Download The Keith Beedie Story - Beedie Group

CHAPTER 6
Going it ALONE
Keith in front of one of his homes, 1946.
HOME, SWEAT HOME
Once more, Keith was faced with the dilemma of how to approach a partner about
dissolving a business. His problem was compounded by his own uncertainty about
his future. He had more responsibility than ever, but he knew his current arrangement
wasn’t feasible for the long term. He broke the news to Carey, and ultimately they
decided that neither partner would buy out the other. Instead, they sold the building
and machinery and walked away from the business. The workshop and the suite above
it were purchased by McFarlan Seeds. The machinery was sold off bit by bit. Carey,
who had married Lee’s friend Doris, went to work as a carpenter at a local refi nery.
Not long aft er, Keith heard that McFarlan Seeds had sold the building
again, this time to the Construction Labourers’ Union. Given the
unique design of the building, the irony wasn’t lost on Keith. “Th e
thought of it as the headquarters for a construction union made me
laugh,” says Keith. “Th anks to the peat problems, that place hadn’t
been built to any sort of code, that’s for sure.” When Keith drove by the
workshop a year later, he wasn’t surprised to see that the structure had
settled badly. Clearly, no one had been climbing underneath to adjust
anything. Th e church next door eventually purchased the land and the
building was demolished.
The sale left Keith free of the business, but in selling the shop he had
also sold the family home. For the third time in less than three years
he had to come up with a new housing solution.
Once more, he decided that his best option was
to build something himself. He’d mastered a
trailer and then an apartment, so Keith figured it
was time to try his hand at building a house. He
followed what had become a familiar routine and
approached the City of Vancouver about buying
some land. With lots of options to choose from,
Keith settled on a duplex-zoned lot on Knight
Road, which he purchased for $750.
When Keith went to inspect the property, he found
that it too was on peat, though not as deep as the
building on Fraser Street. Th e buildings under construction on either
side of the lot had complex and expensive foundation work. Keith
didn’t like the idea of such a costly undertaking, nor did he like the
thought of that much weight on the property aft er his experience on
Fraser Street. He decided on a simple foundation using lightweight
concrete. Because the house was on a duplex-zoned lot, it was an upand-down
construction, with a full suite on grade in the rear and the
Heʼd mastered a trailer
and then an apartment,
so Keith fi gured it was
time to try his hand at
building a house.
69