Denys Builds Designs Renovations

Verified by N49

Paul and colleague Adam did an outstanding job for us and I very much hope to hire them for another project next year. This year's work fitting new storm windows and refurbishing our c. 155 year old single hung sashes has transformed them from tired and awkward relics into fresh and functional windows that should last another couple of lifetimes. The hardware and glazing options Paul presented perfectly suit the house. He also fixed a long overdue cladding repair on an outside corner of the house and demonstrated real flexibility fitting in two unplanned dry wall repairs inside the house.

We had the pleasure of having Paul and Adam restore our Glebe porch this summer. The restoration involving structural repair, taking the stonework down to below grade and back along with the replacement of almost all the wood including the custom milled columns and porch ceiling.

The attention to detail, deep knowledge of historical details and care put into every aspect of the restoration put Paul and Adam in the rare category of craftsmen. Paul took the time to communicate every decision along with the thought process used to arrive at the recommendations every step of the way.

I cannot recommend the Denys team highly enough and hope the pictures do justice to the absolutely stellar quality of the renovation.

If you have a complicated, historical restoration before you I don’t think you can do better than Paul and Adam. We are looking around the house wondering what else we could get them back to do.

After years of frustration with our 100-year old home’s broken sash windows, we hired Paul Denys to restore the cording so that our windows now work smoothly.
A highly skilled craftsman, Paul is committed to restoring heritage windows frames. Moreover, my family of 7 were impressed with the way he managed to work around us, in a very congenial way. He was generous with his time, answering our questions clearly and providing useful advice on several other long-standing issues with our aging house. We are pleased to recommend him for any heritage work.
-Allison Dingle

Paul Denys did a marvellous job on a designated heritage property near the Rideau Canal, restoring a porch and balcony. His quote was not the lowest that we got, but we felt that he had the most experience with the type of work that was needed. He was very reliable, responded to emails and phone calls, explained what he was doing, when he was going to do it, and gave us options when appropriate. He and his crew showed up on time, and provided detailed work plans. His expertise is evident, as is his care in heritage properties. We are very happy with the final result, and highly recommend Denys Builds Designs Renovations.

Patrick and I are beyond pleased with the outstanding renovation and restoration work that Paul and Adam completed on our property. Paul’s professionalism, expertise, and attention to detail were truly exceptional, and we wholeheartedly recommend him. Throughout the project, he demonstrated unwavering dedication, offering clear guidance and thoughtful support with honesty and care. Paul built a strong and trusting relationship with us, and we feel incredibly fortunate to have worked with him. Without hesitation, we would choose Paul again for any future projects—his talent and commitment make him a standout in the renovation and design field.

I had several original wood frame windows with lovely glass, and I did not want to replace them. I found Paul Denys, and he was the total solution to all my decisions and all the work.

When you need help, you hope for somebody who (1) knows what they are talking about and can lay out all of your options rather than sell you on the overstock sitting in their van, (2) does a technically great job and doesn't break your stuff, (3) is friendly and respectful and a pleasure to have in your home. Paul gets 5 stars in each category. I wish I could give him 15 stars, but Google's scale only goes up to 5.

And if all that is not enough, his prices are very "fair" (which means low!)

The porch reconstruction project was completed successfully on time and on budget. The various challenges encountered throughout the project were resolved in close consultation with me and to my full satisfaction.
Paul and Adam took the time to explain their design decisions at every stage of the project and through the use of pictures and videos showed me the details of their work focusing in the before and after conditions at the critical stages of the porch reconstruction.
They explained the construction materials used and reasons for their choices.
Their weekly invoices detailed clearly the work accomplished and the cost of the materials used.
In summary, it was a very good experience, the work was performed with a high degree of professionalism and to very high quality standards

Thanks Paul for helping us update our 40 year old kitchen. The work started and finished on time and on budget. Your help in design planning and appliance, countertop and lighting choices was invaluable in giving us a beautiful, functional kitchen that is modern and bright - a real asset to our home! We look forward to working with you on another project.
Sheila & Brent MacDonald

We own an older custom built home that has had many upgrades over the
years, and a year ago we experienced water infiltration in a couple of
areas. We contacted several contractors who willingly provided quotes to
repair visual damage, but no mention of fixing the root of the problem.
finally discovered Denys Builds Designs & Renovations and Paul came to
inspect and advise. He was the first to assure me that the source had to be
found before doing any other repairs and that would not be possible during
the winter months, but that he would return in the spring to advise &
proceed further.
In the meantime I advised him of a problem with our Kitchen fan and
inquired if he could repair it. He readily accepted this challenge and soon
had it working properly including a new vent cap.
After listening to him discuss our water filtration problem and watching him
repair our kitchen fan I knew that he was the best contractor for our needs,
and agreed to have him return in the Spring. Finding the root of our
problem was not easy, but his perseverance ultimately paid off and we
were able to solve our problem.
Paul is an excellent example of exactly what I look for in a contractor - lots
of experience to draw on to help solve problems, excellent communication
skills to keep clients informed of what is happening or needed, and a
dedication to his commitments.
We are maintaining his contact numbers for any future work that we may
require and are happy to recommend his services to anyone else needing a
good contractor.
Bill Bratt

If you want it done right, call Paul Denys. This may sound like a cliche, but in this case it is 100% accurate.
He is professional, reliable and knowledgeable.
He delivers as promised.
He is current on code and the best practices of various trades.
He is extremely knowledgeable and that, in turn, benefits his clients immensely.
When he commits to a job, he commits to his clients.
We are grateful to have come to know him and to experience his exceptional work first hand - and - secure in knowing we can count on his design and build services going forward.

