While we don't often post reviews online about personal projects or providers we work with, we're…read moremaking an exception here as we believe that more people need to hear about the incredible work done by Oakwood, Design Candy and their related teams. I cannot possibly stress how much of a difference having the right partner to work with for a renovation can make an impact. First off, when Steph and I bought our first home together it was a stressful process as I believe it is true for any first-time home buyers. There is so much going on between mortgages, moving, inspections, work and balancing all of it, just that process alone can be a nightmare. Add to that the rather ambitious idea that we wanted to renovate some key elements of the house /before/ we moved in so that we didn't have to try and balance living and renovations at the same time. Enter: Oakwood. We've had a great relationship with them for a long time (They previously renovated Iversoft's newest office) and we have always visited their design centre just off of trim road in Orléans with envy. When we bought a place down the street from their design centre, they were a natural choice for a partner. We were working with a close friend on the design and inspiration for our planned renovation and Oakwood's team was absolutely amazing at working with us. They were able to provide their own recommendations and design insight while working within the vision Design Candy had presented and, unbelievably were willing to work with the insane timeline we'd set for ourselves (a little over 4 weeks!) Start to finish. Let me also say right now, EVERY single person we spoke to going into this renovation told us that renovations run over time and over budget and no amount of praise for Oakwood or belief in their process and teams was going to change that. (Spoilers: They NAILED the timeline!) The Job: Completely demo and renovate Kitchen Upgrade home electrical service from 100A to 200A Sand and refinish ALL hardwood in the house Disassemble, sand, refinish the main staircase and replace all wood spindles with new metal ones Update most major lighting fixtures Repaint the entire house Timeline: 4.5 Weeks until we moved in (Start to finish) Conclusion Since the renovation work was completed and as we've settled into our new home I have not yet missed an opportunity to talk about how great an experience working with Candace, Sharon, John, Marc and the entire Oakwood and Design Candy teams were. When you're dealing with a world of chaos in a renovation where every timeline is dependant on another, suppliers and work can so easily be tripped up by simple mistakes or oversights, Oakwood stands head and shoulders above any other company we've ever spoken to. They have detailed reporting and processes to keep owners involved in every step of the process while also giving a ton of confidence that everything is happening just the way it is supposed to. They easily adapt when the unexpected happens and were proactive in helping manage our expectations and mitigate our stress throughout. This was easily the largest personal project either of us has ever taken on and overseen as customers and we cannot speak highly enough of the professionalism, results, and efficiency in which everything was delivered. We're looking forward to our next project with the Oakwood team and are happy to act as a reference so others can avoid the renovations headaches and nightmares we've heard so much about from other companies and contractors! ~Graeme & Steph https://medium.com/@graemebarlow/our-oakwood-design-candy-experience-49ee04206eb4

My husband and I met with Oakwood's President/CEO, John Liptak, to explore the possibility of…read moreacquiring Oakwood's services to build our new home. Not only is John friendly and professional, but he is extremely knowledgeable in every step and detail required to build a high quality custom home. He gave us a tour of the facility and introduced us to team members. His confidence in the quality of Oakwood homes and his team is evident and his honesty about pricing and add-ons was also much appreciated.

We had a great experience with Empire Deck and Fence. The sub-contractor Vince was a great worker…read more He finished our deck in 3 and a half days. It looks great, He cut everything carefully, and then checked if it was level. We love it! Carol T. and Nick D. Barrhaven

I wouldn't recommend this company. They subcontract all their work and the few hundred dollars you…read moremay save initially isn't worth the extra wait. I was told a 5 week timeframe and started calling the company after 6 weeks of hearing absolutely nothing. For the next 4 weeks, i was told that my fence would be built the "next week." 12 weeks after my initial quote, my fence was built. The subcontractors told me that they were told to just come and start my fence to essentially shut me up. They dug holes on the thursday, promised to finish the job on friday, but never showed. Saturday, they came back and started again - they told me that they were called by the owner on friday and told to go to another job. They were also told to leave my job on the saturday as well. to go to another job. They finished on the sunday. (my job was a small side and back fence wall). At 7:25 monday morning there was a knock on my door wanting the cheque. I found this quite ironic given the whole ordeal. I like to support smaller businesses, but honestly, the only reason i went with this company was the timeframe they promised. In the end, i should have chosen a larger company that gave me quotes, as they still would have beat Empire's actual timeframe - not the timeframe they promise to get your business. Next summer i will be building a deck - this company will not be on the list of those i call requesting quotes. (also - be careful of the subcontractors - they tried to hide the dirt from the holes they dig...in my case, parking lots and city land by my property. When i questioned them on this, they just said "oh sorry." Other companies remove the debris and dirt.)

