Small is Beautiful: ScottRyan Makes It Personal
By Martha Uniacke Breen
Scott Townsend and Ryan Rodrigues, the two partners at the helm of Oakville-based ScottRyan Design Build Inc., may still be young, but between them they offer some 50 years of experience in the design and construction industry. The company has been building custom-tailored homes and high-quality renovations in the western GTA and Oakville for over 15 years now, and over that time has developed a solid reputation for exceptional customer relationships and the care and skill that goes into their work.
You could say that sawdust and blueprint ink runs in Ryan’s blood; in a way, he grew up in the business. Starting at the age of 14, Ryan spent his summers building fences and decks for his brother-in-law’s company, a job that continued right up until he entered Sheridan College, where he earned his undergrad degree in finance.
Ryan has a father who is an architect and an older brother who is a structural engineer; they work together in a small firm in Toronto. “Sometimes it feels like I grew up on job sites,” he laughs. The family connection, he goes on to say, led to his first professional opportunity, project-managing a custom home.
Scott’s dad may not have worked in the construction industry, but he had an exceptional skill and passion for hands-on work and passed that keen interest on to his son. When Scott was just a kid, he and his father built their family cottage from the ground up, and the pair often worked on projects together. Throughout his high school years, Scott continued to build his experience and skills by working at a job in the custom closet, deck and home improvement industry. He went on to attend Lakehead University, earning a BA in Political Science.
After graduation, both embarked on careers in their respective areas of study, but discovered their hearts weren’t in it; they missed building things. That’s when fate stepped in: they each quit their jobs and enrolled in the Construction Management program at George Brown, where they first met and became friends.
The friendship continued after graduation, and both Scott and Ryan started their building careers with separate firms, taking on independent jobs on the side. More and more often, one would call the other to help out, until it hit them: their combined skills and personal strengths made an ideal fit. In 2010, they took the leap, and ScottRyan Design Build Inc. was born.
Today, the company has over 200 projects under its belt, and employs a staff of just under 10 people. The partners have purposely maintained the company’s boutique size, enabling them to stay involved in every project. “While one of our experienced team members may lead the day-to-day management of a project,” explains Ryan, “Scott and I are still involved and available until the project is complete; and all project estimating and macro-management for every project is handled at the top.
“Everything we do is customized to each client’s individual needs,” he continues. “We also have an extensive network of relationships with other skilled professionals such as architects, designers and engineers, whom we leverage on a project-by-project basis.”
ScottRyan Design Build Inc. takes deep pride in delivering a superior quality final product. The company takes its credentials seriously and stands behind its work: Tarion and HCRA licensed, it holds membership in the BILD association, is fully insured, maintains its safety and training requirements and is part of the WSIB Excellence program.
In 2019, the partners launched an unusual but practical sideline: a complete disposal bin service, not only to service their own job sites, but those of other construction businesses in the Oakville and Burlington area as well. It was, as Ryan says, an idea born out of necessity.
“We found disposal to always be a friction point during the construction process,” he explains. “Getting the bins when you needed them always seemed to be a bottleneck, and would result in debris building on a job site. Having our own bins and being able to control when and where we have them has helped our site management. It also allows us to offer better value to our clients, by controlling the disposal costs.”
What’s the best part of the job? “One of the most satisfying things in our job is completing a project and hearing how much our clients enjoy their new space,” says Scott. “While we take on projects of various sizes, it’s most fun to be able to take on a new construction or a full gut, because it offers a blank canvas. We love mapping out the possibilities for the new layouts with the team and homeowners, and bringing that vision to life.”
“Scott, myself and our team members have extensive training and experience,” Ryan adds. “We know what it takes to get a job done right, and we don’t compromise on the materials or process to get there.
“When a client is willing to let us try new things or take a project and run with it, that is when our true passion and creativity shines.”