We have known Paul's work for almost 40 years. In that time he has grown in design and building. He is highly professional, good at discussing with his client as work progresses. I fully recommend Paul's meticulous perfection.
If you want reliability and peace of mind Denys Builds Designs is the contractor for you.

In recent years Paul put in a new bathroom in our basement. It was well designed for a tight space and continues to demonstrate Paul's quality advice, design and workmanship. He has just done repair work on our other bathroom and again he gets in and makes things right with his experience and solutions.

Paul repaired our heritage sash windows and did a superb job. They now glide open and closed perfectly. We are supremely pleased with the work he did.

We contacted Paul in November 2020 to discuss renovating the kitchen in our 1933 semi-detached house, and to help stop some air leakage from the original wood windows. Paul was very responsive and worked with us to ensure the design of the kitchen reflected our ideas and tastes, gently sharing his expertise and pushing back when necessary. The kitchen renovation was completed in spring 2022 after various pandemic delays. Paul walked us through the process, updating us daily with the work to be completed that day, and ensuring the decisions we were making were what we wanted. His attention to detail was impressive. Paul and Adam were always prompt and left the site clean and tidy at the end of the day. We are thrilled with the results and would recommend him wholeheartedly.

We contacted Paul in November 2020 to discuss renovating the kitchen in our 1933 semi-detached house, and to help stop some air leakage from the original wood windows. Paul was very responsive and worked with us to ensure the design of the kitchen reflected our ideas and tastes, gently sharing his expertise and pushing back when necessary. The kitchen renovation was completed in spring 2022 after various pandemic delays. Paul walked us through the process, updating us daily with the work to be completed that day, and ensuring the decisions we were making were what we wanted. His attention to detail was impressive. Paul and Adam were always prompt and left the site clean and tidy at the end of the day. We are thrilled with the results and would recommend him wholeheartedly.

This has been the very best experience that I have ever had with a contractor. Denys Builds Designs exceeded all of my expectations. We had water damage on three floors of our 100 year old home, and Paul and Adam restored our home to perfection. They are punctual, always delivering on time. Their expertise and advice is unparalleled. I could go on and on about their skills and dedication. They are the best!

I needed advice about how to repair the wood windows on my 1920 home and Paul was excellent. He installed invisible balances to make them easier to open and close and also added weather stripping to the windows and to my old wood doors to improve their winter performance. The difference has been amazing, especially with this crazy cold winter! I sincerely appreciated Paul’s knowledge, skill and conservation minded approach. He is highly recommended!

In early 2021, we moved into a home built between 1895 and 1897 that contained many of its original features including its wood windows. I reached out to Paul to discuss a few different projects, window restoration being one of them. Paul is extremely knowledgeable and took the time to offer ideas on a number of possibilities, all of which surrounded our goal of restoring of the windows to full working capacity while adding some ease of use elements such as allowing year-round installation of the storm windows through installing hangers and stays, as well as installing invisible balances for our interior windows to permit easy opening/closing in place of the old "window sticks" used. We formalized our contract in April.
We experienced start delays owing completely to the pandemic, but once Paul and Adam started in early September of 2021 they were always on time and worked from minute one until the end of the day to accomplish the goals they set out. The workmanship on the windows was excellent and while onsite they helped free up some transom windows and level/adjust many of the interior doors that had closing difficulties.
Paul and Adam restored 21 windows and 21 storms along with 4 transoms and a number of doors in a two week span. The efficiency and consistent effort with no minutes wasted onsite were greatly appreciated. During the closing days of the work, Paul also noticed some elements of our roof corbels were missing and managed to have replacement reproduction parts made and colour-matched which he returned to install within a month of completing the windows (on a rainy day no less!)
I recommend Paul unreservedly.

During the summer of 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, we needed to do some repair work on our front porch. The home was built in 1903 and a key objective was to preserve the historical value and architectural integrity of the property. The front verandah, the home’s most striking feature, is rare and unique to Ottawa. We were only willing to assign this project to someone who had the construction expertise and historical appreciation to successfully undertake a project of this nature. The selection of Denys Build/Design Renovation proved to be an inspired one. Paul and Adam were both detail-oriented and displayed the high degree of craftsmanship the project required. Both were diligent, reliable, meticulous and always forward-thinking. If there is one aspect of the project that was disappointing, it is the fact that the final cost far surpassed the original estimate. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic the fact this was a historic home, no one knew what to expect in the way of material shortages and related costs. Still, the final result is outstanding and we could never have achieved this result without the assistance of Denys Build/Design Renovation. - Sheril and Bob, Ottawa

Paul is extremely knowledgeable and honest. He takes time to explain issues and potential solutions, and the quality of his workmanship is never in doubt. If you are looking for a builder you can trust, he is your man.

Over several decades, Paul Denys has done a wide variety of renovations and repairs to my home. I truly value his expertise, professionalism, work quality and problem-solving skills. He always stands by his work. Paul is always my first contact for home renovations and repairs. Rev. L. Wheeler

Paul and Adam did a great job modifying an existing vintage dining room table to be repurposed as a desk. Paul responded quickly to my request and was able to fit in the project between his already scheduled work. They took great care to make sure the desk would be both functional and attractive. I am very pleased with the result!

We recently added a new powder room to the main floor of our Edwardian era home. The project was difficult given the age of the home (1907) and our design choices. From the original design process through to completion Paul demonstrated professionalism and expertise. He remained client focused and supportive. He shared his knowledge and empowered us to make decisions.

After years of hiring Paul Denys for different building contracts, I have no hesitation to recommend him. I totally trust his skills and artistry.
Always calm and diplomat, his work approaches perfection. Because perfection in old buildings is impossible. ;-)