Yes.  Unlike other home renovation companies, our combined design and construction team prepares visual renovation concepts and an itemized preliminary budget free of charge.  It is only when you decide to proceed with the renovation that we require a $3,500 retainer. Read more about our process.

Yes, having an in-house design team is a very important aspect of The Woolrich Way.  We are a fully/integrated design and construction home renovation team.  Our team of Calgary-based interior and exterior designers, architectural partners and construction project managers speak the same language and have aligning goals, and the synergy that exists within our talented team is one of the key success factors to delivering a high-quality renovation on time and on budget.

At Woolrich, our design style is yours – a reflection of your life.  While many home renovation and construction companies emphasize their design style, our mission is to get to know you to understand your lifestyle, needs and tastes.  We help you identify and create the sort of design environment in which you are happy and comfortable.  We don’t do cookie-cutter—all our projects are unique because they are tailored to the unique needs of each client.

We don’t do cookie-cutter so there is no cookie-cutter answer to how much your home renovation or custom home build will cost.  Your renovation and construction project will be customized to your needs and wants. After an initial no-charge introductory meeting, we provide a detailed preliminary budget to help you make an educated decision about your investment in your home renovation project.  That’s The Woolrich Way.  

Your preliminary budget is your home renovation and construction blueprint.  It details line by line all the elements required to achieve your home renovation or new home build, along with cost estimation.  It also includes visual concepts customized to your wishes.  This blueprint is the process through which we develop an understanding of each other and begin our collaborative working relationship to meet your overall home renovation or custom home expectations.

At Woolrich, we put in the hard work upfront so our clients can expect the actual costs to be within 5% of the quoted budget and, even before the demo starts.

At Woolrich, we believe that upfront planning – a 12 to 14 week time frame from our initial point of contact to the start of construction – is key to delivering your home renovation or new custom home project on time and on budget.  We put considerable time and effort into upfront planning so you can trust that when you work with us, your budget reflects actual costs that are typically within 5% of the quoted budget.

Our project lead time can be broken into 3 phases and each one requires your approval before we move onto the next.  These phases are:

1. Renovation Concepts & Preliminary Budget – After sitting down together to understand what you value and how we can satisfy your needs through your renovation project, we prepare creative renovation concepts alongside an itemized preliminary budget.
2. Design & Working Budget – Once you approve the preliminary budget and are ready to move forward with your renovation, we work collaboratively to finalize the project scope while establishing a working budget. This involves developing your design options and inviting trade partners on-site to quote on your project.
3. Contract Signature & Materials Ordering – Once you approve the working budget, we sign a contract, finalize the renovation details, and order your renovation materials. It typically takes 4-6 weeks for renovation materials to arrive, and once they do, renovation construction can begin.

Read more about our process.

Every home renovation or new home construction is different, but we use a rough formula that has served us well over the years:  for the first $100,000 spent in renovation cost you can expect a 6-week timeframe, and then every subsequent $100,000 is an additional month.

We provide a high-level schedule so that you don’t have to worry about how that schedule is maintained.  Our job is to do our best to complete tasks when we say we will and make the process as seamless as possible for our clients.  That’s The Woolrich Way.  

Absolutely. We understand that thoughts, ideas, and even the scope of projects sometimes shift and grow.  We work hard to incorporate those changes into the budget and timeline while maintaining open communication. Significant scope changes may affect the cost and time it takes to complete your renovation or new home construction project.  We discuss with you the implications and your options before the changes are amended to the contract.

At Woolrich we have been renovating homes for more than 25 years while working with a savvy group of trades, artisans, and suppliers.  We stand behind our work with a best -in-class 2-year warranty in line with BILD (Building Industry Land Development Association Alberta), offering protection superior to the Alberta New Home Warranty program. 

Yes, Woolrich is bonded, insured, and covered by WCB – Workers’ Compensation Board Alberta.

You don’t, but we typically recommend it. It can be stressful living in the space while the renovations are taking place and the dust, noise and loud noises, and trades working long hours may disturb your day-to-day. 

Tearing down or renovating your existing home largely depends on the general state of your home, what is happening with other homes in your community, and how attached you are to your land.  With over 25 years of experience, our team of interior and exterior designers, architectural partners and construction project managers can help you determine the best value based on your situation.  At Woolrich, we want to help you optimize your home and bring out its fullest potential, either with a home renovation or by an addition of living space.  If we do not feel that the value is there for you to renovate your existing home, we will help you explore a new custom home build.