Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterMeet the Sherman Oaks Team Behind Rowan Construction Group Sherman Oaks
Every crew that steps onto a Sherman Oaks property carries the same documentation, the same background-check clearance, and the same flat-price commitment. What changes is the face at your door. These are the people who measure your kitchen, climb your roof, and call you back when you have a question about tile layout at 7 PM. They’re local hires, not contractors shipped in from three counties over, and they know the difference between a 1920s Ventura Boulevard bungalow and a 1960s Mulholland split-level because they’ve worked on both.
Our People
Grant Rowan, Owner
I started this operation in 2007 after watching one too many homeowners get a verbal estimate that doubled by the final walkthrough. Before that, I spent eight years in commercial framing and residential finish carpentry, which taught me that the gap between “looks good” and “built right” is where most disputes start. I still pull a permit or climb a roof when the job calls for it, but mostly I enforce Clause 1 of the Haven Standard: the price is written before anyone starts, and no change order moves without a signature. I live in Studio City, my kids attend school in the district, and I’ve got a 1964 ranch in the hills that I retrofit myself - badly at first, better now. That experience is why I insist every customer receives a documented photo record; I know what it’s like to wonder what happened behind the drywall.
Marcus T., Lead Technician - Roofing & Exterior Systems
Marcus joined us in 2016 after twelve years running his own roofing crew in the San Fernando Valley. He’s GAF Master Elite certified and Owens Corning Preferred Contractor qualified, which means our shingle warranties run the full manufacturer term instead of the pro-rated default most homeowners end up with. Marcus can spot a skipped nail pattern from the sidewalk and has strong opinions about why Sherman Oaks’ combination of Santa Ana wind exposure and clay-heavy soil causes so many fascia separations. Off the job, he restores vintage motorcycles and applies the same tolerance-for-slop standard: none. He once made a supplier take back an entire pallet of drip edge because the galvanized coating measured 0.3 mils under spec.
Diana R., Senior Installer - Kitchen & Bath
Diana came up through the cabinet shop side of the trade, which is rarer than you’d think - most installers learn field fit first and cabinet behavior second, if ever. She spent seven years with a Wellborn distributor in Burbank before we recruited her in 2019, and she still specifies hinge boring patterns and drawer-box dovetails with the part numbers memorized. Her specialty is the tight kitchen: 1940s Sherman Oaks cottages with 10-foot walls and no logical place for a dishwasher. She once redesigned a galley layout around a load-bearing chimney that three other contractors had proposed removing illegally. She lives in Valley Village, grows tomatoes she won’t let anyone taste until August, and keeps a notebook of every cabinet adjustment she’s made, indexed by address.
James K., Service Coordinator
James is the voice you get when you call (213) 221-0788 at 9 PM wondering if your countertop template appointment can move to Thursday. He’s been with us since 2014, which in this business means he’s handled roughly 2,800 scheduling puzzles, 140 permit-status checks, and at least one homeowner who needed reassurance that the crew really would show up during a February storm. (They did. Marcus drove.) James maintains the photo record archive, coordinates inspections with the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, and knows which Sherman Oaks permit expediters return calls before noon. He grew up in North Hollywood, still plays in a rec soccer league, and has a printed copy of the Haven Standard pinned above his monitor - not for show, because he quotes it to me when I’m tempted to bend a rule.
Elena V., Apprentice - General Construction & ADU
Elena is in her third year of our formal apprenticeship, splitting time between roofing tear-offs with Marcus and rough framing on our ADU jobs. She holds a California OSHA 30 certification and completed the Los Angeles Trade-Technical College construction fundamentals program before joining us. Her current project is a 480-square-foot detached unit in the hills above Ventura Boulevard, where she’s learning how to marry the city’s ADU height restrictions with a sloped lot that drops four feet from front to back. Elena asks better questions than most journeymen I’ve worked with. She commutes from Panorama City, builds furniture from reclaimed lumber on weekends, and is the reason we now carry a spare battery for the laser level - she drained ours documenting every stud placement on her first solo wall frame.
One Standard, Every Job
The Haven Standard isn’t a manual we hand out on day one. It’s the reason we acquired Rowan in the first place - Haven bought this company because the discipline was already here, and we tightened it. Every Sherman Oaks crew member, from apprentice to owner, operates under the same clauses: written price before work starts, signed change order before any deviation, documented photo record on every visit, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise printed on every contract page. When Marcus specifies GAF Timberline HDZ shingles, Diana orders KraftMaid semi-custom with the correct hinge boring, or Elena pulls a permit for an ADU setback variance, they’re working from the same flat-price, no-surprises system. The brands change by trade - Cambria here, Belgard there - but the administrative discipline doesn’t. That’s not marketing language. It’s why our projects finish within a few percent of the number the customer agreed to, and it’s the only reason I’m comfortable putting my name on every job.
Written by Grant Rowan, Owner at Rowan Construction Group Sherman Oaks, serving the San Fernando Valley since 2007.