David R. Smith Design Inc.

We used David for a second renovation and again, we're completely satisfied! David not only expedited the original design, changes were also handled very quickly. We had permits (original and revisions) approved in record time! David also always goes above and beyond. He is not only our designer, we also consult him on areas that extend beyond his regular scope of work. And he's always very helpful! We'll continue to use David for future projects and highly recommend him to anyone looking for a designer!

We purchased a home and knew that we wanted to completely renovate it, add a two-story addition and finish the basement. Not knowing where to start, we found David R. Smith design through a recommendation from our general contractor. Having read through all the reviews on Homestars for David R. Smith design, we can genuinely say that the positive reviews are all true. David is one of those rare people in the industry that you will go back to time and time again because of his experience, high quality of work and he’s just a really nice guy that you can freely talk to.

We hired David to draft our house plans and to take care of all aspects of apply for and obtaining building permits.
Starting from a few ideas from Pinterest, David created various designs taking into account all the things on our wish list. Having vast experience with the process of home design, David is able relate to the difficult decisions that need to be made balancing budget vs features. He is a great sounding board for ideas and recommendations and is extremely patient with making changes to designs.

During the later stages of the design process, David worked extensively with our general contractor to finalize our house plans. While reviewing the designs, it was clear that David is extremely knowledgeable with the technical aspects of structural design, building codes and experience with resolving issues.

During the permit application process, David expertly navigated the process to expedite obtaining the building permits. He constantly followed up with the City reviewers and made sure to keep our application top of mind for them.

We really could not have found a better person and company to help us through the process and we greatly appreciate the work that was done.

Amazing choice to help build your house. We had a 1950's bungalow that needed to be renovated and after contacting a number of designers we chose David. He was the most professional of everyone I spoke with. We could not visualize what we wanted, but he was able to use our wishlist and turn our two bedroom bungalow into a 4 bedroom house with an inlaw suite in the basement. The initial meeting, the first proposal, changes that we made a thousand times, committee of adjustments, engineering drawings, electrical drawings, HVAC permits, building permits everything was completed or arranged by David. Don't know how he does it and keeps so calm.
David was very patient with us and was always available to answer question by phone or email. When things needed to be added or removed from the plans they were done promptly and provided to us for review. We are not using a contractor for our project and the advice that he has provided has helped so much . Getting all the plans and permits approved using David made our busy lives so much easier. I really can't say enough about how great he was during the planning and permit stage and knowing that he is there to answer questions we might have during the build is a great weight off our shoulders. Thanks so much for everything, David.

I'm an ICI tradesman and work with some great draftsmen & project managers on a daily basis. I know a good set of drawings, and I know good management.

David is the single best trade professional I have ever worked with.

The drawings are exceptional. Details and notes are comprehensive. Correspondence was always clear and timely. David has excellent knowledge of city permits, CofA procedure, and all other pertinent building depts. He managed my expectations of these processes at every step.

David sets an incredibly high standard. I look forward to working with him again on future projects.

I would highly recommend David R. Smith to anyone and everyone. When it comes to these sorts of important decisions I am extremely particular and very detail-oriented and I'm happy to say that David exceeded my expectations. David is extremely knowledgeable and accommodating. On many occasions he has gone above and beyond what we thought we signed up for. He truly cares and took great interest in all of our needs and wants. He spends quality time, going through ideas and processes. He is also very fairly and reasonably priced.

We were very budget driven. Beginning this process, David was very clear as to the scope of work that could be done for x amount of dollars. He works closely with a variety of contractors and clearly understands cost of quality construction, from materials to labour. (Note: He does not push his contractors on you, you are free to use whoever you feel is fit.) He was very realistic about what we could and could not accomplish but was willing to break down our project in segments in order to focus on what our priorities are and what we really need vs. want. To us this was very important, because after going through months of working with David, we realize that our ideas continued to snowball which in turn snowballed the cost of construction. David would kindly remind us of where we began and what our focus was and this was much appreciated. But he had no problem exploring new ideas.

