Fiddlerock Masonry

During fall 2017, Derek built us a European-style bread/pizza oven. We started out researching whether we could build the project ourself, and then realized that between the cost of materials and the time it would take to do a proper job, it would be better to have the oven built. We were so glad that we hired someone! When Derek started work on the project, we realized that he brought a level of precision and professionalism to the task that we would not have been able to reproduce on our own. He is a true craftsman, with a great eye for design and meticulous work habits. Derek was personable throughout the project and was very responsive to e-mails. He made a point of spending time with us throughout the planning process to ensure that we were on the same page. He incorporated personal touches in the design, like the fieldstone from my grandparents' farmland. He did extra online research to find out more information about door design, as we didn't want to use a hinged door, and he came up with a brilliant and gorgeous solution when he had a contractor make us an insulated door with deer horn handles. The photos I've attached don't show the scale of the oven, but it is much larger and more spectacular in real life than it looks in the pictures (everyone who has seen it so far has gasped - it will definitely outlast all the other buildings in the neighbourhood!). We started cooking in it in November, after finishing the curing process, and so far we have cooked meals, baked quite a few loaves of bread (18 loaves in one day!), and made pizza. Everything has turned out amazingly well - in an oven like this, that is so well insulated, you get even heating from all sides, so the food has a "melt-in-your-mouth" quality that you don't get with other methods of cooking. The oven has amazing heat retention properties. After having a fire in it between 8-10 pm, the hearth was still around 400F at 3 pm the next day (we put the door on after the fire was finished), even though the temperature outside was well below zero. We're looking forward to experimenting more with the oven, especially during the summer, and we can't wait to do more entertaining!

We had some brick and tile work done and Derek did an amazing job. The house was built back in the 60's and he not only managed to source and get matching bricks from that time frame, but he installed it seamlessly. He was respectful of our yard and left no mess behind. We will definitely use this company again.

Derek and his father were contracted to build a generational work of art as the centerpiece for our cabin. We talked over our needs with Derek and gave him artistic license to complete the project as he saw fit. The photo's will show that he exceeded expectations as the project is truly beautiful. Derek provided an accurate estimate of cost and stayed within that budget. He worked through some uncomfortable circumstances and was able to successfully work through some conflicts with other contractors on the site that were not his responsibility.