Business spotlight O’Shea Builders by Michelle Libby

With more five-star reviews than anyone in Maine, it’s no wonder O’Shea Builders is booked months

in advance for its quality work. Warren O’Shea has been a builder for most of his life. The company is a big name on Houzz.com, has been seen on the HGTV show “Vacation House For Free” and on Food Network’s “Restaurant Impossible.”  O’Shea has also done segments on local stations helping with DIY tips and helping consumers recover losses from shady contractors, he said.

With the big reputation, O’Shea Builders is purposefully a small company. “It’s to keep the quality where it should be,” said O’Shea. “We’re not flashy.” There are three employees in addition to O’Shea.

O’Shea Builders, which began in 2002, takes only one or two jobs at a time to focus on providing excellent service and meeting the needs of its discerning clients. O’Shea has found his niche and is only doing renovations and doesn’t want to be thought of as a cookie cutter builder. O’Shea makes sure he is involved in the design process from start to finish.

“We have experience dealing with old buildings and we’re comfortable coming up with new solutions,” he said. The oldest house they have renovated is a house built in 1726 in Yarmouth. O’Shea and his team loved peeling back the layers of the house, finding colors and wallpaper from the eighties, forties and then back to the “hand-honed beams.” He feels like the older homes have a heart and soul and he wants to be a part of bringing that back to life in a new way.

“We look for real transformations worthy of being in a magazine. I want to be proud of what we’ve done and accomplished,” O’Shea said.

Warren O'Shea

“When it comes to our suppliers, we don’t come up on their radar often. We don’t give them high volume sales, but we use high quality supplies,” O’Shea said. The company is also described as well organized and neat. They exclusively use Crown Point Cabinetry a high end, handmade quality product and are a Kohler certified installer. 

“We don’t put signs up in people’s driveways. People find me because I’m easily found in searches. I respect people’s privacy,” he said. Many of the company’s clients are from out of state. Trust can be an issue for them. “They’ve researched many other remodelers. My profile lends itself to be transparent,” O’Shea noted.

He uses Skype or FaceTime to make sure his clients keep up to date on all of the progress. O’Shea makes sure they’re comfortable all the way through the process.

O’Shea Builders works on projects from the northside of Sebago Lake and towns surrounding the lake to Portland. They enjoy working on lakefront and waterfront properties, especially.

O’Shea has two new businesses that complement the renovation work he does. O’Shea Residential Consultants and O’Shea is a certified home inspector.

O’Shea became certified in home inspections for the knowledge of all the other trades, he said. He is able to help steer his clients in the right direction. He does not do inspections for hire.

“I’m an expert in my field, for my field,” he said.

As a residential consultant, O’Shea helps homeowners or buyers navigate the process of remodeling a home, camp or vacation cottage. He can come in before a project or after the home inspector, when a client is making a purchase, to provide suggestions and a general estimate on the cost of the renovations.

For those looking to renovate a kitchen or bathroom, visit www.buildwithoshea.com for 7-page checklists on those projects.

The company is booking six months in advance. “Planning your project is key,” said O’Shea. “I truly want to help people.” Due to the size of the company, they don’t do typical carpentry projects like decks and steps unless it is part of a larger project. O’Shea Builders has been described as “high-end exclusive.”

O’Shea encourages all prospective clients to do research on their builders. “I’ve been on TV a lot, but that shouldn’t be why you hire me,” he said. General contractors and inspectors are not licensed in Maine, but there are websites that can warn about Maine contractors who have been unethical. All homeowners should interview three contractors for any job, O’Shea said.

He continues to keep in contact with his clients and takes care of their building needs.

O’Shea Builders doesn’t advertise much, but can be found online on its Google page, and under searches for renovation contractors or general contractors. For an estimate or to ask a question, visit www.buildwithoshea.com, call 207-838-1370 or email buildwithoshea@gmail.com.