Rawlinson Carpentry

I have had several beautifully done projects done for me by Rawlinson Carpentry and when it came time to renew my upper deck, I thought of no-one else.
Tom D came around in the early spring, took exact measurements and patiently discussed both my needs and wants, guiding me with his advice. I later spoke with Thomas R, whose decades of experience further refined (read: improved!) what I had asked for. My need for greater privacy and the countering of light pollution, were incorporated into the design.
I was scheduled for an early spring date and Thomas R kept me up-to-date with their precise start date.
Tom D, assisted by Daria when required, worked both hard and carefully, creating in a matter of only five days, a bigger and much better top deck. Tom was originally going to re-build the deck using the existing bolt downs but, being a perfectionist, bought new ones AND placed them 6  inches further out, giving me an extra half foot in deck size all around which is very noticeable and appreciated! My old deck had been badly installed and designed and I realized just how much so, as Tom was rebuilding. For example, by changing the direction of the floorboards from N/S to the longer E/W, I got rid of almost all of the board seams, leaving a larger and more streamlined look. I also now have a 5 foot solid fence, with an attractively framed privacy latticed 1 foot top (Thomas Rs better suggestion, along with fence posts, which I hadnt even considered adding ) providing me needed privacy while at the same time,
blocking unwanted light pollution from the house behind me.
Once again, I couldnt be happier with the people, the work ethic, the quality of building materials, the skilled workmanship, the adherence to the building code and the pride in their work, shared amongst all members of Rawlinson Carpentry.
Tom D summed everything up both touchingly and well, when he said to
me on the last day that he built my deck as though he was building it for himself. A heartfelt thank you, once again, from me to all of you.

I reached out to Rawlinson Carpentry after reading some reviews online and was sure that I would use them after our first phone conversation. Throughout our project, Thomas was very collaborative and helped us design an outdoor space that was functional for our family. Rawlinson Carpentry were meticulous and we are very happy with the final product. Highly recommend.

We had the best experience with Tom, he gave us feedback, advice, and was easy to communicate with and he worked at amazing speed! We love our new fence.

Thomas Rawlinson, of Rawlinson
Carpentry, and his talented assistant Tom, have created many projects for me over the years. From a porch- over to a deck to a pergola, their work is always solid , gorgeous and reasonably priced ( even
with todays lumber prices!). Recently, I had
a new fence built in the backyard to replace a 35 year old wobbly sad-sack chain link .I
literally looked out my window around day 3 and it was almost up! How fast is that? Next, Tom built a custom gate with flashy black hardware and had it hung in 1 - 2 hours. His excellent craftsmanship, focus
and hard work ethic combine to make him
such a proficient worker . ( and work area
always cleaned after which is much appreciated). Now I have a solid, level and beautifully tiered and balanced fence. Thomas and Tom are a great team and super nice to have around. ( so
patient with all my questions!).
Thankyou Tom, Thomas and Rawlinson
Carpentry for completing the transformation of my property. Good luck
on all your projects this season.

After being very impressed with a backyard fence and deck build done by Tom and Tom of Rawlinson Carpentry the previous season, our family was pleased to hire them back to redo the front porch on our home. Once again, the quoting process was thorough, the work was done quickly, the team was a joy to work with, and our family couldn't be happier with the results as we now have a safe space to gather in front of our home that also looks fantastic from the street.

I feel very fortunate to have found Thomas and his associate Tom of Rawlinson carpentry. I hired them a few years ago to take down and re-build the rotting front porch of my Beaches century home. They did a splendid job, doing even more than I had expected by enlarging and redesigning it and, after a period of time spent curing, painting it. They managed to match perfectly the primary porch colour to the house paint which amazed me as I had not kept record of what that house paint was. Thomas has also been a pro painter for 35 years and his associate is a very careful and capable painter too, which enables them to do jobs from start to finish. My porch continues to look great, having stood the test of time.
This year, I acknowledged that the exterior of my home was in dire need of attention as it had not been painted in many years. As well, there was quite a bit in need of repair before any actual painting could take place.
Without hesitation, I knew whom to call.
Thomas again provided a more than fair quote and soon thereafter, he and Tom came and did this substantial job. It was no easy task as the painting of my house was made all the more difficult due to the entire front being clad in a very uneven stone veneer. They had to paint it entirely BY HAND as no rollers would have gotten into such a deeply textured and uneven surface. Additionally, Tom had to climb to some very difficult to reach places which he did both willingly and adeptly.
Before the real work was begun, they appeared with two sample pots of paint and painted two small sections of my house. This allowed me to see both paint colours actually on the house - and at various times of the day - before I made the final decision as to which colour to paint the entire house. But who am I kidding? Both Thomas and Tom helped me decide which colour to go with and why and they were absolutely right!
At the outset, they carefully prepped previously paint-flaked stone veneer and missing mortar as well as repairing and even replacing sections of rotting and cracked wood sills and trim.
The house was then meticulously painted...but how they painted such straight lines against such contrasting surfaces (and two paint colours, including the trim) I'll never know.
Without any prompting, they made further suggestions as to how they could tidy up the front of the house by removing some old lattice and vines that I had growing there, admittedly rather wildly. They borrowed my loppers, cut down the vine, bundled it up, tied it with string and put it out for collection, too. What a difference this unrelated task alone made to the tidyness of. my house.
My 121-year-old home now looks absolutely beautiful. It's clean, tidy, repaired and refreshed; they use only the best Benjamin Moore primers and finish paints and it shows.
They stick to their stated cost of completing everything contained within their very fair job quotation, they arrive on time each day, they clean up before they leave and they are terrific, kind people who are a delight to have around. Service of this calibre is a rarity these days and while on the job, both Thomas and Tom treat their clients' home as if they was their own.
I would not hesitate to recommend Thomas Rawlinson Carpentry for both their master carpenter skills and their meticulous and knowledgeable painting abilities. Both neighbours and passers-by have commented on the beautiful job that they did and I am looking forward to having them back in the spring to do some more needed work.

