When we bought on Bowen, we didn’t think really through the realities of renovating on Bowen. Bowen, like many other islands and rural communities, has a limited workforce, shortage of skilled trades, and a body of water between us and the Home Depot!
We have learned most of our reno skills through YouTube, but every so often you need a pro! We feel very lucky to be introduced to some really great trades and small businesses since moving here, and they’ve saved us many of days.
We trust these folks with the code to our front door and would recommend them in a heartbeat:
- Carpentry: Robbie Savoie at West Coast Micro Builds (Mike Hartwick at Bowen Island Construction is great too!)
- Electrical: Austin at West Coast Micro Builds
- Plumbing: Derek Nelson and team at Precise Plumbing & Heating
- Drywalling: Chris Labelle
- Tiling: David Penny at Bowen Island Tile & Renovations
- Painting: Sascha Yamashita (we’ve heard that Matt Van Dyke is great too!)
- Gutter Installation: Chris at Aqua Terra Eavestroughs
- Roof Cleaning & Moss Removal: Jeremie at Salt Spring Exterior Cleaning Services
- Excavating & Drainage: Scott Moore at Coastal Mini Excavating
- Trucking & Soil Delivery: Cam Rolfe at Coast Island Enterprises
- Waste Removal & Soil Delivery: Mike Carachelo at Mike’s Bins
In addition to skilled trades, we are very lucky to have a local building centre. The Bowen Building Centre carries a ton of stuff and they’re able to order most things in as well.