Trust, confidence in your builder
THE OFFICE at Shane Renovations looks more like an architectural firm than a construction company.
The floors are polished concrete. One wall is done in wood slats. The couches are sleek black leather. There’s a calfskin rug and a slick, modern-looking foosball table.
“I wanted to showcase our design talent a little bit,” says Shane Van Barneveld, owner of the company, which specializes in additions and full-scale renovations.
He knows this is part of what sets his business apart, so he tries to get clients into his Ancaster office as soon as possible.
As he puts it, then they know Shane Renovations isn’t just a guy in a truck. It includes a team of 14, complete with an architectural technician who can help plan the new space, and a selections coordinator who will hold your hand through the finer points of paint colour and faucet style.
“They know this is a for-sure company, not just a fly-by-night company,” says Van Barneveld, 40.
“They see a lot of structure and a footprint that’s not going to disappear any time soon, so they feel a whole lot more comfortable signing cheques for hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Van Barneveld didn’t start out with cheques for hundreds of thousands.
When he established the company i n Hamilton 16 years ago, he was in his 20s. He had grown up in Sarnia, learning renos from his housebuilder uncle, and moved to Hamilton at 18.
In its early days, Shane Renovations focused on small-scale projects including decks.
As Van Barneveld’s team has grown, though, and the local real estate market has changed, so too has the company’s scope. Fifty per cent of the business is design work now. Most renos are in Ancaster and Hamilton. There’s some work in Oakville.
It sells itself. Part of this is word of mouth, but part of it is client’s attitudes toward housework.
“We see people putting more and more money in,” says Van Barneveld. “It used to be a challenge to sell a $200, 000 job.”
In the past, he says people wanted to invest as little money as possible in case they decided to move. Now clients are thinking about their homes in terms of 15- and 20-year commitments.
They’re bringing half-a-million-dollar jobs to the company. Not because they’re looking to increase equity, but because they plan to stay and enjoy the house.
These days, Shane Renovations can afford to say no to anything less than $50,000.