Produced by Rich Gentile
Flintstones Masonry is a renovation company based out of Victoria that focuses on masonry, waterproofing, home renovations and landscape design and build for all sorts of homes and price ranges. The high-quality work is completed to code with a zero-liability guarantee by hardworking tradesmen.
The company started with a focus on bricklaying as chimney and fireplaces require significant upkeep and repair due to water damage in the wet Victoria climate. The company’s expansion into other construction markets was prompted by a desire from customers for a trustworthy service provider.
“People were looking for a well-managed construction company,” shared Mike De Palma, owner. “It can be difficult to find high-quality tradesmen that are reliable and show up to work every day. People knew we provided such a crew in bricklaying, and as we did more jobs, people began asking, ‘can you take care of this for us?’
“As time went on, I asked myself why I was sending this work to other companies when we could control the quality and manage the entire process ourselves.”
Do It Once, Do It Right
Flintstones’ motto of “Do it once, do it right,” is what all customers working with contractors want to hear. But Flintstones truly delivers on this.
Owner De Palma shared that his team has had to take over on multiple projects that have been halfway completed—or completely finished—that have been done wrong. Many of these projects would have to be started over again costing the customer even more money.
“You may spend more money upfront on our services, but the quality will be superior, and you will save money in the long run because you’ll only pay to have the work done once,” explains De Palma.
To live up to their motto, management at Flintstones meets with their crews each day to discuss the intricacies of the projects, as well as to lay out a plan of action. Flintstones is constantly improving their techniques, widening their scope of services and growing their staff, so management maintains that communication is a priority amongst the teams so as to ensure that each individual is well informed and knowledgeable about the project.
Attracting Talent
For a company that has as high of standards as Flintstones’ does, it can prove challenging to find the right people for the job.
“It can be difficult to find good people, especially in specialized trade,” shared De Palma. “People who can do a good job, that show up every day, that care about their work, that can work as a team, and that really just want to see a good product at the end." Fortunately, through strong internal efforts Flintstones has found just these people.
“Once you get that team, it really separates a company from their competition. We’ve got a big team of people who are all on the same page with what we want to accomplish. We’ve got 40 people, many of them with over 20 to 30 years of experience. There’s no one else in our industry on Vancouver Island that has that.”
De Palma knows that the company’s work speaks for itself: the better work they do, the higher caliber of worker the company can attract. Employees are well paid and appreciate the craftsmanship they are involved in, creating an energetic and productive work environment.
For the Future
When asked to comment on the future of the industry on the island, De Palma shared that high safety standards are becoming imperative.
“Safety procedures are going to become [extremely] important. It’s going to really separate the companies like us who put a huge amount of resources and effort into working safely on our job sites from others.
“A lot of the smaller companies are not in the same position. But as more and more companies become up-to-date on safety, the playing field will be leveled and business will change. It’s more work than one might think to do things safely.”
With the success that comes with an exceptionally strong team and high quality safety and construction standards, Flintstones has an eye towards expansion, especially beyond Vancouver Island.
“We’re only limited by our imagination and how hard we want to work.”
