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Weekly UpdatesA northeastern Ontario entrepreneur is hawking an environmental-friendly spray-on application to keep more countertops out of the landfill.
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Tom Jutras, owner of Northern Eco-countertops, was taking to the road this past spring hitting the home and garden show circuit extolling the virtues of this green application for kitchen and bathrooms. He's a regional dealer and technician in applying a water-based spray solution which patches up damaged counter-tops, then entirely resurfaces it.
Based in Latchford, just south of Temiskaming Shores on Highway 11, his coverage area includes that area, plus Timmins, North Bay and Sudbury Jutras was managing chain restaurants in North Bay, Orillia and Barrie before he was turned onto the product last summer while attending a boat show in Orillia.
He tagged along with a technician, who is also the Canadian distributor, on a couple of house calls to watch the application before buying a kit himself last fall and started working the Simcoe County area. He has relocated North and is targeting property management companies, nonprofit and government housing corporations.
"I've been going to paint stores and real estate companies and many people don't realize something like this is out there," Jutras said.
The selling point to green-conscious home owners is that it's a water-based spray with no harmful fumes or VOC's (volatile organic compounds) given off. The solution works in kitchens, bathrooms and office reception areas on old arborite, laminate and wood tops. A process is expected out soon for ceramic tiles. What attracted him to the product was that it extended the longevity of previously chipped or cracked countertops that normally people would throw out and replace. Once in a landfill, moisture will penetrate a countertop and the toxic chemicals inside, such as urea formaldehyde resin, are released. For now, Northern Eco-Counter-tops is a one-man operation. Jutras' objective is to hire a lead man within 12 months and a couple of helpers.
He doesn't believe a slumping economy will cool off the home renovation market. He attributes that to the presence of many older homes in Northern Ontario and if anything, this is a cheaper solution versus the cost of replacing an entire countertop.
"This is one-third the cost of replacing an actual countertop."
An application costs $18 per square foot and averages between $500 and $600.
A technician will sand and scrap the countertop, and dress up any cracks with wood filler before rolling on a primer coat. Once it's dry, there's a spray-on colour coat applied followed by a sealant. The finish comes in 45 colours. It's all done within a few hours.
Within 24 hours the counter can be used for "light usage," - meaning leave the microwave and coffee maker off it--and within a week is about 95 per cent cured.
www.ecocountertops.ca
By IAN ROSS
Northern Ontario Business
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