Building from Within: Be Home & Beckwith Contracting

Jeff Green | Mar 05, 2025

Grow into what you are already doing has been the motto of Jacob Beckwith in the last few years.

The market and business is always changing and we need to shift our services to meet our clients needs as well as our people which are the most valuable part of our companies.

When he started working as a contractor in the late ‘90’s he was a “guy with a pickup truck and a Skilsaw, and then you get better equipment and you are a bit more efficient. Then when you can take the leap of faith you get yourself a helper. As a Trade business that is trying to grow, you can’t afford not to have a helper. Almost 30 years in business the team is about 10-15 people. The business focus was on some of the services that homeowners need, “like roofing, bathroom renovations, Windows & Doors, exterior work, kitchens, and on some
of the things people want, like decks and patios, Custom upgrades, etc, the business kept growing and we had more people working year after year,” he said.

In 2011, Jacob took a leap of faith and purchased a property on Rutledge Road on Johnston Lane, right at the edge of Sydenham, where he renovated the building to look and function professionally as a shop and office space. This also shows their clients stability and credibility to the business. Jacob loves their home in Sydenham village and feels very fortunate to work so close to home and continue to develop so many local connections living in South Frontenac.

“It has been a total godsend,” he said. Since 1998 Beckwith Contracting has experienced a steady period of growth, and now with two-four crews available the company is able to work on large and small jobs throughout the region.

Frontenac Auto Service Started in 2020. As the business was growing, so was its fleet of vehicles, For years they had them repaired in the local mechanic shop Sydenham Motors. “It was a very sad time and unexpected to lose that business” recalls Jacob Beckwith, “It was a challenging time to take our vehicles to Kingston for repairs”. Knowing it was affecting us it was also likely affecting others with lack of auto service in the village. The Beckwith team decided to get all the tools out of the bottom floor here, and put in a couple of lifts. And that’s how Frontenac Auto got started.”

The building was already zoned for an auto shop and functioned that way for years. There are now 2 full time techs, an operations manager & an assistant helping to take care of over 1,000 customers who have used the service since it opened 5years ago.

The newest venture for utilizing the experience Beckwith has is a consulting company, Be Home, that has a very specific focus.

Once again, it came about organically. When one of Jacob and his wife Melanie's daughters was getting married, it made sense for the young couple to start sharing expenses in the Beckwith family home, at least for a few years, instead of going to the expense of setting up their
own home. The whole process of working out the finances, deciding what kind of renovations were necessary, were all very instructive for Jacob. Between this experience and all of the discussions he has had with customers over the years about what needed to be done in terms of renovations to make homes that were designed for single families to be transformed for multi-generational use, the idea for Be Home developed.

“BeHome provides the solution & estimate for ways that families can live better… together,” reads the BeHome website description of its services. “In this way, they can share the ‘load’ of stressful living… ever-increasing expenses, taxes, utilities, food, and transport. “Essentially, these new building solutions will allow families to renovate or custom build structures that result in private spaces in homes while also providing a core of space and services that can be ‘shared’ by family members. This significantly lowers the individual burdens of financial, emotional and physical stress, and can ultimately lead to generational wealth or just make an income with our homes which is our most valuable asset”.

Part of the motivation for the development of BeHome is to respond to the aging population in South Frontenac and the surrounding region. Instead of looking at the needs and desires of families as a contractor coming in to provide construction options, BeHome can get involved much earlier, to talk about what clients are hoping for and provide connections to financing, real estate, even land use planning services.

“When the time comes for construction to take place, they can engage Beckwith contracting if we are available, or they can use other contractors. Be Home is not about creating business for Beckwith Contracting, it is a standalone service aimed at maximizing the benefits people can get from their family home over time,” he said.

For more information about BeHome, go to https://beckwithcontracting.
ca/about-behome/ ■