Ruhl Builds Inc.

We had the pleasure of working with Ruhl Builds on a major indoor and outdoor renovation of our mid-century home in Vancouver in 2018.

David Ruhl brought tremendous value to the project, right from his first visit to the site where he immediately grasped the vision we were hoping to achieve. His enthusiasm and creativity were evident from the outset.

Throughout the project he demonstrated superior organizational skills, carefully budgeting and planning each phase, ensuring that the right trades were on site, and that the project came in on budget and on time. He was able to bring his professional engineering experience to bear on a number of facets of the project, including removal of support walls, installing an eclipse door (Nanawall) and transforming an in-ground concrete pool and surround. He has a broad technical skill set and is an outstanding problem-solver. He is very comfortable with technology and uses it to enhance the project and the home owner’s experience.

David’s ideas were consistently excellent, and he contributed a remarkable sense of style and design to the project.
As an added bonus David was approachable, always upbeat, and an excellent communicator. Everyone who worked for him enjoyed his company and remarked on his knowledge and skill set.

Ruhl Builds exceeded our expectations in every way, and on top of that, made the project fun.

It isn’t easy choosing a contractor, it isn’t common to have a train station in your backyard, and it isn’t often someone like Dave Ruhl comes along.

We consulted with Dave over the winter, with a wish list, discussing our ideas and concerns for our next project. Dave created a floor plan with elevations and a lighting plan including many details we hadn’t considered. His conceptual skills were strong and creative, always seeing the forest through the trees. He contributed such valuable insight at the planning stages and continued problem solving every detail right to the end.

His thought and organization of the train station renovation was frankly the most impressive job we have been a part of, and proudly so. We have not had a contractor work for us who has given such regard to our property, his work space, the schedule, quality of materials, and craftsmanship.

Once the new framing and insulation was in place, the interior details started to come alive. Dave proposed a few ceiling options which we were not able to make a decision on until we saw the space framed and enclosed. It was quickly established that the tongue and groove ceiling he had recommended was the way to go. We were thankful for this suggestion because it came out beautifully and enhanced the 150 year old floors that were restored. The newly milled wainscotting and trim was a perfect match to the existing woodwork and was installed seamlessly, not knowing where the original millwork ends and the new millwork begins. Transoms were milled and installed to allow more light into the centre room.

Additionally, he oversaw the W.E.T. certification of our beloved Morso wood burning stove. Before crafting and installing a perfectly to scale exterior deck, Dave also spent time regrading and greatly improving on the drainage around the building. Dave designed many of the mechanics of the train station to be easily maintained by my husband and myself. The final cherry for me, among many things, was the installation of a built-in windowbox desk, providing a niche for anyone in our family, needing a quiet picturesque area to creatively work from.

I will always remember the day he suggested relocating the original train station’s ticket counter and incorporating it into the framed mesh wall of the existing booth area. This mesh had been damaged during the years it was operating as a train station, and the ticket counter was inconveniently located. He proposed that we relocate the ticket counter and integrate it into the mesh wall, which in turn would allow for the undamaged mesh to be restored and the counter to be in a visible but in an out of the way location. This brought cohesiveness to the area without compromising the integrity of the station. Kudos to Dave for this brilliant solution!

Dave communicated regularly with me; verbally during the day and followed up our discussions through email for my husband when he wasn’t able to be present. As a result, we were able to quickly solve any technical challenges that came up. When changes needed to be made along the way, he always kept us in the loop as to whether or not these changes would affect our budget, our timing, our vision, and/or our expectations. There were never any surprises.

Dave worked well with subcontractors both his own contacts and ours. He was always friendly and introduced himself to anyone we brought onsite to see the progress of the project. He worked closely to his timeline and his budget was always detailed and transparent.

For all of this Dave, we are devoted customers.

Cindy and Howard

My husband and I began planning a renovation of our office kitchen and bathroom, in a historical building in town. Our office needed to remain fully functioning while we had the upper level gutted and rebuilt. Dave was clean and organized, working diligently and quietly, respecting the need for the office to continue operating throughout the day. The new space created by the removal of the old bathroom and kitchen provided an opportunity to reorganize the floor plan. Dave installed the duct work and vents without compromising the visual space and height of the existing ceilings, allowing for the transition from hot water heating to forced air heating and air conditioning. A small library was created and customized by Dave, introducing a new designated area to organize and store corporate books. The old original kitchen was transformed into a modern and efficient kitchen and staff area. One of the features of the original kitchen was a large southern exposed window. This area was quickly recognized for it’s natural light flooding in and became the perfect place for the staff seating area. His help with designing a kitchen that allowed staff members taking a lunch break without distracting a nearby office was fully accomplished. Three newly created stations in the kitchen helped ease the flow of coffee and lunch schedules.

Another challenge was with the men’s bathroom and how to accommodate a shower economically as well as practically and aesthetically. With some careful thought, Dave designed the glass enclosure to incorporate a custom side entry door without reducing the size of the shower or the need to relocate the entrance to the room. His ideas saved us on costs without having to compromise the design of shower or bathroom.

Dave’s strong conceptual abilities, his high quality of workmanship consistent throughout, the detailed transparency as to costs, and the timely completion of our office renovation led us to our next recently completed project with Dave, our backyard train station (see separate review).

Cindy and Howard

Ruhl Builds met and exceeded my expectations on a recent back addition to my house. David is one of the most personable contractors I have ever met with a phenomenal attitude. He has a special skill when it comes to collaborating and bringing your ideas to life. He takes the utmost pride in his work and it shows in the organization and neatness of his job site. There was never a concern while I was away that any problems would arise as I knew Ruhl Builds would take care of it with my best interest in mind. David is incredibly professional and a leader in his field with regards to engineering, new materials and methods to align your project with today's highest standards.

We recently hired Ruhl Builds to put in a two level, step-down concrete patio in our back yard as well as an exterior door to access the patio.

Dave, the owner, perfectly walks the line between casual and professional. He is friendly, approachable, and cares deeply about the quality of the work he does. He really listened to what we wanted and needed in our build and was able to help us take our design to a level that we would not have imagined without his help.

We always felt included and informed in the process. The project went smoothly and was on budget. We could not be happier with the end result and plan to hire Ruhl Builds for our upcoming renovation.