History

Robert (Bob) Hynes was introduced to the building trades at a very early age. His family lived next door to a custom window door manufacturing business just outside of town and young Bob spent many days watching and learning as hundreds of windows and doors were manufactured and delivered to local construction sites. He grew interested in construction and, for many years, dreamed of becoming an architect.

High school brought new ideas with fast cars and pretty girls, and life, as it often does, took young Bob in a different direction. He spent his high school years working co-op at a local auto body shop. Following that, he became a licensed auto body technician and worked in the auto body business for nine years.

In 1982, Bob returned to the building construction business in his spare time, first by building a home for his family and then various projects for other clients.

In 1985 Bob was hired as a firefighter by the Peterborough Fire Department, thereby fulfilling another dream as he followed in the footsteps of his father who retired a few years earlier as Deputy Fire Chief. In his spare time, Bob expanded his reputation as a reliable building contractor, specializing in custom renovations.

In 1994 Bob added to his construction skills when he trained to be a house designer in the burgeoning CAD (Computer Aided Design) field and during that year Your Own Design was born. He studied part time in a program called SoftPlan, the program he uses to this day. The business took off and Bob found himself very busy, drawing 6 homes during that first year. Since then, he has drawn hundreds of plans.

The government of Ontario implemented a licensing program called B.C.I.N. It is a certification program in which all designers and inspectors are trained, tested and registered for various parts of the construction process. Today Bob is a licensed home designer registered and insured as per B.C.I.N. regulations. He trains regularly to upgrade his qualifications.

Lately Bob has spent a great deal of time becoming a registered HVAC designer. He recognized that HVAC assessments are best done during the planning stages of a project. This step increases project efficiency and avoids the added costs of amending a plan down the road.

Bob has also moved into site plan design which involves site visits with clients and creation of an over all site plan. This process can mean application for minor variance with the local municipality which Bob has presented on his client’s behalf.

Bob creates many custom home designs each year from his home on Trillium Court which is a very unique custom design that he conceived and built. It is a great place to work with clients as he can use parts of the home and office for example and discussion.

He is a certified installer for Nudura, an I.C.F. (Insulated Concrete Forming) product. He has worked with timber frame contractors to include timber framing as a product for design and has used many types of construction techniques, some of which require an engineering review. An example of this is the engineered and pre-stressed concrete slab floor of a second floor garage.

Bob continues to work with a wide range of clients to bring their dreams to reality and he hopes that, one day, one of his three sons will follow in his footsteps and turn to drafting design as a very rewarding business.