Wow! Great company! I highly recommend using them. We are living in an attached bungalow. After a…read morefew roof leaks we decided it was time to replace our 15 year old roof. Both of the bungalows attached to us decided they were willing to consider this despite not having had any leaks themselves. Jorgensen was one of four companies that our three households looked into My husband is quite knowledgeable and did lots of research in advance and so he knew what advancements had been made in roofing materials and processes in the the past decade. Jorgensons price was competitive, providing good value, and the sales rep we invited to speak to us was honest, knew his products and explained their process. They were able to accommodate our preferred timing. They communicated through the process and answered all of our questions. Crews arrived on time, and worked hard to get the job done well. I was very impressed with the steps they took to prevent any damage to our property. Unlike other roofing companies I have seen in the area, there was no loud music played while they worked, no swearing or yelling. They worked long days and crews were respectful and considerate. I highly recommend Jorgensen roofing!

An excellent job. Jorgensen staff were friendly, respectful, and honest…read more All questions were answered. Everything they said they would complete, happened. Excellent value for the money. We are very pleased with our new roof. We highly recommend Jorgensen Roofing.

Doug and his team at TEC do a great job for our renovation projects, friendly and receptive to any…read morecomplaints or issues.

Don't waste your time or money, worst business out there , they didn't do the work insurance payed…read morefor and left us with a terrible basement floor ,owner is extremely rude , nasty and completely in professional, avoid like the plague!!!!

We had water damage in our apartment and had to replace the laminate floors. This would have been…read moreour third time replacing our floors in our living room. This business was sent in from our insurance company after making a claim and I was really surprised with their knowledge and quality of work. I guess they must be good if an insurance company is recommending them. Firstly, they pointed out the flooring that we had installed by Argos, and noted that it was not suitable for our condo and that it should never had been put in in the first place. In fact, I had problems from day one with my laminate purchased from Argos. They fixed a lot of the mistakes that were done by the previous installer. This review is not to bash Argo's, but I learnt a home owners lesson; ask a lot of questions about products before you get them installed!!! The whole process was quick and painless, and they helped move furniture around in our very small apartment! I could not be happier! I have attached a picture of the new floors, and of course, had to include my dog in the picture too! :)

Remember Me Roofing was hired by our neighbour. They needed access to our driveway and agreed to…read morepay for parking at the lot up the street before they started the work. They did not do that. Instead, they draped our cars in tarps and started to work overhead. When we met with Jesse and Jordan, they assured us they would clean up after the work was completed and do a magnetic sweep for nails. Again, no follow through on promises. We inspected our driveway after they finished today and picked up 60 roofing nails plus spikes and other debris.

0 stars for mgmt, 3 stars for workmanship. We were told face to face by the sales manager they…read morenever use subcontractors. They botched up our hip roof and it was hard to resolve. They'll tell you otherwise but after we did months of research and were paying a premium do you think given a choice between the 'in-house' or 'subcontracted' crew, we would opt for subs? We most certainly did ask and were told we were getting their in house crew. We know that once work is handed to a 3rd party, quality control is lost. We had lower offers for the same roof install yet we wanted the Silver Pledge warranty. They responded to my last review with '..Our project manager was met with 'I can go from nice to b---h in a second and I'm already at B---h''. If they share that again, I'll provide context: I started the day happy, baked a cake just for the crew, yet when we caught them cutting our deck protection off at the hips, it went down hill. The crew insisted they never overlapped the water barrier at the hip and were unfazed by my concern. When we spoke to the project manager onsite I demanded to see the error and fix acknowledged in writing. Yes, I recall saying 'I can go from zero to b---h in 2.5 seconds'. My frustration was not all directed at the crew as they were polite and hard working yet ignorant to some basic installation standards. They will tell you that 'the team was properly trained' as they have repeated so many times. Yet please see the pictures and compare. G A F publishes instructions and videos on U tube that show this clearly. They did not follow these steps and had to fix it by peeling back shingles, then layer on unsealed leak barrier on the hips. Then we saw they accidentally sliced this barrier in 2 areas. My husband then took a closer look and found that the drip edge was missing in large parts at all 4 corners. Exposed wood and gaps big enough for small animals. The forman told him they were not concerned with animals getting into the roof, only water. We demanded them to be fixed and the team did a good job of patching them. The forman boasted about how fast they were so my husband had to explain to him that quality was the most important aspect. We let them finish our skillion and gable roofs the next day. We do most renos ourselves and have done 2 roofs ourselves, the work there was good. However the hip roof protects our century home and instead of stepping up RMR insisted it is was properly installed and wanted full payment. After many emails and calls and after we sent in a legal Notice of Non-Payment with demands to repair the hips, then finally they agreed to send an in-house team. G A F said they will honor the warranty and the in-house crew did a great job of pulling off all the cap shingles, laying down leak barrier and recapped them. Now we have some peace of mind. They claimed to be committed to our satisfaction, yet they did not demonstrate this. The poor treatment has served to solidify the reasons why I need to share this. I would rather have written words of praise. I wish our experience was a great as some that I see posted here but it was not. I can say the team did a great job of cleaning up and were polite. We have our warranty, for what it's worth. I will always remember is the sales manager's dishonesty, the sloppy work and how hard we had to fight for repairs. If they're transparent in using subs they won't hesitate to provide this in the contract and provide the liability insurance, business info and workmen's' safety ins. for the sub's co. You have a right to this. Please remember no matter who you hire; Get everything in writing, use a recorder when speaking to sales, know the basics and be present during installation