Straightline Carpentry

Great work on a beautiful custom home by Straight-line Carpentry. Mike brings detail and value to every job he does.

I have been working with Straightline for a number of years on a variety of projects and have developed an amazing professional relationship. Mike the owner goes above and beyond with research and prep work to make sure the project is efficient and to above expectations. He has built large commercial buildings to beautifully crafted wood sheds for me. No matter the size of job the same effort and eye goes into it. From residential to commercial he can do it all. My only worry is the word is getting out and he might be too busy for future projects. Satisfied business and home owner.

This was the biggest renovation project we have carried out so far so we were a little apprehensive about how it would go. Being an older 'Nelson' house you really don't know what you're getting into until you rip the walls apart and this was going to be a full gut job. Walls, floor, window, plumbing, electrical, the works. We figured we would be living in a building site for a few weeks but Mike and his team made sure the area was cleaned up at the end of each day. As the new room started to take shape we made some changes and additions to our original requirements, which Mike took care of with little to no change to his original estimate. Great attention to detail and fine carpentry work. Always keen to offer some ideas from his previous work. We've been using our new bathroom for a few weeks now and it's amazing. We really should have done it sooner! :) We will definately be asking Mike to return for the next reno project we have in mind.

Mike is an extremely competent, accommodating and reliable person. He was clear with his information and cost, easy to talk to and delivered a beautiful product in the midst of his very busy schedule on other bigger projects.

Mike doesn't allow hold-backs and won't provide any assurance of warranty support of any kind. When your expensive, custom made and installed kitchen counter top seam splits in under a year and you send a photo of the problem and description of what's happening to the contractor who made and installed it, you might reasonably expect you'll learn of a date and time when that contractor can come to repair the failure. What you'll get from Mike is this: "Put some epoxy in it and clamp it." When we worked with Straightline Mike managed a great deal of work in a tight time frame, including 3 rental units and the rehabilitation of our Ronald Thom designed home. A lot of good work came out of these projects, but at a significant cost to our self esteem. When things go wrong (labour, budgets, material or workmanship failures), Mike is angry and combatant. He was reliably in a foul mood at the start of every week and never receptive to any questions about budget over runs. At the end of the major projects, he argued for over two hours about a list of deficiences that in the scheme of things (10 months, half a million dollars in costs paid in full and on time) was both fair and represented an extremely small fraction of a percentage of the overall projects. He belittled the subtrades and blamed them for problems behind their backs. He managed the work load (and cost overruns) by offloading responsibility for site clean up to us, his clients, two middle-aged women left to haul waste and clear post-construction materials. Mike won't tolerate a hold-back of any amount for any reason without a fight. On our projects, we have a hold-back of approx. 0.4% on a unit where the roof repair was still leaking at project completion, and 0.8% on a repair that requires a permit review. Both of these hold-back requests invoked a long string of in-person and email argument, and a withdrawing, on Mike's part, from assisting with deficiences in workmanship that have arisen in under one-year. Sure, we're stupid for trusting that pride in workmanship and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent brought some level of good faith. That's on us. The incredible rudeness and aggression behind telling a client to "fix it yourself", that's on Mike.

I can't say enough good things about the way Mike runs his business. Honest, hard working, and fair. He has a good eye for design and works well within any budget. We are always happy to work with him and recommend him every chance we get.

On budget and on time. No lapses between sub-trades. Very respectful and willing to do the extras that arose along the way. Professional and a high standard of workmanship from all trades. Always returned phone calls and kept me informed and updated throughout.

Straightline carpentry worked for me this fall - and tackled the large job of putting multi-coloured metal siding on my tall house. The team worked solidly, and with great competence, and I am very pleased with the quality of the work overall. On top of that, Mike's friendliness, and openness for discussion was very refreshing. On top of that they came in at the low end of their original quote! I would recommend Mike and his colleagues at Straightline without hesitation.

Knowledgeable. Professional. Approachable. Respectful. Reasonable rates. Excellenct work ethic. Mike and crew assembled our Mandala custom home without prior exposure to constructing such buildings.

I hired Straightline Carpentry for a complete house build from post and beam framing to interior trim to cabinetry. I worked along side through all stages and was consistently impressed with the professionalism, knowledge and attention to detail. One thing I really appreciated was how efficient the process was. There was a great attention to detail, but at all times I felt like costs and timelines were being considered. That's important because I have had other experiences where projects have ballooned due to a fastidiousness without being mindful of project budgets. I would have no hesitation in recommending Mike Hood and Straightline Carpentry for any building project, large or small.

Straightlinecarpentry Carpentry built my house in a very timely and efficient manner. The quality of the work was outstanding and well thought out. At times changes were made to the plans that ultimately led to better flow in the house. Straightline Carpentry worked within my budget and was always available to discuss issues whenever they arose. This company will be the first one I call when I have another project.

Straightline Carpentry provided project management, design, logistics and execution of to new building projects. The end product was of high quality and delivered on a timely basis. The contractor was knowledgeable and provided great quidance on material selection.

Honest, hard working and creative. Offered great suggestions on the best way to spend our budget; where to spend and where to save. We recommend them any chance we get.

Mike is a great problem solver, willing to research the best way of doing things, works hard, and is actually honest. I've hired him to work with some awkward, messy renovations, and his solutions to problems are always excellent.

Mike has a very high standard of quality and design. At the same time, he is easy to work with: punctual, dedicated, reliable and effective communicator. I highly recommend his work.