The Renovators of Canada

This company has great people and provides great work. The guys on-site were absolutely a pleasure and I'd work with them directly any day. This review however is mostly geared towards making other consumers aware of their management and pricing practice.

Four weeks ago I hired two separate trades to take on the work of: a) demolition of dry wall for shower and a second 2 ft. long wall, b) lay down lining and drain for a shower and c) build a 6 ft. shower barrier. I'm basically preparing for a walk-in shower, replacing a bathtub. My previous estimates were between $1200-1500 including time and material (and a 1 day turn around time). Unfortunately both trades ended up having to cancel the project at the last minute, massively delaying my work. Not uncommon in the contracting industry.

In desperation, T-ROC was recommended by a good friend of mine. Nasser and his guy came out to quote the work the night before. I made it very clear that I was in a bind and I needed the work done extremely fast and diligently (next morning by 11am latest for my next trade to do work). I expected an extra cost that would reflect the timing I was expecting. To my surprise, I was provided with a total cost of $2200+HST. Knowing the half day effort and material would be nowhere near this amount, I still accepted the amount to get the work done in time.

Right off the bat, their team was late and no supervisor was on-site to oversee the work. Although an apology was made by the labourer, Nassar was either oblivious or unapologetic to it. Worst however is that the team wasn't fully aware of the effort that was needed on the job site -- they hadn't been properly briefed or there was some severe miscommunication.

Half way through the work (I stuck around during the effort ALL day) I was then told of overages for $700 due to having to fix some studs behind dry wall - about 3-4 of them. According to my calculations that accounted for nearly $120 worth of material and an extra 60-80 minutes of effort. The price gouging clearly didn't stop and I felt I was being too taken advantage of. I approached Nassar and made him aware of my displeasure, to which he attempted defending with poor excuses of having to pick up material. I was given the option of picking up the material myself and I wouldn't be charged the extra $700. It however took my becoming intensely agitated for Nasser to understand the mistake he made in trying to extract even more profit from me.

The more ridiculous part is that T-ROCs sales team acts so very friendly and professional. They do a great job of making you feel like you're getting white glove service and being taken care of -- BEWARE! In the end, I guarantee you (and from what I've read on other reviews) they have a practice of maximizing their return at every moment possible. I paid my deposit the night before and I paid 2 hours after the work was confirmed done. I'm a person of my word and I did everything in my own to keep things on track. In the end though I couldn't believe the amounts being thrown at me when I could easily discern the value of the work. Aside from what I thought T-ROC was trying to make on their ridiculous margins, the quality of work WAS at the level I needed it to be at. In the end the labourers ended up being the saving grace of the project and avoiding a complete and utter travesty of a situation.

This is all unfortunate because the trade labourers are hard working and great fellows. Their bosses however prove to be unethical to the point that their tactics felt predatory. I hope everyone considering hiring them thinks twice or definitely make sure you get at least 3 other estimates to gauge how far off T-ROCs pricing actually is.

Hope this team turns their methods around. Good business is about providing a quality service and being recognised for it. These guys have their priorities in the wrong place. Very unfortunate. Best of luck though.