QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
The questions everyone asks before they renovate
Including the ones people are too polite to ask out loud. Straight answers, no hedging.
Schedule a Discovery CallSpeak with the owner, Jonathan EdwardsAsk us anything
Most people come to a renovation carrying two sets of questions. There are the practical ones: how long, how much, do I need a permit. And underneath those, the ones that actually keep people awake: what if this goes badly, what if I get taken advantage of, what if we end up living in a construction site until Christmas.
We would rather answer the second set first, because those are the ones that stop people renovating a home they would otherwise love. Nothing below is hedged. If the honest answer is "it depends," we tell you what it depends on.
Straight to it
Still stuck on something not covered here? Ask us on a discovery call.
The things people actually worry about
Written the way homeowners say them to us, not the way a marketing page would phrase them.
I am scared the price will balloon once you have started
This is the number one fear and it is a reasonable one, because it happens constantly in this industry. Our answer is structural rather than a promise: you get a fixed price in writing before any work begins. Not an estimate, not a range. The only two things that change it are a change you request, or something genuinely discovered behind a wall - and both get priced and approved by you in writing before anyone proceeds. You will never open an invoice and find something on it you did not agree to.
I do not want to live in a construction zone for six months
Neither would we. Two things keep this short. First, we do not start demolition until the design is finished, your selections are made, and the materials are accounted for - so the project never stalls waiting on a vanity. Second, you get a schedule up front with the real duration on it. A bathroom is typically three to six weeks on site. A kitchen runs longer. A whole home is measured in months and we will say so plainly rather than telling you what you want to hear.
How do I know you will not disappear halfway through
Fair question, and the honest answer is that you should not simply take our word for it. Look us up. Read the reviews from people whose names you can find. Ask us for references and actually call them. We have been renovating Calgary homes since 2003, Jonathan and Michelle are a husband-and-wife team with about forty years of combined experience, and our name is on the sign - which is a stronger guarantee than any wording in a contract.
I am worried I will be handed off to someone I never met
You will not be. Jonathan is on every job and is your single point of contact from the first conversation to the final walkthrough. When you call, you get the owner. When there is a decision to make, you make it with the owner. That is the whole model and it is why we do not take on more work than we can personally run.
I do not know what I want yet and I feel like I should
Almost nobody knows what they want at the start. That is what the design phase is for. Michelle leads design at Olympic City, and her job is to turn "I hate this kitchen but I do not know why" into a plan you can actually build. Turning up with a Pinterest board and a lot of uncertainty is a completely normal place to start.
I got a much cheaper quote from someone else
Then one of two things is true: they are doing less work than we quoted, or they have not accounted for something yet. Both are common. Bring us the other quote. We will walk you through it line by line and show you where the difference is. Sometimes the honest answer is that the other quote is fine and you should take it - we would rather tell you that than win a job by talking you out of a good decision.
I have been burned by a contractor before
A lot of the people we work with have. What usually went wrong was not craftsmanship - it was communication, a vague scope, and a price that moved. Those are the three things our process is built to remove. If it helps, tell us what went wrong last time on the discovery call, and we will tell you exactly how our process handles that specific failure.
Not ready to book anything yet?
Start with the numbers instead. Our cost guides lay out real Calgary price ranges for kitchens, bathrooms, basements and whole-home renovations, along with what drives the number up and how to read a quote before you sign it. No form, no email required.
Kitchen · Bathroom · Basement · Whole-home
How it actually works
How long does a renovation take?
On site: a bathroom is usually three to six weeks, a kitchen six to twelve, a basement eight to sixteen, and a whole home four to nine months. Before any of that, expect a design and selections phase - a few weeks for a bathroom, two to four months for a whole home. That front end feels slow and it is the reason the build does not stall.
When could you start?
It varies with the season and what is already booked. Kitchens and bathrooms tend to book out further than people expect, so if you have a date in mind - a family gathering, a baby arriving, a house sale - tell us on the first call and we will be straight with you about whether it is achievable.
Do I need a permit?
If you are moving walls, altering plumbing or changing electrical, yes. Basement developments and legal suites always do. We pull the permits and manage the inspections as part of the project, and the cost is inside your fixed price. You do not deal with the City.
