About us
A Local Crew, Not a Call Centre
We are a carpentry and renovation company based in Cornwall, working across Akwesasne and Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry.
Why we work the way we do
Most homeowners are not choosing between a good contractor and a bad one. They are choosing between four quotes with wildly different numbers and no way to tell what the difference actually buys.
That is the problem we set out to solve in how we work. Our quotes are itemised, so you can see what each part of the job costs and where the money goes. We tell you what is likely to be behind the wall before we open it, and we carry an allowance for it rather than surprising you halfway through. And the people who come to your door to measure are the people who build the job.
Who you are dealing with
Elite Carpentry is Jake Martin’s business, and he is on the tools rather than behind a desk.
He has spent close to a decade in the trade, and the range matters more than the number: windows, siding, fencing, decks, bathrooms and complete kitchen renovations. That breadth is the reason we will tell you early when a deck problem is really a drainage problem, or when the window you want replaced is fine and the trim around it is not. A crew that only does one thing tends to find that one thing wherever it looks.
The work has run from single rooms in a house through to commercial projects, and the commercial side is where a lot of the habits come from — a schedule you were given in advance, a written scope everyone is working from, and a site left clean at the end of the day rather than at the end of the job.
He is also fussy about the finish. Mitres that actually meet, fasteners in a line, cuts that are square because they were measured twice — the parts of a job nobody writes into a quote and everybody notices afterwards. When a detail comes out wrong it gets pulled apart and done again, not caulked over.
What licensed and insured actually means
It is the most-claimed and least-checked phrase in contracting, so here is what to ask for — from us, and from everyone else you are considering.
- Liability insurance. Ask for a certificate naming the insurer and the coverage amount. If a contractor damages your neighbour’s property, this is what stands between you and the bill.
- WSIB coverage. Ask for a clearance certificate. If an uninsured worker is injured on your property, you can be exposed as the owner.
- Licensed trades for licensed work. Plumbing and electrical must be done by people who hold those licences. We coordinate them; we do not pretend to be them.
- A written contract. Scope, price, payment schedule and timeline in writing. Never pay the full amount up front, for any contractor.
We will provide all of the above without being asked twice. A contractor who gets uncomfortable when you ask is telling you something important.
How we quote
Free, in writing, and itemised. We measure on site rather than quoting from a description, because the conditions are where the cost is. We check setbacks, permit requirements and lot coverage before we give you a number, and we tell you which authority the permit goes through — which around here is not always the City of Cornwall.
If we think the job is not worth doing, or that a repair would serve you better than a replacement, we will say so. We would rather lose a sale than take money for work that does not need doing.
How we work
What you can hold us to
Licensed and fully insured
Liability insurance and WSIB coverage on every job. Certificates available before we start — ask us, and ask everyone else you are considering.
Written quotes, itemised
You get a document that shows what each part of the job costs, so you can compare properly and change the scope without renegotiating from scratch.
One crew, start to finish
The people who quote your job are the people who build it. No subcontracted mystery crew turning up on day one who have never seen the quote.
We know these houses
Cornwall's post-war stock, the 1957–58 Seaway villages, Glengarry's rural properties — we have opened enough of these walls to price the surprises realistically instead of discovering them mid-job.
Schedules we actually keep
You get a written schedule and we tell you early if anything moves. Silence is the thing homeowners hate most about renovation work, and it is avoidable.
Straight answers
If a repair is smarter than a replacement, we will say so. If your budget is not realistic for the scope, we will say that too, before you have spent anything.
Service areas
Where we work
Based in Cornwall and working across Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. If your town is not listed, call us anyway — we travel.
Want to talk to us before committing to anything?
That is how most of our jobs start. Call or send a note and we will tell you what your project actually involves.