Gibson Carpentry Inc is a full service New Home Builder and General Contractor Remodeller. Our Commitment to quality starts with our people and trades. While our focus is full home renovations and new custom homes, we are happy to discuss smaller-scale projects.

We start the conversation on our website. Filling out our contact form is the best way to get the conversation started, and also helps keep us on the same page throughout this process.

We begin with pre-construction. First, we bring the client and design team together to develop the design and dial in the budget. Once we have a pre-construction agreement. We begin the Proposal Phase to develop an accurate construction budget followed by a construction schedule. Our goal here is to make the best use of your time. We want to help you quickly figure out if your budget and time frame aligns with us for your project. 

Most builders choose a start date assuming they understand how long the project will take. The end date is more important than the start date, so instead, we reverse engineer the process. 

You are working with the owner, Matt Gibson, during this process.

When budget, schedule, and general scope align, we begin the pre-construction process. Before the start of construction, we work with a Designer to keep the budget in line as the design unfolds. We set a target budget and help keep that target as we plan out the design. While we work with our trade partners, vendors and staff to begin pricing the project, we will most likely schedule site visits to review existing conditions. We then create a budget proposal with a mix of hard priced items, things that we can commit costs to, and allowances which may vary pending actual conditions once the project begins. 

At this point in the process, we take a retainer for these services; cost is dependent on the project and applied to our construction management fee when we begin construction. We track and bill hourly for this portion of the process, setting a target amount of hours. 

Design choices will also be made during this time. 

Here, you are working with the owner and/ or Designer.

At the beginning of construction the design should be complete, and all selections should be made. It is important for us to be fully equipped at this point, so we can begin preparing the project for the end result. For example, knowing the tile selection early on allows us to prepare our framing and mechanical roughs to be coordinated with the tile layout.

Changes to the scope of work will be captured in a formal change order process. Any additional work outside of the proposal can be discussed verbally or through emails, but it must be documented through a Change Order. The Change Order may or may not have a cost associated with it, but it will impact the schedule. It is important to understand that changes to the work will always impact the schedule.

Quality control is our highest priority. We self-perform most of the carpentry and millwork, and closely monitor our qualified subcontractors to ensure all other work meets our standards and timeline. We work repeatedly with many of our contractors, and we consider them a part of our team and family at work!

We treat our homes with respect and prioritize keeping the site clean. We always treat the site as if the homeowner is going to walk the job every day at lunch. We take a great deal of pride in the homes we build and show the same pride throughout the process.

My love for building and working with wood started when I first started shop class in grade 7. It was the first time that I got to build something out of wood with my own two hands. I loved the fact that if you would spend time on a project and put some thought into it you would end up with a product at the end, something you could use in your daily life.

As the years progressed the school projects got more involved and more elaborate. It started with a pepper crusher on a lathe. To a puzzle on a scroll saw. Then to a box. Eventually getting to grade 11 where the construction process was then taught. After miniature scale mock ups and small scale projects we were then given a play house to build.

In Grande Prairie there is a charity that auctions off these playhouses and the proceeds go towards the charity. We had to design and build a playhouse before the end of school year. Of course because I didn’t want a square, boring playhouse, I wanted something grand and fun! So we designed a castle playhouse. It had two turrets, one with a spiral staircase, and one with a fire pole and a bridge connecting the two. I was so over my head but with the help from my teacher we were able to pull this off. I learned so much about building and geometry and to this day I’m so glad we went above and beyond.

When I got to grade twelve my dad was building his own home. So on evenings and weekends I would help him with odd jobs and got to learn more about the building process. At the time my dad hired a carpenter to do the framing and help with other projects around the house. Around this same time I learned about the rap program, “Registered Apprenticeship Program.” It’s an amazing program that supports the trades and young kids who want to be in the trades. I joined this program and became an apprentice carpenter under the carpenter that built our house. I would go to school in the mornings. Then at lunch I would go to work framing houses for the rest of the day. To me it was great. I was making money, spending less time at school, and receiving credits for working.

After graduating I stayed with him for the next 5 years building houses. We built 100s of homes together, mostly spec homes and a few custom homes. Building custom homes is where I found the most passion. It was always something new and challenging. At the end of a custom home project I would look back at the house and find it hard to believe that only two people built this massive structure.

During these five years, I also went to trade school. Two months at school and then so many hours worked were required to move up a year. Trade school is where I fell in love with woodworking. With unlimited supply of wood and the best machines available, my options were endless. I looked forward to spending the morning in the shop using hand tools and making a block of wood into a piece of furniture. My teacher was amazing. He was such a good woodworker. I picked his brain so much that I’m sure he is still irritated from it.

At the end of every year we were required to build a piece of furniture within an allotted time frame. Usually a cabinet or a computer desk. It had to have walnut inlays, perfect stile and rails, hand planed tops…etc. I loved it and I always had the most drive in the class to build these pieces perfectly.

Every year for 4 years I had the highest mark on my furniture. It was always something I strived for. I was and still am very proud of achieving this. Then after the four years of apprenticing I became a red seal journeyman carpenter at the age of 21.

Shortly after that, I pursued my dreams of owning my own construction business. I love all aspects of building. However, finish carpentry is my forte. So that’s why I created a business around Renovations and Custom Home Building. This way I get to do everything I love. I get to design, build, and educate on better building practices.