About April & Dan
Hi, we’re April and Dan, and together we’re Making this Home:
That’s right, this patch of grass is the site of our dream home (along with a few other homes, some of which we’re also involved with building).
But don’t worry, we’ve done this before!
Here’s what we’ve been up to together in home space the over the past 19 years:
- Rented and made our first apartment livable back in 2006 (never again!);
- Purchased and upgraded a new-build townhome from a large, commercial builder in 2011;
- Bought, gutted, and renovated our current 1986 fixer-upper bungalow;
- Helped Dan’s parents tear down a deteriorated cottage and rebuild it from the foundation up in 2021;
- Been a part of the team building and selling custom homes in our town since 2020;
- Bought land in our hometown (a portion of what’s pictured above) to build our own dream home during the 2024/2025 building season.
Of course, we couldn’t have done all of that without some special expertise and knowledgeable friends in the trades; and that’s where Dan’s career and knowledge come into play.
Dan is a Master Electrician in Ontario, Canada, who has 20+ years of construction experience focused on new home builds and home renovations.
He’s one of two owners behind 4 Wire Electrical, Ottawa’s leading electrical contractor.
Dan and his business partner, Marc, also build and flip custom homes in the area.
About this Site
In addition to building our dream home, we’re also building Making this Home, just for you!
Sure, this website will document our journey building our dream home from the foundation up, but we are developing it to also become one of the best, and easiest to understand resources for you as you plan to build or renovate your own home too.
And don’t worry, April’s done this before!
April is a writer, author, and online marketer with 15+ years of experience writing for newspapers and magazines, building online authority websites, and publishing books.
She has a diploma in journalism and a post-graduate diploma in book and magazine publishing.
You can find links to her many projects on thewriteduffy.com.
Follow & Connect with Us
We’re here for you, so let’s connect, and don’t be afraid to reach out and tell us what you’re building; we’d love to hear about it!