Ottawa General Contractors

The main floor of our home is approximately 1000 square feet and for several years we have been contemplating a renovation to the main floor. With that in mind, we visited the Ottawa Home Renovation Show in the winter of 2014 and collected information from a variety of companies. In late spring of 2014 we contacted three companies regarding our renovation – two larger firms (including OGC) and one very small company – and had two of those firms visit our home for an onsite assessment.

We had not previously worked with OGC but decided to sign with the company for a variety of reasons including the positive reviews we read while researching the company, a successful initial on site visit and the design/build option that OGC offers (plus the incentive that is offered to go the design/build route).

Before approaching OGC, we could articulate our main objectives: open up the kitchen/living/dining areas, and take the space currently used as an office to (i) expand the bathroom and (ii) create a walk in closet. We had some idea of how this could be accomplished but we did not have a specific design in mind. That is why the design/build option appealed to us.

There were several things we quite enjoyed regarding the design process. The first was working with our designer, Nooreen Haider. Her personality and client service nature made us feel very comfortable. We also enjoyed the software used for the design phase, and more specifically how it allows the client (with the designer) to play with the design in an interactive fashion. This is particularly helpful for clients who may have difficulty envisioning what a space could look like from a 2D rendering.

With respect to improvements that could be made, we did encounter several challenges that, while they did not taint our overall experience, we did want to detail for OGC’s consideration. We would highly recommend providing clients with a full explanation when members of the team assigned to a project change. There was an unexpected, unexplained and rather abrupt change in our OGC contact just as we were signing on for the design phase. The initial meeting with OGC (at our home), and the first meeting at the OGC office, was with an employee named Nick Campbell. Both meetings left us feeling quite comfortable, and both meetings involved fairly detailed discussion regarding our ‘vision’. Although we understood the different roles played by Nick and Noreen, we assumed a transition would take place where Nick would relay to Nooreen what he knew re our ‘vision’. However, just as we were about to sign on for the design/build option, we were told Nick had been reassigned and we would be working with his colleague. Everything worked out in the end, and we enjoyed working with Ziad, however at the time the abrupt change and vague explanation did make us briefly reconsider.

Similarly, Noreen left our project near the end of the design stage. In this case we were given significant notice/explanation, and the design stage was almost complete. However there was some frustration in that the last set of updates were not made to our design before the build phase started. We started the build without the correct/final diagrams, which had to be addressed after the build had started.

Perhaps the biggest challenge we faced during the design phase was the difficulty we had in finalizing a Statement of Work that accurately reflected all of the decisions that had been made regarding the design. We often felt it was left up to us to assure that the SOW reflected recent decisions. Adding to the frustration was what we considered to be vagueness in the descriptions included in the SOW. Line items were sometimes lacking detail, which led to a lack of clarity in what was/was not included. On a related note, the delay in receiving revised estimates, once changes to the design had been agreed upon, was frustrating.

Overall, we are very happy that we started this process with the design option. For anyone planning to build with OGC, we would recommend starting the project with your design phase.

I never used a contractor before and at the time was wary of using one based on stories I had seen on TV. Since using OGC, I would definitely use their services again. Workers arrived at the site on time and were informative, friendly and professional at all times. Quality of work was Excellent! Follow up was excellent as well. When I called about a warranty issue, they were courteous and had a worker on site at the first opportunity I was available. I would definitely recommend this company to friends of mine. The neat thing about this renovation was the number of people I met that I had done business before but did not know they were affiliated with OGC.

OGC was recommended to us by a trusted friend when we were looking for contractors for a new garage and second storey addition to our newly purchased house. We were looking for a company that could guide us through the entire renovation process, from design, material selection and then build. We contacted several companies, and OGC was the first to get back to us and schedule an appointment. We came to the first meeting with a budget and our basic requirements, and no idea of exactly what we wanted and how it would all come together. Nick was great at explaining the services that OGC offer and the flexibility of their approach - we ultimately chose to use OGC for all aspects of the project versus sourcing other tradesman for specific tasks. Since the first meeting with Nick, we felt instantly at ease and well supported in our project.

