A nervous Darren Thom was awake at 5am today (August 12, 2025), eagerly anticipating the arrival of his new home.
Nearly three hours later, at 7:50am, a truck towing a large flatbed trailer rounded the corner from Patricia Street onto Ash Avenue. The R4 District’s first replacement home, post wildfire, was greeted by a gathering crowd of friends and neighbours. Thom had mixed feelings.
“Today’s an exciting day. I’ll be relieved when it’s safely on the foundation,” he said.
The house is a MODSOLID modular stick-frame construction, built in Barrhead AB, by Northplex Ltd. It arrived fully-finished in one piece.
Transferring the home from the flatbed to the foundation was the source of much speculation by the pajama-clad, coffee-sipping camp chair experts watching from across the street. As is often the case in life, dish soap was the answer.
The house was transferred from the truck to steel beams spanning the foundation. Using pneumatic jacks, a skid-steer and a healthy application of wax and dish soap to the steel beams, the house was slid onto the foundation in short order.
After some final straightening, Thom’s home sat square on the foundation by 10am. Darren Thom was relieved.
He hopes that he can move in after a few weeks. Gas lines need be re-established in the R4 district and then connected to his home and final inspections have to be completed. With several modular homes scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks, getting the gas lines re-installed is a concern for residents. Final inspections and occupancy permits are contingent on completion of utilities connections.
Thom said, “I think the arrival of the first house provides a little bit of hope to people in the neighbourhood. From what I’ve heard, it’s provided an air of excitement for Jasper residents.”
