OakWood Designers & Builders

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)

Step 1

Start with some inspired designs, napkin sketches and continue forward!

During the design phase before we took possession of the house we coordinated with Sharon at Oakwood, she helped coordinated all of the moving pieces, created the schedules, budgets and timelines. She was an absolute godsend and our hero through this ENTIRE process, not only was she always multiple steps ahead of us ensuring that everything was going to line up, she was proactive in helping to enforce Oakwood’s core process and make sure our stress was in-check at all times!

This is where I want to highlight the absolute insanity that was the next 4 weeks of our lives and the incredible professionalism of the entire Oakwood team. Not only were they able to coordinate all of the electricians, plumbers, painters, contractors, flooring specialists, appliance installers and deliveries they did so without a missing a beat even when one of our appliances arrived damaged in shipping!

One thing that blew us away during the entire process was despite the 20+ people involved with all of the various elements of the renovation, painting, floors and more every single one of them spent painstaking time focusing on small details, little perfections and making sure every element matched the designs, specs and was absolute to the standard that Oakwood prides itself on!

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.

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

For our full experience see -

https://medium.com/@graemebarlow/our-oakwood-design-candy-experience-49ee04206eb4

We have had a wonderful experience working with Oakwood on many renovation projects in the past. The quality of work produced by Oakwood is excellent. Their team is always conscientious, courteous, hard-working and efficient. We highly recommend working with them, and we look forward to working with them again in the future.

We highly recommend Oakwood because of the workmanship and the quality of work they had provided for our kitchen renovation. My wife and I are very happy and satisfied with their services and products. The project manager and technicians we dealt with are very polite, dependable and customer-oriented, they essentially had the same goal as ours to complete the renovation on time and on budget and also to meet our expectations. They have warranty on their products, so they promptly addressed the stuff that we were not satisfied. We wouldn’t regret paying a little bit extra to hire Oakwood for their quality, and mostly importantly it was a stress-free renovation overall.

Before hiring Oakwood, we hired another contractor to do our kitchen renovation, but the contractor didn’t complete the renovation as promised. Then we engaged Oakwood to continue the kitchen work, they understood the scope of work and provided professional advices throughout the renovation. Taking on somebody’s unfinished work wasn’t easy, however, Oakwood did an amazing work and did everything correctly. We finally got our dream kitchen! Thank you Oakwood!! A special thanks to Scott Bartels. We are pleasant and fortunate having Scott to renovate our kitchen as he is a very skillful, professional and diligent technician who provides outstanding workmanship to meet our expectations.

We can't say enough about our new kitchen. Your team was very professional, kept us up to date on the process, and took the time to explain when we had to change some things due to the structure of the house.The end result is more.

Our renovation involved gutting the entire first floor of the house, and replacing the entire house's doors and windows. The renovation turned our dated, small-roomed main floor into an open concept marvel. We appreciated the value of being able to work side-by-side with Oakwood's design team to maximize the use of space in a fairly small house. The Oakwood team drew upon their experience to make a number of valuable recommendations, for example adding storage under the stairs and running internet wiring through the house. Unexpected issues were dealt with quickly and professionally, and we trusted the advice Oakwood provided. The quality of the work was excellent, and in many instances exceeded expectations. We are particularly pleased with the quality of the trim work around all the doors and windows.

As renovation "newbies", the Oakwood team did an excellent job managing our "renovation madness". Throughout our weekly on-site meetings, Oakwood provided advice and confirmed decisions when we were having doubts.

Most importantly for us, Oakwood finished on time, allowing us to show off our "new home" to guests at our wedding.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to the entire Oakwood team, in particular to Trent Doherty and Dennis Larka, for their outstanding support and dedication in the realization of our dream kitchen/addition.

The project was not without its problems, as is expected to be encountered with any addition or renovation project of this size, but the end result is truly remarkable, and a thing of beauty. Each and every step of the process from start of demolition and construction, to the finer finishing details was personally overseen by these two individuals. If something was not quite right, it was dealt with accordingly, and corrected in a timely and professional manner.

