D&G Home Improvements

Jeff Green | Apr 01, 2019

Darrel Gerus has been running his contracting business, D&G Total Home Improvements, out of Arden, for the past ten years, but he has been working in the area for about 20 years,

“D & G is a varied construction business. From general construction, yard landscaping and maintenance, to site preparation. We do everything,” said Darrell, in an interview from his home near Arden.

Aside from working on construction jobs throughout Central Frontenac and beyond, Darrel, and his company, have been participating with the Friends of Arden in promoting the services and community activities in Arden and the surrounding lakes.

And the Frontenac CFDC has been with him along the way, providing loans for equipment purchases when necessary, including a loan which enabled D&G to purchase a full-sized truck recently to add to the inventory of equipment that keeps D&G crews busy throughout the construction season.

“For a contractor, a reliable truck is a must.! Being able to get to a job site in all weather conditions, be it pulling a trailer with supplies or a backhoe certainly benefits my company.

“The CFDC has been really helpful. Sue Theriault at the office has been our contact and she’s been great to work with, as have the business officers in the office that we have dealt with over the years,” he said.

With D&G, Darrel is committed to maintaining quality workmanship for all the jobs that the company takes on, and he runs a four-member crew in the construction season each year, employing a mixture of experienced carpenters and younger workers.

“We are always looking for young workers who want to make a start in the construction business. There are lots of opportunities in the market in the skilled trades, including carpentry, and one of the great things about running a company like D&G is that we can provide training in a number of different work environments.

”With the contacts that D&G has developed over the years, Darrel has been moving more into the role of a General Contractor.

“It’s taken me ten years to assemble a group of excellent, very professional, sub-contractors to work with. For new home construction, for example, we can sub-out jobs like the electrical and the plumbing and roofing, and, with our own crew and equipment, it all adds up to a good way to build a house on schedule and with all the proper warranties and insurance in place for customers,” he said.

Having worked with a series of building inspectors over the years, Darrel says that what he appreciates is consistency and clarity from the department.

“They’ve generally been pretty good to work with over the years,” he said. “It’s all part of the process. For us it goes along with being fully licensed and fully insured. We like to keep everything above board.”

Transparency is key for Darrel, which is why he brings copies of all of his documentation with him the first time he meets with a client to look at or quote on a job.

“Anyone with a hammer and a pick-up truck can call themselves a contractor, but that does not mean that the customer will get what they expect at the end of the day. In our case, we take everything into account when we quote on a job, and that includes making a profit.

“What I like about the construction business is that it is a creative way to make a living, it is profitable, and the customer gets a good product that they can enjoy for a long time,” he said.

Beyond that, Darrel also has a favourite kind of job.

“I personally love doing fences and decking,” he said.

“Even though there isn’t that much call for fencing in our region, we have all the equipment to do any kind of fence, even chain link fencing for commercial applications. But we do a lot of decks, of all shapes and sizes.”

To contact D&G, phone 613-583-0146 or email