Inverness Design Build Group Ltd

We had been looking for about 2 years for someone we could trust to do major renovations on our 1940's Toronto home when we met Peter & Deborah at the Home Show in the fall of 2015. Peter understood our needs and our budget, and was willing to accommodate our desire to stay in the home during construction. He designed (drafted) several variations based on what we wanted so we had a good level of confidence that our needs would be met.

Peter was responsive during the construction process. Any concerns we had were addressed, and warranty issues were dealt with. Both Peter and Deborah provided advice on finishes, paint choices etc. Deborah also spent many hours with us reviewing the kitchen layout and design. A year later, we couldn't be happier with the results.

When we decided that our house was getting a little cramped for our growing family, we knew a home addition was for us. Visiting the Toronto Home Show we met Peter and Debi Locke of Inverness Design Build. After an initial conversation we knew Inverness was perfect for us.

Inverness helped us decide on the size and scope of our project. Both Peter and Debi offered insights and advise, and were always available for any questions we had. Ultimately, we decided on a 3-story 1200 square foot addition, with a near complete remodel of the existing house. With the pending arrival of our first child, we had to shorten the timeline of the project and Inverness worked tirelessly to adjust to the new schedule and delivered a great quality completed house right on time.

Peter and Debi Locke are professional, courteous, and knowledgeable. They provide great insight and guidance, and have delivered a product that we are very proud of. If you are thinking of doing a renovation project, you need to give Inverness Design Build Group a call, you won’t be disappointed.

Tim and Lily Horbatiuk – Home Owners

We met Peter Locke of Inverness Design Build Group at the fall 2014 home show in Toronto when we were looking into a renovation of our kitchen, dining room and living room. He showed an immediate interest in us and our plans. Over the next several months, we discussed and refined our plans with Peter and he came up with a design for a significant renovation that would completely change the look of our house from inside and out. While a larger project than we had envisioned, we were very impressed with the design. At the same time, we were working with another firm on an alternate design but we decided to go with the larger project that Peter had proposed. We signed a very detailed contract with Inverness in March of 2015, which included several higher end details that we wanted, as well as allowances for some of the major cost items like windows and doors. Construction started in July of 2015 and progressed quickly, although our original goal of being finished before Christmas was not achieved – we moved into our new kitchen, dining and living rooms in February of 2016.

Peter and Debi worked hard to get and keep the trades on the job as needed. As we stayed in the house during the reno we were able to meet all of the trades people and they were very professional and dedicated. Inverness worked with the kitchen company to perfect the design and Debi also was there to oversee every step of the kitchen installation, including when some pieces had to be moved and/or replaced.

There are always some glitches in a large project and this was no exception, but Inverness was always prompt in responding to our concerns. There were some extra costs as a result of choosing higher end products in some places and also making changes to the plan along the way, but I think this is also to be expected for most homeowners as it is difficult to foresee every step of such a large project.

After living in our newly renovated home for several months now we are extremely happy with the job that Peter and Debi did for us and do not hesitate to recommend them to others.

Bill & Sally Wilbur

Toronto

When we were “ready” for our renovation project, we called a few construction/renovation companies and were underwhelmed. Some had a patronizing attitude and others were all talk and no action. Yes and some came out to look at our project and never got back to us. We were tempted to give up but decided to go to the Home Show and see what we could find.

We talked to the people at several booths and we were impressed with one company and invited them to come out and give us a quote and although we were optimistic, we decided to look around some more.

When we came across the Inverness Group’s booth it was not manned but we looked anyway and were impressed with the photos of their work. But it looked too “high end” for us — very nice work but bigger houses than ours. While we were looking and dreaming, a lady appeared and she introduced herself as Debi from Inverness and could she help us. We talked a bit and she assured us that they worked on normal people’s projects too. We were impressed with Debi and asked her to follow up with us.

The other company from the Home Show called and made an appointment. They arrived and looked at the project and proceeded to tell us what they would do even though we had quite specific ideas of what we wanted. As many other companies had done in the past, they did not seem to want to listen to us and came back with an estimate that was way over our budget and not really giving us what we wanted.

Then Debi from Inverness called and said that she and Peter would like to come and talk about our project. It was immediately apparent that Inverness was different. It was a good thing that we were not on a tight schedule because when Peter arrived he didn’t jump right in and ask what we wanted but rather took some time to get to know us as people a bit. It was very refreshing. He listened to us and looked at our sketches and seemed to get what we wanted.

When Peter came back with his ideas and quote we were both pleased and shocked. The price was too high but the ideas were great. We talked some more and had a realignment of views and at the end felt comfortable in moving ahead.

The project was quite extensive made more complex because we decided to live in our previously renovated basement. But living with the renovation allowed us to meet the masons, the carpenters etc and wow — what a nice bunch of people. And knowing that we were living in the mayhem they showed great respect and consideration. We really appreciated that.

And as you know nothing ever goes without problems or missteps but with Peter and Debi there was never any finger pointing or excuses. They simply made adjustments and righted things. This was huge and made dealing with them easy and a real pleasure.

We absolutely love the outcome. Our new house is beautiful — almost exactly what we were hoping and planning for. 'Almost', because even months after completion there have been little glitches like sticking doors and small cracks but you know what, just a quick text and Inverness sends someone to fix the problem. It really has been a wonderful execution of our renovation project. We cannot recommend Debi and Peter more highly. Inverness is the best.

David and Sally Rice

Toronto