream of building a multi-generational home was born in a quiet New Hamburg neighbourhood Jeff and Natalie Van Gyssel, the owners of Just Working, wanted to renovate their 1953 New Hamburg bungalow to make it energy efficient. They were also ready for a design...
Reconstructing an Old Mill: Championing Social Development in New Hamburg
What does energy-efficient construction and design have to do with social development? Jeff knew he was in the right place when he attended the Passive Housing Initiative US (PHIUS) conference this fall. The conference was about more than just energy-efficient...
The Benefits of Hiring New Canadian Immigrants
The past decade has seen a dramatic increase in the number of immigrants seeking work in Canada. Canada is a highly desirable destination for those seeking refuge, due to our need for highly skilled workers. Canada is also recognized as a country with a strong economy...
Tiny Houses in Ontario, Canada
In recent years we have heard a lot about the tiny house movement. It sounds enticing to live in a small trendy dwelling with a small amount of debt or debt-free. But is it practical, and will your municipality or city allow it? Many cities are opening their eyes to...
Humble Beginnings: Good Things Take Time to Build
There’s usually nothing impressive about watching someone laying down bricks, but when you see the finished product, if done well it can make quite a statement. Before you get to the roof though, you need to first build a strong foundation and then the supporting...
New Country, new Dreams… No Jobs-Facing a harsh reality
Let’s face it Canada is a young country and currently with the COVID-19 crisis the future of the economy seems uncertain. Our population now compared to our geographical size and even other large countries is not that large really. We have lots of land to build on and...
Just Fairview: Hope
I'm not going to lie, I'm exhausted.This girl is done living in a 25ft trailer.The colder it gets outside the smaller it feels. This thing here has been dubbed the fireblaster by my youngest.This might reflect my own insecurities about cooking with propane. BUT within...
Just Fairview: My Team
I was in a work seminar last year and they talked about how there's 3 different types of employee that's needed in every organization. The first was an innovator. That's Jeff. Dream big or go home. He likes to try new things and push people to come up with a better...
Just Fairview: Pending Rain
Last week was an eventful week at the house. One of those weeks where i could visit the house every evening and watch it transform before my eyes. The plan was originally to take the roof off of the house the thursday before, and have the 2nd story and a new roof...
Just Fairview: Temporary Home
This is officially my home for the foreseeable future. I might say my home for the summer months, but realistically I'm here until at least September. I should have prepared to be here until October, but I guess we'll all get a couple new sweaters & blankets from...
Just Fairview: Good Riddance to the Yellow Bricks
I never did like those yellow bricks. I think I have talked about painting them since the day we moved in. We always had big ideas floating around, so instead of updating the ugly we ended up adding beige windows and a corner of grey siding. This house was confused,...