We worked with an excellent designer, Brent who quickly put together a design that both met our needs and our budget. Next came the material selection phase, where Jasmine craft-fully navigated our very different tastes to come up with design selections that balanced my need for a neutral spa feel with my husband's need for something a bit more wild. She spent a lot of time sourcing options for us based on our vision, ensured that we were on time for materials selection and kept on budget where she could! We did opt for a few more expensive options than we originally estimated, however had we needed to be more strict with the budget, she found some excellent options that we would have been more than happy to select. Jasmine even came to our house one day with siding samples so that we could better envision what a new colour would look like. This home visit, and Brent re-arranging his schedule to do the first walk through according to our availability are just a few examples of how OGC provides a personal touch when dealing with their clients.

We look forward to working with Josh and the construction crew during the build phase over the next few months. We would highly recommend OGC to all our friends and family.

Keilee and Ryan

My name is Tom and my wife and I approached OGC to do a fairly major addition to our house of approximately 600 square feet. It included a garage, master bedroom and ensuite, an eating area, and a new kitchen. This was our first time renovating with OGC, whom we came across on the internet. After doing extensive research and talking with their competitors, we decided to go with OGC because of their design process and final project costs. Price was a very important factor and we also got a good feeling from the first individual we met from OGC. They were very professional, competent, listened to our ideas, and gave us some great suggestions on what we could accomplish in relation to our vision. We also wanted a company that could take care of the whole project and provide us with a warranty upon completion.
Our experience with OGC was quite positive. OGC was very good at listening to what we wanted and gave us several design ideas to meet our needs. They also helped us with securing a variance for our addition, which was extremely important. The addition itself was a big project and the team that worked on it was very professional. It was really nice to be dealing with one contractor and reassuring to know that OGC stood behind all of its work. It was also very reassuring to know that all of the proper inspections were being taken care of and that everything was being done to code.
The highlight of the renovation was of course the final completion but it was quite exciting seeing our vision come to life over time. There is a lot more to building an addition that we imagined so we were thankful to have one contractor overseeing the project as there were a number of challenges that we faced along the way. We were quite pleased to be living in the house (although we recognize that this was not ideal from OGC's perspective) so that when a challenge arose we could deal with it on the spot. It seemed like there were quite a few decisions to be made on the fly and there were also things that we wanted changed or modified so it was important for us to be quite involved in the project. For example, we noticed that the location of the duct work was going to result in a wall being bigger than we had expected so we worked out an alternative solution. We also ran into some small challenges after the project was done. The project was completed in January and for some reason the water pipes to our ensuite were freezing. OGC was very quick to respond to our concerns and did all of the work under warranty with no questions asked. In fact, the person doing the warranty work when above and beyond what he was asked to do and pointed out several things that we didn’t even notice.
Every company has its flaws and we must point out some changes that could be improved upon:
1) It seemed that there was sometimes confusion around the ordering of fixtures and also the kitchen. I don’t think these were part of the project management scope and this was an issue. It was not always clear on when fixtures where needed and this resulted in a few delays and a bit of panic to purchase certain items.
2) Also, I think it would have been extremely helpful if the project manager could have sat down with us on a weekly basis to discuss what had happened the previous week and discuss what was going to happen the upcoming week to make sure we were fully aligned. The project manager did an excellent job but the communications could have been better. I also think this would have helped keep the project on track because it took longer than we felt it needed to.
3) There was also sometimes confusion on what was in the contract and what wasn’t. It was also a bit annoying that some things that appeared in the drawings were not included in the contract unless specified. I think it’s important that if something shows up in the drawing, it should be in the contract.

Having said the above we would definitely work with and recommend OGC to friends of family if they were planning a renovation , but it’s pretty unlikely that we would do a renovation of this size again. It was more work and more money than we expected. We are quite happy with the result, and would definitely , recommend that friends consider using OGC if they were planning a renovation.