We wouldn't hesitate to recommend Oakwood to our neighbours and friends, and if the opportunity presents itself in the future for an additional renovation project, we will most certainly pay you another visit.

It is our pleasure to recommend OakWood Renovation Experts. We had a very positive experience with their entire team and are thrilled with our new kitchen and bathroom. From every stage of the process, we found Oakwood workers were professional, courteous and both easy and fun to work with.

At the early stages, our designer, Julie, helped us formulate our ideal project while still staying within our budget. She really listened to us and created a design that blended our sometimes conflicting aesthetics (shaggy chic versus contemporary modern). When construction began, the workers did their best to minimize the disruption for us. They followed a schedule and cleaned up before they left. Our project manager, Trent, met with us on a weekly basis so we were always kept in the loop and understood where we were in the process. A couple of times, we asked for slight modifications and Oakwood Renovation graciously worked with us to accommodate our request. The final result is fabulous. Our new kitchen is absolutely gorgeous and incredibly functional. We have since thrown numerous dinner parties and have received so many compliments on it. Our bathroom is a dream. While it is a whimsical and romantic space, it is also equally functional. All toiletries now have a place in the custom-made vanity and so the stunning granite counter is always on beautiful display. And our friends keep coming over to take a bath!

The renovations have increased the pleasure we get from our house ten-fold. And if we needed future renovations, we would not hesitate to use OakWood Renovation Experts again.

I hired Oakwood to design and build a large 2 floor rear yard addition. Oakwood is everywhere here in Ottawa and when I first compared them to others their prices seemed a bit higher than most until I asked the rest of them for more details. Oakwood gave me a very detailed estimate and unlike all of the other estimates they did not low-ball the price. Their estimate included everything from planning the job properly to drawing the plans and constructing the addition. They are really well organized and did a great job with all of the work. A clean jobsite with polite workers and I even had access to an internet portal to follow along with the project. Very impressive and I would highly recommend them to family and friends.

When we decided to have some major renovations done to our 1920s home, we knew the single most important decision we were going to make was which contractor to hire. Gutting a bathroom, taking out walls for added closet space, and taking the roof off an older home pretty much guarantees surprises along the way. Each time we encountered such a surprise or challenge, OakWood helped us make the right decisions. They were able to make what could have been a harrowing roller coaster ride a smooth one. Working with OakWood wasn’t just the most important decision we made, it was also the best decision we made.

From start to finish, OakWood worked with us to meet all challenges and deliver a stunning upgrade to our home. Everyone within OakWood - from the design team, the office staff, to the work crew - is professional, courteous, and highly skilled. Within a month of moving back into our home, the 6 month renovation process seemed a distant memory, which is a true testament to OakWood’s professional and dedicated approach.

We couldn’t be happier with our “new” home and we thank OakWood for making it happen.

After spending time consulting with friends and researching the builders in the Ottawa area, my wife and I decided to use Oakwood Renovations due to their professionalism, courteous attitude, over 55 years of service and above all in house installers who were extremely knowledgeable.

The Oakwood Team undertook a new addition, as well as the complete inside and outside renovation of our home. Oakwood committed to having the work completed within the specified time, and much to our amazement came in on time and on budget. All of the workers who entered our home were respectful and courteous. They left things clean and tidy.

Oakwood is amazing, the house needed a lot of miscellaneous work including wood floor repair, dry wall, painting, plumbing, kitchen renovations, new roof, siding, etc.

Oakwood went out of their way to make us continue to feel comfortable in our home despite the sheer number of workers that were sometimes in our house.

Our New Addition looks great as if it was always there. John Liptak is not only a master at his craft but his renovating team are total professionals.

Everyone that has seen our renovations are so impressed with the quality of work and superb finishes, quality craftsmanship and work ethics. I am pleased to say that Oakwood surpassed my expectations.

Nothing short of exceptional, Thank you John Liptak and the Oakwood Team

PS

We were looking for not only the best value for our money, but received a bonus, as they provided us with a stress-free experience! The proof is in the final product – we couldn’t be happier with our new addition and new home!

With out a doubt we will be hiring Oakwood to remodel our next house. I will be recommending Oakwood Renovations to all of my family and friends.