/ About
A contracting studio
built by builders.
BuildForge was founded in 2008 by two foremen who got tired of watching corners get cut. Seventeen years and 180 projects later, the rule still stands: build it like your name is on it. Because it is.
We started in a single-bay shop off Barton Street with a used pickup, a chop saw and a notebook full of clients who'd followed our founders out of a larger GC. The first job was a basement underpinning in Hamilton's east end. The second was a kitchen in Dundas. The work compounded the way it usually does in this trade — one neighbour, one architect, one happy homeowner at a time.
Today we run a 38-person crew out of 16 Jellicoe Court, with self-perform teams in concrete, framing, tile and finish carpentry. We take on roughly 20 to 25 projects a year — small enough that a principal is on every site, large enough that we can mobilize a full crew on short notice when a client needs us.
/ How we work
Builders first. Always.
Most of our project managers came up swinging hammers. That matters more than it sounds. When the framer flags an out-of-square wall at 7am, the person on the other end of the phone has framed walls themselves — and knows whether it's a real problem or a 10-minute fix. Decisions happen on the spot, not in a Tuesday meeting three days later.
We run open-book GMP contracts on most of our work. That means you see the actual sub bids, the actual material invoices, and the actual crew hours. The fee is fixed. The savings come back to you. It's a slower way to sell a job and a faster way to earn trust — and after seventeen years, roughly 70% of our work comes from past clients or their referrals.
Safety isn't a poster in the trailer. We've held an OSHA recordable rate of 0.04% across the last five years — top quartile in our region, every year — because every site lead is empowered to stop work, and because we'd rather lose a day than a finger.
/ Timeline
Seventeen years, one address book.
Founded in Hamilton
Two foremen, a used pickup, and a basement renovation on Concession Street.
First custom home
Delivered a 4,200 sq ft new build in Ancaster, on time and under budget.
Commercial division
Opened a dedicated commercial arm after a string of restaurant build-outs in Westdale.
16 Jellicoe Court HQ
Moved into our current shop and yard — the same address we work out of today.
180th project delivered
Crossed $240M in lifetime construction value across the GTHA.
Heritage practice
Launched a dedicated heritage restoration team for Hamilton's century homes.
/ Values
Owner-led
Every project has a principal on it. Not a sales rep — the person who'll sign the punch list.
Self-perform
We keep concrete, framing and finish work in-house. It shows in the schedule and the bill.
Transparent pricing
Open-book GMP. You see every sub bid, every change, every line item.
Safety first
0.04% OSHA recordable rate over the last five years. Top quartile, every year.
/ Community
We live where we build.
Our crews coach minor hockey in Stoney Creek, sponsor the Hamilton Habitat for Humanity build week each spring, and run an apprenticeship program with Mohawk College that's put 14 new tradespeople on local sites in the last four years. The work pays the bills. The neighbourhood is why we do it.