New renovation company wants to put client first, fill demand for trades

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

A new Tillsonburg resident is hoping he can fill what he identified as a void for increased demand for renovations.

David Kane recently started David Kane Renovations recently after he identified a province-wide shortage of skilled trades. He worked for two large construction companies, and went to Connestoga College for renovation and renovation technician.

“I’ve been wanting to start my own company for a while,” he said. “It’s something I wanted to do since I got in construction.”

He and his wife were living in the Kitchener area and were looking to escape from the city.

“We want a smaller-town vibe,” he said. “We aren’t feeling the city any more as it’s too busy.”

With his parents from Norwich and his wife’s family in Port Rowan, they settled on Tillsonburg. Doing his research, he found although there is a shortage of trades with people retiring, the Port Rowan market seemed saturated. That helped the decision to locate in Tillsonburg.

Kane, 35, didn’t discover the trades until his late 20s, having worked in another field. He grew up helping his father around the house, and then helped in the industry part-time for a few years before going to school.

The focus of his business will be kitchen, bathroom and basement renovations. Kane will be the general contractor, doing the carpentry work, flooring and finishing, but subcontracting out trades like plumbing. He is targeting homeowners who have pride in their home.

“It’s going to be homeowners a little more settled in and looking for a quality job,” he said of his target clientele.

Kane said one of the challenges people have with hiring a contractor is having them show up at times the homeowner expects them.

“When you hire a small-time contractor in general, communication is hard,” he said. “Having the ability to know when your worker is going to show up is important.”

He tackled this problem by using client project management software that lets the client see when he will show up, and see a summary of the work done through pictures. For instance, he said one important thing for scheduling may be the client’s need to know if the water is going to be cut off. His software informs clients of this.

Kane wants David Kane Renovations to put the client first and make the renovation process as seamless as possible.