Do I have to move out?
Usually not for a single room. For a whole-home renovation it is worth considering - it is faster, cleaner and often less expensive than working around an occupied house. If moving out is not practical we phase the work so you keep a functioning part of the home throughout. Decide this early, because the phasing plan affects the sequence of nearly everything.
Do I need to be home while you work?
No. We arrange access at the start and you carry on with your life. What we do ask is that you are reachable for decisions, because a question that waits two days is a schedule that slips two days.
What about dust?
Containment and protection are part of every project - sealed work areas, protection over what stays, and disposal of what goes. Renovation is dusty work and anyone who tells you otherwise has not done it. What we can control, we do.
Can I buy my own materials?
You can, and some homeowners want to. Be aware of the trade-off: if something you supplied arrives damaged, is the wrong size, or shows up late, the schedule stops and the warranty conversation gets complicated. We are happy to talk through where it makes sense and where it does not.
How will I know what is happening day to day?
You will have Jonathan directly. Not a call centre, not a portal you have to remember to log into, not a project coordinator you have never met. If something changes, you hear it from the owner.
What happens if something is found behind a wall?
It gets documented, priced, and approved by you in writing before the work is done. Older Calgary homes turn up surprises - that is normal and we plan for it rather than pretending it will not happen. What is not normal is finding out about it on the final invoice.
Do you guarantee the work?
Yes. We stand behind what we build, and because we are still here and still local, standing behind it is not a hypothetical. If something is not right, tell us and we will deal with it.
Money, quotes and design
What does a renovation cost in Calgary?
It depends on the room and the scope, so we published the actual ranges rather than making you ask. Bathrooms run $25,000 to $140,000+. Basements $45,000 to $250,000. Whole-home renovations start around $200,000. Kitchens have their own guide. Each cost guide breaks the tiers down and explains what moves the number.
Is the design work included or extra?
Design is a real part of the project rather than something we give away, and we tell you what it costs before you commit to it. That is what pays for the drawings, the selections and the specification that makes a fixed price possible in the first place. A quote without design behind it is a guess.
Why do you not offer a no-charge consultation?
Because a useful conversation about your home takes real time and real expertise, and anything given away for nothing tends to be worth what you paid. Charging for it also means we are not trying to close you in your kitchen on a Tuesday evening. You get advice, not a pitch.
What is the difference between an estimate and a fixed price?
An estimate is a guess with no obligation attached to it. A fixed price is a commitment. We only issue the second kind, which is also why our quotes take longer to produce than a number scribbled after a twenty-minute walkthrough.
How do I compare two quotes properly?
Look for three things. What is actually in scope - permits, disposal, painting, putting the room back together. What the allowances are set at, because an unrealistically low tile allowance makes a quote look cheap until you get to the tile shop. And whether it says estimate or fixed price. Bring us the other quote and we will go through it with you.
Do you offer financing?
There are several ways Calgary homeowners fund a renovation, and which one is right depends on your equity position and how long you plan to stay. Our financing page walks through the options honestly, including the ones that do not involve us at all.
Do you take on small projects?
Yes. Any size, no judgment. We have done powder rooms and we have done whole houses. If it is too small for us to be the right fit, we will say so and point you somewhere better rather than quoting you a number designed to make you go away.
Who actually owns this company?
Jonathan and Michelle Edwards. It is a husband-and-wife business, not a brand with an owner somewhere in the background.
Jonathan runs the projects and is on every job as your single point of contact. Michelle leads design. Between them there is roughly forty years of combined experience in this trade, and Olympic City has been renovating Calgary homes since 2003.
That is the whole answer. There is no regional manager, no franchise, and nobody above us to escalate to - because the person you would be escalating to is the person who answered your call.
Meet them
The full story, both bios and what we actually believe about this work.
Coverage
$5,000,000 in liability insurance. Bonded. Work guaranteed.
Most homeowners never think to ask a contractor about insurance and bonding until something has already gone wrong. Here is exactly what stands behind an Olympic City project — and the questions worth asking everyone else you talk to.
Still have a question?
Ask it directly. A discovery call is a real conversation about your home, with the person who would run the project.
Or call us directly at 825-425-4119