By Thomas Smith

“We do deck, dock, and boat house coatings on plywood and concrete coatings on porches. That’s where the name Porch Doctor came from,” said Shannon Hulme, director of project services.

“I moved to Canada seven years ago because of Shannon,” said Mary Hulme, director of sales and marketing. A New York native, Hulme met Shannon when doing a Spartan race on a mountain in Quebec. Shannon Hulme first came to the Highlands around 2015 when he came to work on the MNRF building at Stanhope Airport.

“We fell in love with the area,” said Shannon Hulme. Two years after owning a rental property in the area, Shannon and Mary Hulme moved to Haliburton County permanently.

Shannon Hulme’s children and father help out with the family business when available.

“We have no outside employees. Our work is very particular in that you can’t make a mess. To find somebody that is going to take care to keep things clean is tricky. We have had employees in the past but it is more of a headache,” said Shannon Hulme.

After working as a labourer and then a carpenter, Shannon Hulme became a clerk of works.

“You make sure that you are constructing properly as an extra pair of eyes for the owner,” said Shannon Hulme.

“For over 13 years, I oversaw court houses, OPP facilities, three or four courthouses, and three MNR buildings in Sudbury, North Bay and Haliburton.”

“For those 13 years, I wasn’t on the tools, I was just watching people. I really missed being active and accomplishing something in my day,” said Shannon Hulme. “We found this product and it’s been perfect so far.”

The Porch Doctor has begun their 2024 season this past week.

“For our process, we need three days of good weather. Usually it starts between April and May. This year’s been a little questionable because we haven’t had many days of good weather in a row,” said Shannon Hulme. “Rain is the biggest problem.”

“The product is also building code approved,” said Mary Hulme. “One of the only building code approved waterproof products.”

Porch Doctor exclusively uses Flexstone Coatings for sealing decks, boat houses, docks, and porches.

“It’s a urethane product. It’s all seamless. Because it is liquid applied, there are no joints,” said Shannon Hulme.

“Our biggest competitor up here has seams and a lot of our work is fixing their work,” said Mary Hulme.

“What the product really is best at doing is if you have a second story deck, we waterproof that and then there can be living space below,” said Shannon Hulme. “The traditional way that they do that is they’ll put down a traditional roofing membrane and build a deck on top. Our application is a one step process.”

The Hulmes hope to spread the word about Flexstone products and the value that they add to people’s home, deck, dock, or boathouse.

“For the most part, the product is not widely used in Ontario. It comes from B.C.. For the last five years since we started, we have had the highest google reviews and took on the most work,” said Shannon Hulme. “It is a complicated process to install. Basically, you need to be qualified and experienced in it and it is a very messy process so it is less desirable.”

“Literally it will dry in 10 minutes, so you have to move fast,” said Mary Hulme. “You really have to be trained.”

“We have developed processes that are unique to us,” said Shannon Hulme. “That is how my father and I were able to do 7,000 square foot apartment buildings in a few weeks. We have spent a lot of time refining the process and doing as best as we can and as quickly as we can with quality results.”

“The great thing about our product is it comes with basically a 20 year warranty,” said Shannon Hulme.  “After 10 years, we come out and make sure everything is good. Maybe give it another application of clear coat, you almost get a 20 year warranty right off the hop. You don’t get that in this industry.” “It is a high end product meant to last a lifetime. It will last 30 to 40 years if well maintained.”

“We have a wide range of colour options that will suit anybody’s project,” said Shannon Hulme. “There are also different textures.” “It is also very easy to change the colour.”

The Hulme’s Porch Doctore business consider themselves to be the most active installers in Ontario. By providing estimates remotely, they have operated their business throughout the province. Their current focus is on cottages, homes, and boathouses in Haliburton County.

“There is no other product that is up here that is a seamless, waterproof coating for decks, roofs, or boat houses,” said Shannon Hulme. “We really want to get into boat houses because you have to have a roof on it and you really want it to be beautiful. We are the perfect option for that.”

“Once people can see it, touch it, feel it, get a sense of what it is like, people are going to say; finally,” said Mary Hulme.