Click, bid, renovate

Looking for a quality contractor to renovate your home? Post your project online and let the bidding begin

BY PATRICK LANGSTON, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN

Jeff Parkes, left, Melissa Denyes and Thomas Krul have launched a new web-based service, bidmyreno.com, that matches customers with contractors, designers and architects who are serious about bidding on renovation projects.

Photograph by: Julie Oliver, The Ottawa Citizen, The Ottawa Citizen

You've spent precious hours combing the phone book for contractors, calling numbers only to wind up in voicemail hell or setting appointments to meet contractors who never show up to do the promised estimate. After a while, you're tempted to just abandon your renovation plans and let the house fall down.

Jeff Parkes says he can help. He's president of Ottawa's bidmyreno.com, a web-based service that links customers with contractors, designers and architects who are serious about bidding on projects.

The service is free for home and business owners while contractors must pay a registration fee to screen prospective projects online. They contact the customer only if the job interests them.

"There are a lot of good contractors out there, but most of us don't know who they are or if they're available," says Parkes, 37. "From a consumer's perspective, this was a no-brainer. Instead of looking through the Yellow Pages, the Yellow Pages call you."

Here's how it works: Say you want to have a deck built. You post a description of the project -- size, budget, deadline -- online with a photo of the area, plans, if any, and the area of town you live in (you can see current projects on the company's website).

Contractors registered with the service -- Parkes has about 70 so far -- can respond with a firm bid or, if the project looks complex, submit a non-binding budget, request additional information or ask for an on-site meeting.
Once the bid is submitted, a prospective customer can access the contractor's profile page to learn more about the company. The customer's name and other information remain unavailable to the contractor until the customer decides otherwise.
Parkes, who has worked in the Ottawa construction industry for many years, got the idea for bidmyreno.com about three years ago.

"I'd done top-to-bottom renovations of properties I own and had extreme difficulty finding competitive contractors. I'd be calling friends, parents -- 'Who did you use?' This (service) can save people enormous time and energy.
Projects posted on the website so far are mostly small to mid-size jobs, including the installation of a backyard fence or bathroom renovation. But Parkes says he expects to expand into full-scale additions and other major home-improvement projects.

Parkes, whose business partner is website manager Thomas Krul, officially launched the site last month. He also has contractors registered in Kingston, Edmonton and Calgary, and hopes to expand the service into the United States.
The website includes tips on screening contractors, and customers can complete a basic satisfaction rating once the project is completed.
"We think people are smart enough to ask the right questions, and we do provide a standard contract form for them to use."
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