Where It All Began

As a young teenager, Stewart had always been fascinated with great designs growing up in Jamaica. The art of building was not a new concept to him, being that his father was a contractor, and his uncle was a furniture maker.

Early Influences

Stewart was taken under his wing by a family friend and contractor named Mr. Dixon. He was the first individual to show him the ropes of carpentry, masonry, excavation and tiling. He soon became a mentor of Stewart and through experience, gave him the confirmation he needed to solidify his love for the trades.

New Country

Three days after arriving in Canada, he was introduced to another family friend who was a tradesman named David Pray who took Stewart under his wing, becoming another mentor of his. David started him off with small jobs that consisted of sanding and installing drywall. It was not his favourite part of the job but eventually led him to other work with which he fell in love with such as woodworking, painting and tiling which he eventually got to learn and perfect. This love for his profession allowed him to dedicate his spare time to doing side projects and fixing what he could to showcase his skills on the job. This in turn led him to work one of his most memorable projects: aiding in the construction of the nursing home, The Wellington in Hamilton.

The Realization

Even though he loved working under his mentor, his pay of $4/hr was not nearly enough to sustain a living, so he worked a couple part-time positions doing building maintenance and subbing for other contractors. By this time, he noticed a pattern at almost every place he worked – inconsistency. An inconsistency in the quality of other contractors’ work and in the information that was being relayed to the clients. He found that others were being deceitful to their clients about how close they were to being finished a project and he even found himself covering for other contractors who were late to the job site. Due to these circumstances, the quality of their work suffered just to get the job done and get paid. Stewart hated putting himself in a position to cover for other contractors who were not only unreceptive but lacked integrity and honesty. He refused to work for individuals such as those, when he had been around model contractors such as his mentors.

The Business Begins

Stewart’s prior experiences pushed him to open his first business. He was still working part time positions, painting apartment buildings to acquire more experience. Once the business started to pick up, he quit his other part time jobs to focus solely on the business.

New Name, Same Face

After Stewart realized he could make a living from the business, he didn’t want this business to just be his own but for his family. He wanted to create a legacy, hence the first rebrand as Stewart Renovation.

Family Business

As adults, Stewart’s children finally took an interest in their father’s work, wanting to turn Stewart Renovation into a family-owned business. They are currently working with their father to change the way that clients are dealt with in the industry and to be the team that provides the high level of quality service they wish they had received. This move inspired the family to do a second company rebrand, bringing the same quality service with a new & improved modern feel to the corporation.