From a design perspective, I think one of his greatest strengths is working in urban and small spaces; maximizing what we have and offering solutions that still allow us to work within small parameters but achieve what we want at the end of the day. Although in our case, we are not adding a huge amount of square footage, the impact should be great and allow most of my "wish list" items to be met within our budget.

I think anyone can run into disagreements along the process, especially if either side is unrealistic about expectations but this did not happen. Any question or concern we had, even when thinking about making alterations to the plans, David would happily examine and offer the most professional advice listing both pros and cons. I could not be happier. I am walking away from this process feeling much more educated and confident in the decision to go ahead with the construction phase.

David is knowledgeable, patient, very responsive, and always available.

There was a time when we spoke several times a week. It was often me asking the same questions or bringing up another "what if" scenario, and David was always happy to calm my nerves during an exciting and anxious time.

We went through several iterations of design. David was exceptional at combining our needs/wants with his experience and what was possible.

From the day after our C of A hearing right through to the OMB hearing, David was compassionate, helpful, encouraging, and the most trusted advisor we had through the whole process.

We had to do a lot of preparation for the OMB. David dealt with the city zoning team on short time lines, made crucial design adjustments, and found some details in our planners work that had to be revised.

We are anxiously awaiting our decision from OMB but are confident that with David's help we have done everything we can.

Through it all, we are grateful to have had David on our side and we can't recommend him enough.

UPDATE: We are happy to report that we were successful at OMB and now we can build our dream home. David, as expected, as already started the next steps! Thanks again!

David is one of the most professional, friendly individuals I have ever worked with. Extremely knowledgeable, always willing to go the extra mile, he helped turn around what had been a bad experience due to the prior architect on the file, into a great experience. My fiancée and I are now back to being excited about our new home! I can't recommend him highly enough.

Design discussion, plan presented, revision process, permit arrived for the build; David offered and provided me this professional service, stress free. David is knowledgeable, timely and personable. He managed the entire process with helpful ideas. My experience working with David was A+.
David was recommended to me by a friend who had contracted his services for a home extension.
Further details, my permit process also included: a submission to the Committee of Adjustments, neighbour objection, CofA meeting postponement, producing a new survey, CofA hearing, successful result.
The CofA hearing was anticipated, the rest was not. David managed each and every step seamlessly. He took the stress out of the process.

It was an absolute pleasure to work with David on planning a new addition for my home. I had a lot of trepidation going into the project. Right off the bat he had to deal with the confines of the space and my budget. It was his winning combination of skills in customer service and design that made it very easy for me.

A little knowledge is dangerous. It must have been a pain in the kiester for customer service during the planning process of a renovation. Despite the number of the hours I spent watching home shows on TV or Tiny House videos on You Tube, there was a steep learning curve in finalizing a feasible plan. David responsive and patient manner walked me through the process, which included a lot of UNlearning and the ugly work of managing (my unrealistic) expectations.

David extensive experience shined when he offer ideas that were game changers and demonstrated foresight. In my case, the game changers were relocating a washroom that would save a bedroom and consolidating the mechanical utilities of the house in the main unit of the property. As a landlord, I know his proposals will directly improve cashflow and the maintenance of the house. Lastly without prompting, David offered a design that could improve the resale of the property by keeping options open for the next owner down the line. Again it was his experience and creativity in finding solutions that brought specific and practical foresight. I truly appreciate he was looking out for my best interest.

I hope this feedback is helpful in your consideration.

We found David R. Smith Design Inc. on Home Stars and were immediately impressed with the consistently raving reviews. We can now say they are absolutely well deserved and want to add our story. David was always very professional, technically knowledgeable and very helpful in guiding us not only through the design of our house (after a frustrating experience with another professional), but also during a quite complicated and stressful process with the Ontario Municipal Board after our neighbours appealed a favourable decision of the Committee of Adjustment. David was extremely resourceful and helped us keep calm during the long ordeal that ended up halting the construction of our house for months. We are finally on the verge on concluding the construction of our new house and I would certainly recommend his services for anyone that is planning a new build or a renovation.