DSBG

Design Spec Building Group Ltd. helped my husband and I build the home we've been dreaming about for 15 years. It was clear from the onset of the project that DSBG had our interests at heart. They managed the project amazing well, helped us keep costs under control and always made us feel that our happiness was their number one priority. The site was always clean and their staff onsite were always extremely professional and accommodating. We had an excellent experience building with DSBG and if we built again, we would hire them back.

Design Spec Building Group took over a tortured basement and corrected all the deficiencies and created our dream basement. They adhered to all requirements. The team are professional and respectful and sympathetic to my budget and my vision.

We used Design Spec recently for our home renovation project and Nick and his team were very professional and reliable with every step along the way. The in-house design team and architectural drawings reflected exactly the look and feel we were going for and they gave us some great ideas !! You get the secure feeling right off the bat that they will be committed to your project from start to finish. Very reliable and very honest ! It helps take the stress out of reno's :) We would definitely recommend them !

Always a pleasure dealing with Design-Spec Building Group. They have now completed phase 2 of our dream home project and we couldn't be happier with the outcome. We look forward to the start of phase 3 of our dream home project in the spring of 2019 !!! Thank You Nick, Stephanie, Melanie and Kyle for your continued dedication and vision ! Best Regards, DSM.

This review is long over due. My apologies to Nick and his team. The work was started in July 2016 and completed in August 2016. It required the complete demolition and rebuild of both a master bathroom and a powder room. Plumbing needed to be moved and custom cabinets installed in addition to all new tiles, shower, tub, vanity, paint, etc. Overall it was a incredible experience - from the start (meeting Nick, discussing the project, entering into the contract) - the middle (meeting the crew - Jake and Chris, the various stages of the project - demolition, rebuild, final touches) and the end (final clean up and inspection). Nick was very professional as was his crew. The crew was very careful and tidy - nothing was broken and I came home each day to as clean a home as one could expect during a renovation. Jake was very knowledgeable and provided good options when decisions needed to be make. Throughout the project he informed me of what the next steps would be as well as the approximate length of time to complete each step. He was patient and responded to all of my questions throughout the project. Work that was required, over and above what was in the contract, was discussed before proceeding. This ensured there were no surprise billings at the end of the project. I believe that I have very high standards and Nick and his team met or exceeded them in every way. I will be renovating 2 other bathrooms in the near future and Nick and his crew will be my first choice to do the work . I would strongly recommend anyone who needs this type of renovation work done to consider Nick and his team.

Thank you to Design-Spec Building Group Ltd. for a wonderful renovation and wonderful renovation experience. Design-Spec renovated our entire main floor of our house which involved moving walls and installing complex steel beams in the ceiling. We now have an amazing open kitchen and family room. Our number one fear going into this renovation was that our house would be pulled apart and then the work would slow or stop preventing us from moving back into our home but that was not a worry with Design-Spec. They assigned us a dedicated site supervisor as well as a dedicated project manager. Both were friendly and very responsive to our needs and questions. We really felt like we had not only a team working for us but friends who cared as much as we did about our renovation. Every day they showed up and we're working on our house which was a great comfort to us. The other thing that we love about Design-Spec was their full service approach to renovations. They provided us with an architect and worked with the city to get all our permits. Once they started they were able to take full control of the project. And best of all their workers and craftsmen took a lot of pride in their work and we feel that the construction work on our home is excellent. We are back in our home now and we are loving our new space. But it’s more than just loving the changes. Our home functions better and feels better. Even though we didn’t expand the space it seems to flow and our new kitchen is wonderful for parties and large family get-togethers. This was our first renovation and we were nervous but Design-Spec was a perfect partner. We would recommend them to family and friends and would be excited to have them renovate for us again on future projects.

DSBG did a main floor and basement reno for us in the Spring of 2016. Our house is 70 years old, so we had to deal with some left over asbestos, and lots of irregular angles, to change our dated Leaside semi into the modern space we wanted. As with many of you, we struggled with the cost of getting the results we desired, and the sacrifices to the dream to fit what we could afford. Throughout the process, Nick & team provided clear, detailed information, and alternative suggestions where possible. Everything was handled in writing, and all changes were done through approved change orders.
More importantly for us, however, every single one of Nick's direct employees is amazing to deal with. Everyone is professional, friendly and went out of their way to make the project go smoothly. We would definitely recommend DSBG to any of our friends (and have already done so!).

My wife and I recently decided to undertake a renovation of the entire main floor of our home, along with the main bathroom on the second level. We live in an older Semi-detached home in the North Leaside area of Toronto, and we hoping to find a contractor that was familiar with the homes in the area, to try and keep any unforeseen conditions to a minimum.

We searched online and asked around, and our search led us to Design-Spec Building Group. We contacted them and met with Nick, the President of the company. I found the initial meeting with Nick to be productive and clear. We articulated our design requirements and landed on a high level scope of work for the project, and also identified order of magnitude numbers for the work. Nick also provided us with an overview of the process that his group follows; from initial design, detailed design, finishes and construction.

We were provided with a detailed agreement which identified all items that were in and out of scope for the project, along with an end date for the work based on the scope identified. We also identified cash allowances for all items that hadn’t been fully costed, so that there weren’t any surprises.

The team that was assigned to us was fantastic. We worked with a designer, Stephanie, who helped us with the design of the space, as well as all of our finishes. She also assisted as a coordinator with the site supervisors to ensure that the finished product reflected the design. The site supervisors, Kyle and Jake that were with us for the duration of the project were also both extremely knowledgeable and communicative. I was even impressed by the quality of the trades that worked on the project.

Overall, our experience with Design-Spec was an excellent one. Nick was extremely responsive throughout the project and always available for any questions. We couldn’t be happier with the work that has been done. We would definitely recommend Design-Spec to others, as we have already done.

Sean & Stephanie

We recently completed a renovation of our second floor which consisted of two new baths, new flooring, new doors and pot lighting as well as installation of built-in cabinetry. The work extended into our main floor and basement since our home has an open foyer - we redid the staircase and removed wall paper throughout impacting all three levels of our home. So what seemingly started out as a cosmetic update actually turned out to be a fairly big project.

We had worked with our own interior designer on the bath and millwork designs and then selected Design Spec as our general contractor to bring the project to life. Nick and his entire team take their business very seriously and are focused on delivering a quality product in a timely manner and to long-term customer satisfaction. We liked their approach to project management – there was structure to the process and timelines to set expectations. We were also impressed with the manner in which they protected areas that were not being touched by the project. Before any of the serious work began, they spent a lot of time preparing the site which speaks to their level of respect for a customer's home.

The entire team always demonstrated the utmost professionalism as well as pride in their employer. We especially liked having an on-site project lead (Adam) here every day to keep the project moving along, supervise trades people and very competently answer or escalate any of our questions. Between Adam, Nick and a number of other contacts, there was always someone available if we needed to talk.

We love our new space, would use Design Spec again and would highly recommend them to others.

Thanks Nick, Adam and the whole Design Spec team!