RENOVATORS IN THE FAMILY
Company aims to deliver value
Keith Melanson, his son and wife, are the brains and brawn behind Ottawa renovation firm RenosGroup.
Rather than competing in Ottawa’s competitive high-end, ritzy renovation market, this familyowned, family-run company is more concerned with offering families the “best bang for their buck” — something they are extremely proud of.
“We don’t need to be the super high-end company. We’re not looking to sell products and gouge people on extra revenue wherever possible,” says Melanson. “We’re really, strictly, a service-oriented company.”
To put it simply they are a family working for families.
“There’s some kind of camaraderie that comes with it,” he says. “A family, in the end, will care more about your business than a whole bunch of sub-contractors that have no care in the end result.”
This is one of the reasons Kanata resident Vie Cameron hired RenosGroup to complete her basement and kitchen renovation.
“I always like to work with people who are friendly, easygoing and flexible,” says Cameron.
After a recommendation from her daughter and meeting Melanson in person, the decision was simple. He was the right guy for the job.
Cameron and her family moved into their home in 2000. With time, the kitchen had become outdated and looked humdrum with its traditional light wood cabinetry, beige walls and khaki-coloured countertops.
RenosGroup transformed the space to be brighter and more modern with white cabinetry, speckled black, beige and grey granite-like countertops and new appliances. They also changed the layout to be more open-concept, rather than compact.
Additionally, the team added about 1,600 square feet of livable space to the home by finishing its large basement. Previously, Cameron described the basement as “horrible” with dozens of boxes filling every inch of the unfinished space.
“How could we live like that? We just didn’t care. We didn’t go down to the basement. If anybody wanted to store their stuff, we took it in,” she explains. “One day the light came on. I thought ‘what’s happening here?’ I said ‘I really have to clean up.’ ”
She donated almost everything. She wanted to start fresh. Now, the finished basement is a place for Cameron’s grandchildren to play, and a spot where her family can relax or exercise.
“I think everyone should lighten their load. You feel good. You feel like a brand new person,” she says. “It feels like a home now.”
Melanson says this renovation is typical of the company’s usual jobs.
RenosGroup has been in operation for more than a decade. He says the reason they are successful is because they “keep it small.” It hasn’t always been that way though.
“There’s just so many things that can go wrong when you have a bad sub-contractor representing your company,” says Melanson. “Unfortunately over the years I’ve learned that the hard way.”
He had a list of bad experiences — everything from sub-contractors dirtying a new shower to leaving stains on a brand-new toilet.
“My family members would know better,” he says. “I trust them.”
Melanson hopes his son, now 26, takes over the company one day.