Ottawa General Contractors

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

As a homeowner, I did a thorough online search of renovation companies in Ottawa and was impressed with the website of OGC. I was particularly impressed with the fact that the owner of OGC, Moe Abbas, was on the Board of Directors of the BBB for Eastern Ontario and that his firm, OGC, had received numerous commendations for excellence. I decided to give them a call and was surprised to get such an immediate and helpful response from Doug , who Identified himself as an OGC "Project Estimator" ; he assured me that he would be my primary point of contact for the up-front analysis and we made arrangements to meet and review my requirements/expectations. I was very comfortable with his courteous, knowledgeable and customer focused manner. From this point forward every step of the renovation process was absolutely clear, detailed in writing, time framed, costed...AND DELIVERED! I was delighted with the professional team from OGC who attended to every aspect of my renovation project from start to finish. In particular, James, the Project Manager, performed beyond expectation in keeping my wife and myself fully informed of progress, even while we were away on holidays, and in ensuring that our "wish list" was implemented to its fullest. James and his team performed in an exemplary manner from start to finish. The reno of both bathrooms was completed ahead of schedule and with an obvious attention to professionalism and customer satisfaction. And, when the project was finished, there was absolutely no hassle in terms of pricing! The OGC team went the extra mile to more than satisfy our needs and expectations. It is our pleasure to highly recommend OGC for home renovations; you won't be disappointed with their service!

I was more then please with the service I got from Ottawa General contractors. Very friendly, honest and punctual people. The work was done in a appropriate timeline, the workers were very nice and respective of the environment. The work is amazing and I just love it!! Thank you a thousands times Ottawa General contractors!!!!

very bad planning. too many workers at the same time or none when supposed to have some. It took five months before seeing the end of the renovation. They had to redo flooring, partitions, etc. They had to take all cupboard doors back to the shop to re-stain them. Real nightmare.

Hello,

I hired Ottawa General Contractors last month to finish my basement and add a kitchen. The renovators did very good job on the basement. I will 150% go with them again for my next home renovation project.

It only took 3 weeks to complete, in and out. Letting my family enjoy the new basement is joyful. Thank you Ottawa General Contractors, I hope you enjoy the fruit basket my wife made you personally :)