Mark H Smith Designs Inc.

Mark H Smith guided our journey to build our new home, from start to finish. From listening to our needs, wants, evaluating options, to concepts, budget realities and all permits. The permitting process was complex being in a special development zone of the Niagara Escarpment.

We highly rate Marks professional service, transparent process with the highest governance applied. Yet being personal and easy to deal with.

We had a great experience working with Mark and highly recommend his services. He is very thorough and professional, and seems to understand the permitting process very well which allowed him to provide helpful advice to us, which I consider value add. He also possesses a technical knowledge that was helpful to us in making some key design decisions on our project. Our building permit was issued with no issues (or even questions) from the City.

I retained Mark to design a 2nd story addition above a tandem garage. Mark efficiently guided through the Committee of Approval and Building Permit process despite a few miscues/delays from the City. Mark is very diligent and through, I would highly recommend his services, in so much that I already have lined him up for another project down the road.

Words can not describe how pleased we are with Mark's work. Upon our first meeting to discuss design ideas he paid special attention to every detail of our vision. Mark was able to reproduce that vision perfectly. Looking after all the necessary requirements for obtaining city permits made this project enjoyable for us, the amount of knowledge needed to navigate the permit process is confusing, we would, with out a doubt, not been able to do it ourselves. Mark was always very responsive to any and all enquires we had and with his expertise gave us suggestions that were well thought out and never made any part of the design process confusing or stressful. I can't stress enough that MARK IS A TRUE PROFESSIONAL AT WHAT HE DOES!

We hired Mark for an extensive home renovation project. The home that he created professional designs for was a 1970's sidesplit. Mark was very professional the entire time he worked with us. He asked about our needs and a wish list. He listened attentively and followed through with all our requests. He also provided his professional opinions allowing us to make informed decisions. Throughout the entire project Mark was extremely punctual. His thorough and clear communication over emails, phone calls, and ZOOM calls helped make what could be a stressful experience, an exciting one. Mark, this first part of our project went smoothly due to your professional dealings and expertise, and for that we thank you. If you are looking for someone who is reliable and knowledgeable Mark is your guy! We highly recommend him.

Mark is who you want in your corner for your next project! As a person who has never taken on a project like this before I could not have done it with out Mark’s expertise, vision and exceptional customer service and communication skills. From the onset he was very personable and made it a priority to let us know that this was our project and he was here to help make this dream a reality for us. He really listened and included all members of our family to ensure that he had a good understanding of what our desires are. He worked diligently with us to design the most of our space including all the little details that we requested. I can not emphasize enough that what makes Mark stand out from others is his exceptional communication and customer service skills.

Right from the first call Mark demonstrated his great ability to listen and understand our needs in wanting to renovate the front of our house. There a great ability to interpret our wishes and translate them to a well polished design with detailed plans.
The real bonus was having Mark obtain the building permits for us. His attention to the details and patience are top notch, especially during covid times.

Mark is a consummate professional. He guided us with care from drafting remodelling plans (involving structural engineering and hvac redesign) to permit approval. He never shun from any concerns or question we had, even post job. Mark is fair and trustworthy with estimates and payments. Thank you for the care and environment-of-ease you provided during our project! Will definitely work with you again.

Mark did an excellent job transforming our desire for a new front porch into a design that we loved. He took care of everything including liaising with the city and obtaining a building permit.

Mark was a pleasure to deal with because he listened closely and used his expertise to satisfy all our wishes.

Mark was such a joy to work with, especially after some prior bad experiences with architects.
We appreciate Mark’s professionalism and consistency the way he conducts his business, at the same time being personable and attentive to his clients. He asked detailed questions, listened carefully and took good notes on our thoughts for the project. The three initial design solutions he proposed were all aligned with our visions and sympathetic to the project limitations. It was easy and hard at the same time to choose one of the plans to go with. Mark encouraged our feedbacks and was very open to adjustments we requested (within contract scope), his focus was always on arriving at a design solution that best suits our needs and budget. He took our project to zoning preview, resolved the kinks through persistent follow-ups with the city, and produced a building permit application that was swiftly approved. We plan to begin construction come next spring. It was through Home Star that we found Mark, with our review it has come a full circle! Of course we highly recommend him and his services.

Mark, thank you for your wonderful work!