Holland Renovations

I hired Holland Homes to fully renovate a newly purchased 1965 bungalow (that had hardly been touched since being built) and the transformation was. in a word. AMAZING!

Holland are big enough to take on large residential jobs and have the attention of suppliers and the trades, but not so big that homeowners feel lost. They provide just that right level of professionalism and personal touch. At all times I felt heard and listened too, and that we were partners in the project. I had never undertaken a renovation project like this before, therefore was nervous about what I did not know and if I might overlook important things, but Holland were extremely attentive to my many questions and acted in an advisory role throughout the project. When a few unknowns arose, they never hesitated to provide balanced advice and recommendations. For Holland, it is not just about the contract signed, but rather about the finished product and customer satisfaction. Achieving this balance can be hard at the best of times, and when you overlay complexity of a job with the unpredictable impact of covid, and then add a demanding client with a high attention to detail (which I admit I am), and you still deliver a quality project on time, this is a true testament, which is why I highly recommend Holland Homes without hesitation.

We used Holland renovations for our basement renovation after investigating several contractors in the city. In the end, the proposal by Holland was competitive and the company had a great reputation. We particularly liked how honest and up-front Robert was and the fact that his company would take care of all the paperwork including drawings and permits. Robert presented this as non-negotiable whereas other contractors did not want to handle the administration and one even said we did not need any permits; which is against building code in the City of Ottawa. Holland Renovations provided us with copies of all the drawing, permits and inspection reports for our own files.

My wife and I have been in our home for ten years and plan on staying for a long time as we watch our family grow. This was the first big renovation for us and we were nervous about it since our basement was completely unfinished with bare concrete floor and walls. Robert and Scott were quite good at putting us at ease. Once we explained what we wanted done, Robert guided us through options and helped us make choices, which is something that was on going throughout the project. Even though we had a contract in place, they were flexible in making some modifications as things came up and my wife and I began flooding them with “good ideas.” In this case, Scott managed the construction phase and was able to manage our expectations. In some cases, we would have a good idea and he would go with it and in others he would discourage us because of things we did not know about.

Additionally, we were given options that we did not think about that made a huge difference in the end. Scott was fantastic at maximizing the space he had to work with and both Robert and Scott recommended large windows be put in to add natural light. This turned out to be a game-changer as the addition of the large egress windows now makes our basement feel like our living room.

Scott worked hard to keep the project on track and stayed in constant communication daily about progress or setbacks while managing his crew and the various tradesmen and inspectors that came through throughout the various phases of the project. His crew was professional, courteous and helpful in answering our questions along the way.

Above and beyond this, the crew took precautions to minimize the amount of dust and disruption that the renovation would have over the course of the project by putting up dust barriers and drop sheets where needed.

In the end, our basement renovation turned out better than our best expectations and was completed on time. I would highly recommend Holland Renovations.

Jason and Lori
Ottawa