Our expertise
Plan4 Principal Consultant Gary Martin was a residential contractor for 20 years and continues to advise homeowners and housing professionals about sustainability. Gary's network includes trustworthy and reliable local trades and suppliers. Gary retired his tool belt and graduated with a doctorate in Geography & Environmental Studies from Carleton in 2013. Since 2020 Gary's academic work has focused on flood risk reduction in Canada and Europe. Gary lives in Wakefield, Québec.
We recently had the pleasure of working with Gary Martin to assess our home and property for its environmental and energy strengths and weaknesses. He took a holistic view, spending time to learn about our priorities, usage and future ambitions for our home before moving on to a comprehensive assessment. We were very pleased with his thorough and wide-ranging report which covered everything from energy efficiency measures to climate change impacts, and what we could do to address these. We replaced our old oil furnace with an electric furnace and heat pump, and have been considerably more comfortable this winter. We also had much smaller heating bills. Gary is a well-established and well-respected expert on these matters in the Gatineau Hills. We would not hesitate to consult him again or recommend him to others look for this type of service.
Jim and Jill, Wakefield, QC
We just wanted to let people know about the great service plan4.net can provide for your home. We hired Plan4 to check our home that we purchased in November. We knew the house needed work but no idea where to begin. Thanks to Gary's detailed report we now know where the priorities are and how to fix it to make our home more resilient. So important in our (changing) climate.
Wim and Lorie, Chelsea, QC.
Thanks for the knowledgeable and prompt service you offer. While we had considered some of the issues related to our house’s sustainability in the past, it was great to work with you to think them through in a comprehensive manner. You’ve helped us identify areas where we need to take action to avoid problems as the climate becomes more erratic. For example, thanks to your advice, in the near future we’ll be moving forward on installing battery back-up for our sump pumps, and working on improving the drainage around our house. We’ll also take your advice into consideration to ensure we’re thinking about safety and comfort, but also resilience.
Chris and Peter, Wakefield, QC.
My wife and I engaged Gary Martin to prepare a report for our 15 year old house. We jointly inspected and discussed the house and its setting for approximately 2 hours. We received his report within a week. Though we had given considerable attention to environmental perspectives when building our house, the report was educational, and had we had it then, we might have avoided some mistakes. I therefore particularly recommend Gary’s analysis to those who are in the process of planning a house.
Rolf and Mari, La Peche, QC.