About: Alder & Oak Design Build | A Fixed-Price Design-Build Studio

A finished Alder and Oak renovation with white-oak cabinetry, a deep-green island and warm brass detailing

One team, one contract, accountable from the first sketch to the final coat.

Our Story

Founded on a simple frustration: renovations shouldn't be a gamble.

Alder & Oak began after too many homeowners told us the same story: a designer who drew a dream, an estimator who guessed at it, and a builder who blamed both when the numbers didn't line up. Somewhere in the handoffs, the budget quietly doubled.

So we built the studio we wished those homeowners had found first. Design and construction under one roof. One fixed price against a real, buildable design. One project manager who knows your name and your build. The craft of a boutique shop, run with the discipline of a company that respects your money and your home.

Design-led, build-proven: the people who draw it are accountable for building it.
An honest material palette: oak, quartz, brass and green, chosen to age beautifully.
Senior people on every job: you deal with decision-makers, not a rotating cast.

What We Stand For

Four promises behind every contract we sign.

Not slogans: the actual commitments that shape how we quote, build and stand behind your renovation.

One Fixed Price

Every allowance itemized in writing before demolition. As long as the scope holds, the number holds. No mid-project “surprises,” no vague line items.

Zero surprise change orders

One Point of Contact

A single dedicated project manager owns your build: one phone number, one person who knows exactly where your project stands.

One name, one number

Warrantied Workmanship

HCRA-licensed with Tarion coverage, fully insured and WSIB-covered, backed by a written workmanship warranty and verifiable local references.

Licensed, insured, warrantied

A Respected Home

Zip-wall barriers, HEPA filtration and protected walkways, tidied at the end of every day. You keep living in your home while we work in it.

Documented clean-site protocol

3D Before You Commit

You approve photoreal renders of the finished room, not a mood board, before a single wall comes down or a dollar is spent on materials.

See it, then sign

Local & Accountable

We build where we live (across Waterloo Region, Guelph, Hamilton and Oakville) and our reputation walks the same streets you do.

Southern Ontario, rooted

Who We Build For

The homeowners we do our best work with.

We're not the right studio for everyone, and that's the point. Alder & Oak is built for people who value a straight answer and a finish that lasts.

Long-term owners who plan to stay and want a renovation that still looks right in ten years.
Once-bitten homeowners who've lived through a “while we're in there” budget blow-up and never again.
Busy professionals who want one accountable point of contact, not three companies to referee.
Design-minded owners who want to see it in 3D and choose every finish before committing.
Character-home lovers who want modern comfort without erasing what makes the house theirs.
Value-driven planners who'd rather pay for certainty than gamble on the lowest bid.

We build the way we'd want our own homes built.