I feel so grateful, pleased and relieved to have found Thomas and Tom of Rawlinson Carpentry. Thank you both for looking after my home so beautifully and, by extension, looking after me!

I recently completed my 5th project with Thomas Rawlinson of Rawlinson Carpentry. The first was a " porch over " built @ 4 years ago. Thomas ( and his talented assistant, Tom ) built a stunning wooden porch over the old crumbling concrete one. To this day, it's still as solid and gorgeous as ever. Fast forward to the Spring/Fall- 2021. My twenty -five year old back deck ( 20 x 13 feet ) had caved/bowed in over the years and most of the wood was rotted. It had to be replaced/restored asap. I didn't think twice about contacting Rawlinson Carpentry . Thomas' fair estimate, honesty and stellar workmanship from the " porch over " ( with even a few freebies thrown in ) made it easy to call on him again. As well , I appreciate the honest views and input from Tom- There is a real team feel to their projects which is nice to see. I also appreciate both of their creative eyes- Thomas is really good at visualizing the best way to utilize a space in the most attractive way possible. (He does this while also trying to save cost throughout- bonus !). So, to make a long story short ,the deck had to be rebuilt. The end result was a solid and stunning structure complete with sturdy privacy lattice and front railings. In fact , it looked so good I booked Thomas and Tom to come back and build a decorative pergola on one side . It is so lovely , people always choose that area to hang out in. Thomas' artistic suggestions and quality workmanship once again paid off. Everything looked so good, that the broken chain link gate beside it became a distraction. So I bit the bullet and booked Thomas to rip out the gate. In its place, he and Tom built a unique gateway complete with decorative arbour for my vines to travel across. ( love the custom vibe, Tom!). As the gateway was underway, I told Thomas I had one more wish- Was there anything that could be done about my massive rotting shed which had been ravaged by coons ? A new shed was pricey, he said. But , for a reasonable price, he could clad it with board and batten.So what I thought would be a repair turned into what looks like a new cabin in the woods - .stunning--.What's most remarkable is that the shed was tilting because the Norway maple roots had been slowly elevating the concrete base over the years. So, when Thomas clad the shed ( after some freebie repairs first , how nice is that ? ), he levelled everything so meticulously that now my shed looks straight.- magic ! So thanks Thomas and Tom for all of your hard work on these projects. You are great people to do business with, for so many reasons.
See you in the spring for a new fence to complete the transformation ...LOL.

From the initial engagement through to completion of the job, our experience with the Rawlinson team was outstanding. Thomas was a great communicator, always making himself available to connect to cover any questions or concerns. He was clear with his plan, upfront about possible challenges, and treated our job as if he were working on his own home. It resulted in a beautiful new deck and fence that our family is excited to enjoy for years to come. They even went above and beyond at coordinating job completion with other contractors allowing us to get to the best result possible. I will be reaching out again for future projects.

This is the second job we got them to do. They did such a great job with our fence a couple years back they were the first people we reached out to when looking to do our deck. Again they came back with a very competitive price. Thomas did a great job on our backyard deck and side of house pavers. I have been enjoying the deck now for over a month and it is holding up great. Thomas has excellent attention to detail and provided great suggestions to ensure a great build. Very happy. Looking forward to working with them again in the future.

Thomas and Tom did an excellent job on my new cedar roof deck. It looks great! When I first spoke with Thomas, I was impressed by his attention to detail and knowledge, and he quoted a very good price. They faced several challenges in my uneven roof and shortage of wood, and came through with flying colours. They custom cut each joist to match the uneven roof, making sure the deck was perfectly level, and when no floor boards came with the wood delivery they scrambled and found what I needed elsewhere. It was a fixed price contract and they absorbed a rise in wood prices, bought me the finest hardware, and when there was a small change, they only charged for the extra wood, with no increase in labour charges. Thomas reminded me over and over of these things, and of how little he was making. He's quite a character. As he's fond of saying, it's all about heart, and he's got a very big one. I'm glad to know him, and highly recommend Rawlinson Carpentry.