Building a high-end home in a neighbourhood like Forest Hill or Rosedale is a serious undertaking, and choosing the right builder matters more than any single design decision you’ll make. Here’s how I’d approach it if I were on your side of the table.
Ask who is actually running your project
At a lot of larger firms, the person you meet in the sales conversation is not the person managing your build day to day. Ask directly who will be on site, how often, and who you call when something comes up. With Dovetail, the answer is simple: it’s me. I keep my project load deliberately small so that each client gets real attention.
The cheapest quote rarely wins
It’s tempting to choose the lowest number, but in custom building a low quote is often a sign that something has been underestimated or left out. The cost usually reappears later as change orders, at a worse moment and with less goodwill. What you actually want is the most honest quote — one priced by someone who knows what the work really costs and isn’t buying the job to make it up later.
Look at how they communicate
A high-end build runs for many months. The quality of your experience comes down to communication: regular updates, clear documentation, and a builder who tells you about a problem early rather than hiding it until it’s worse. Pay attention to how a builder talks to you during the quoting stage, because that’s the best version of how they’ll communicate during the project.
Make sure they respect the design team
If you’re working with an architect or interior designer, your builder needs to protect that design intent through to the final detail, not quietly value-engineer it away on site. I work as a genuine partner to the design professionals on a project, because the best results come from everyone pulling in the same direction.