My wife and I have two kids and a very busy lifestyle. All four of us love to cook and hangout in the kitchen. Being Maritimers, we also love to host good old fashion kitchen parties! When we first bought our home we loved everything about it except the kitchen – it was simply too small. After thinking about what we wanted and interviewing different contractors we chose Ottawa General Contractors. They embraced our ideas about what we wanted for our new space and were willing to work with us and involve us in the process. Our favorite part of the renovation process was the OGC process itself. They have a well laid out plan so we can easily see what steps were happening when. We had some unique ideas within our renovation including a flush mount beam to replace a sixteen foot load bearing wall and a built-in see through fireplace. OGC made the incorporation of these features easy. We also enjoyed the flexibility to do some of the work ourselves by handling the demolition of the space and the painting during the construction phase. This was great as it helped us save on costs and allowed us to feel more part of the project. We encounter some hurdles along the way including a two week delay on the delivery of our cabinetry and some in field redesigning to accommodate our desired fireplace but OGC was great at calming our fears and keeping the project moving forward. In the end, we ended up with the space that we had envisioned and were quite pleased with the overall process.

Had OGC do an estimate for a basement reno we had in mind. They charged us $2000 up front to come out to do an estimate. That wouldn't have been a problem if we had gotten the estimate we had wanted. I told Brandon what I wanted, and gave a deposit ($2000) just to get an estimate. We wanted our house inspected to ensure that it was solid enough to do main floor renovations (support beams), as well as have the basement renovated. What we got was an estimate to have only the basement renovated (at a ridiculous price no less), even though throughout my conversations with the Matt I stated AT LEAST TWICE that I wanted them to make sure the house was well structured so that we could begin renovations the following year to the main floor of the house. No structural engineer ever showed up (we eventually had to call one ourselves). They took our $2000 deposit, and gave us a nice emailed CAD drawing of what our basement would look like (thanks Veasena)-no mention of having an engineer in to assess the main floor (what a deal!). Good thing we decided not to go any further. As far as I can tell, either most of the reviews on this site for OGC are fake, or the people who had work done by Ottawa General Contractors are so well heeled that they don't care how much they are charged. By the way, the estimate was $22500 to finish the basement, and when we asked them to eliminate a few things to keep costs down (no ceiling, no drywall, just studding, subfloor and insulation), they never bothered to contact us again. In the future, if any company asks me for a deposit BEFORE giving me an estimate, I will tell them to GO POUND SAND!

We first met Jonas, of Ottawa General Contractors, at the Home and Garden Show in Ottawa. After finding favorable reviews of OGC online and on the BBB website, we decided to contact him for a meeting to discuss a major renovation of our kitchen.

We were pleased to find that OGC offered pretty much what we were looking for such as a written contract, a five year warranty, a specialized team of sub contractors, as well as providing all the city building and electrical permits.

Right from the start Jonas gave us confidence by providing us with the information we needed and patiently answered our many questions. Our Project Manager, Steve, was great; knowledgeable, very easy to work with, and was available to deal with any concerns that arose during the project. Our team was exceptional in that the quality of their work and respect of our time were made a priority. A special thanks to Matt who diligently built our kitchen for six weeks; but thanks also to all the great people who made it such a success!

Our kitchen is more beautiful than we could have imagined and the work was completed in approximately six weeks. We are very happy that we chose Ottawa General Contractors and would hire them again!

Prior to beginning the renovation, we researched several potential candidates. We were hoping to finish our basement to add to our available living space. We were particularly impressed with the way Jonas Murphy, the product estimator from OGC, handled the upfront work. He made some excellent suggestions regarding the layout of the basement that we used in the final design. His estimate was very complete and accurate and he handled everything in a very professional manner.

The job was scheduled and once it was underway, Steve Saumure, the project manager, managed the work in a very professional and and efficient manner. He was able to deal with any change orders that came up promptly and in such a way that it did not affect scheduling. At the end of the day, the project was completed on schedule and within budget and we are very pleased with the results.

A big thank you to OGC! We would recommend them to anyone looking for a home renovation contractor.

Paul Loveys