Builders understand this, because builders are like that, too.
“My grandfather was a union carpenter from England,” explains Tyler Stentiford. “He was very old-school – he built things carefully, by hand. That’s where my dad got his start – working in the shop with Grandpa.”
“My grandfather was a union carpenter from England. He was very old-school – he built things carefully, by hand. That’s where my dad got his start – working in the shop with Grandpa.”
– Tyler Stentiford, Vice-President of Stentiford Construction
“He was like the Energizer Bunny,” Tyler’s father, Paul Stentiford recalls. “He designed and built his own 1600 square foot house when he was 77 years old. Hung his own drywall, tile, and cabinets. He was a hardworking man.”
Paul learned about the importance of quality work and treating people right from Bob, and he saw firsthand the dividends it paid.
“He learned carpentry skills with chisels and handsaws,” Paul says. “He taught me how to do things like read the woodgrain, how to be creative. As a kid I was always helping him. He was a perfectionist and had a curious mind.”
When the housing crisis hit in 2008, the company was hit as hard as everyone else in the region – and the country. Paul was determined to maintain their standards and their reputation, refusing to default on any bills and do whatever was necessary to keep the engines running.
He had to scale back on some of his employees for a while, and diversified the company’s projects from their initial commercial/industrial focus by developing residential work. He didn’t change the company name – as so many did at the time – he stayed bonded, never had a litigation, and paid every last bill that was owed.
“It took a couple of years, but he did it. He’s held it up to this day.” Tyler says, and his pride and admiration is obvious. “We were asked to be a builder at Golden Ocala, and Dad just took that same model of quality and integrity he’d always had and applied it to homebuilding. We do custom homes that way every time, with the same level of research as we do a commercial or industrial build.”
Many of their projects are ones Ocala residents will recognize, including the Ocala Skate Park, the 1880s-era Gause & Son Jewelers building, and the India Association (which they completed in an astonishing 90 days).
The historic Ma Barker House – of the infamous Barker Gang, nemesis of the FBI – was moved by barge across Lake Weir from Ocklawaha to Carney Island in a genius feat of aquatic engineering.
“The county came to me and said they’d asked a bunch of other contractors, and would I be interested?” Paul chuckles. “I’m always up for a challenge, so I said yes.”
Moving it by land would have cost upwards of $1M just for restoration costs of the property alone, so they came up with the new – and some might say crazy – plan of moving it across the lake on a pontoon-like system. Logistics took about a month; it took 30 minutes to push it across the water.
“It took another week or two to set it up on the other side,” Paul explains. “But we completed the whole thing four days before the deadline and under budget.”
(Editor’s note: We actually talked about this epic house move in a recent Discover Ocala podcast episode with the Marion County Parks and Recreation Department, and it was fascinating!)
The company is adamant about working closely with architects and knowing how things will work – or not work – and how to make it last. Sometimes an idea looks great and exciting on paper, but in practicality might require an adjustment from time to time, so they make it a priority to know the design elements as intimately as humanly possible.
“We’ve never had to leave to keep working; Marion County has been really good to us, and we’re proud to be here.”
– Tyler Stentiford, Vice-President of Stentiford Construction
Tyler joined the company in 2018 as Vice President after living and working in Tampa, and says he couldn’t ask for a better boss.
“It’s a great working relationship. There’s a give and take, not just between us, but between us and the employees. Dad is open to evolution and change, to adapting to new innovations, because he had the same dynamic with his father,” he says. That expansive, inclusive attitude keeps the company vibrant and progressively creative, allowing them to improve on new ideas while also safeguarding tried-and-true craftsmanship and blend the two together.
Typically, their residential clients come to them via word of mouth and referrals, with the occasional bidded-out project – but most of it is because of their history in the community. They’ll go anywhere in the state if requested – they’ve done six build outs for one client outside of Marion County – but if they have their druthers, they like to stay focused in the Ocala area.
“We’ve never had to leave to keep working; Marion County has been really good to us, and we’re proud to be here.”
If you’re planning a new build, your realtor can put you in touch with Stentiford and arrange a meeting, and if you would like to learn more about Stentiford Construction and some of their amazing projects, visit their website at www.stentifordfl.com.
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