The Details Landscaping & Renovations Inc.

Gino Masi runs The Details Landscaping & Renovations Inc., a Winnipeg company focused on landscaping, hardscape installations, and paving stone relevelling. For Gino, a well designed outdoor space is what lets Winnipeggers get the most out of their summers.

Winnipeg Roots and a Love for the Outdoors

Gino was born and raised in Winnipeg. His family has a cabin up in Gimli, and he still spends time there. About two years ago, he purchased a home in Whyte Ridge. Gino says embracing the four true seasons is what brings a certain beauty to the city, so long as you lean into it. For him that means ice fishing, summer fishing, biking, and rollerblading, and it shapes how he approaches his business: helping clients build outdoor spaces they actually use.

From Teacher to Landscaping Business Owner

Gino started landscaping as summer work while he was teaching. Rather than take the two months off each summer, he wanted to use the time to learn a trade. During college he tried a few different paths, including a couple of summers with a pool building company, before moving into landscaping with another company. He fell in love with it. As Gino explains, the product selection today is nothing like it was decades ago when red pavers in two shapes were the only real option.

Friends and family started asking for help with sinking patios, driveway extensions, and small landscaping projects. That word of mouth grew into a client base that eventually let Gino start The Details on his own. Today he hires two or three full time crew members for the summer season.

Landscaping and Hardscape Built Around Client Goals

Gino's approach begins with a conversation about how the homeowner wants to use their space. Do they want an outdoor kitchen for cooking? A fire pit area for relaxing with the kids? Once the goals are clear, he addresses any underlying concerns like drainage, then builds a plan designed to make the most of what the property already offers.

Paving Stone Relevelling Without a Full Replacement

Paving stone relevelling has become one of The Details' signature services. Winnipeg's freeze thaw climate means that in any neighbourhood more than ten years old, driveways, walkways, and front steps tend to settle over time. Gino points out that the biggest benefit of paving stone is that individual stones rarely crack, which means a full replacement often isn't necessary.

Instead, The Details lifts and relevels the portions that need it. Most clients only need the first eight to ten feet of driveway addressed so that the front step and garage entry feel right again. That approach lets homeowners reuse their existing materials, keeps stone out of the landfill, and restores a beautifully landscaped property that may have been installed twenty or thirty years ago.

Jan, a recent client, described the transformation this way: her front walkway stones had sunk around seven inches, making the first step awkwardly steep. The Details raised the area and reused the original patio stones. "Makes a lovely first impression now," she wrote, adding that the crew was "professional, on time, with stellar craftsmanship."

Clear Communication From Quote to Cleanup

When asked what is important to him for his customer's experience, Gino points to communication first. He books jobs within a specific week window, then narrows it to an exact arrival time a few days before the crew shows up. "We're going to arrive at 7:30. We're going to wrap up at 5:30, clean up, be out of there by 6:00," he says is the standard. Clients echo this in their reviews, citing crews that showed up on time, cleaned up daily, and finished on or ahead of schedule.

Honesty around pricing is another recurring theme. Gino quotes a best case and worst case price when the outcome depends on what his team finds once they open up a project. When the situation turns out to be the best case, the invoice is reduced. Neeta, a recent client, mentioned this practice in her review, along with Gino's willingness to give an honest opinion on what actually needs to be spent on.

A Family Business With a Trusted Crew

Marilyn, who hired The Details for a two bathroom renovation, wrote in her review that Gino and his dad Raph were "excellent to work with." The Details also works with a consistent group of trusted subcontractors for electrical, plumbing, and tile work, who Marilyn described as "punctual, professional and friendly."

Always Iterating on the Season Ahead

At the end of each season, Gino takes a couple of weeks to reset and then goes back to the drawing board. He looks at the quoting process, new installation methods, and ways to improve both the client experience and the working experience for his crew. The goal, Gino says, is to deliver a better result every season.

What Gino Wishes Clients Knew

Asked what one thing he wishes customers knew before hiring anyone in his industry, Gino is straightforward: you often get what you pay for. He encourages homeowners comparing quotes to look carefully at whether they are truly comparing apples to apples, because the groundwork is what determines whether a project holds up over the years.

Off the Clock

Outside of work, Gino is usually outdoors. Ice fishing and summer fishing are both big passions, along with biking and rollerblading. At home, Gino lives with his fiancée Reyna and a Dalmatian just under two years old who is part of the Manitoba Animal Actors Association. Dalmatians are highly intelligent and thrive on mental stimulation, and Gino's pup in particular loves training more than anything else.

As Gino puts it, between the fishing, the cabin in Gimli, and the true four seasons: "There's nowhere else I'd rather live."