Contracting By Us

This is the second time we used Marcel and team at CBU, this time to finish the basement in our new house. The team does quality work and is very professional. They keep the area clean. We had a couple of concerns after they finished and they were out almost immediately to rectify and uphold the warranty. We've recommended them to several friends, and all who have used them have been super pleased!

Let me preface this story with a little bit about my background;
Ive spent 15 years working in Customer service, 10 years in Hospitality where I left off as Director of Guest Services in one of the biggest Toronto Hotels, and now 5 years in Banking as a Branch Manager and now Vice President.

I bring this up to note how important customer service is to me, and yet how hard it can be to impress me due to the fields I have experience with. Let me say, I never knew a Contractor was capable of providing 5 star service UNTIL l I met Marcel and his team at Contracting by us.

Me and my wife were looking to renovate out basement in Oakville to primarily create more space for our 4 year old son and 2 year old Daughter. We were at a point where we were out growing our house and needed to create a play area for the kids.

Contracting by Us was NO referral, we actually had never heard of them. I searched Contractors on the internet and stumbles across this site HOMESTARS. It was here where we Found Marcel's company. We liked the reviews but we also liked 2 other company's we found on here, so we decided to invite 3 contractors out to our house to supply a quote and share some ideas.

Now there was nothing wrong with the other 2 Company's but 2 things really stood out about Marcel when he visited our house;

1. Knowledgeable! When we had spoken to the other 2 contractors we shared our ideas and they told us great would look good and would build it into the Quote. When we shared out idea with Marcel, he was realistic with us although very polite. He informed us why some of our ideas would not work, whether it be due to space, water meters, ventilations systems, or cost of Beams...right from there we knew this man had experience and was not going to just tell us what we wanted to hear.

2. Connection; Marcel is a very genuine person who demonstrates that from his first visit, he stated I do every home as though its my home...this was proven later on. He connected with our children, some people might be annoyed with a 2 and 4 year old interrupting conversation but he actually enjoyed their company, to the point where we knew we would feel comfortable with this man in our house.

A few days later Marcel provided his quote and told us there will be no hidden costs, we don't go over the quote unless the customer decides to add different materials or add anything else on...this was again proven later on.

Marcel provided us with a full schedule, each day and time specific Trades would be arriving...let me tell you they definitely stick to the schedule. This was very important to us with 2 young children, we didn't want the reno to extend any longer then necessary, his accuracy was unbelievable.

Once the work began we met "Manny" Manny was essentially at our house everyday for the entire Reno...my son still asks about Manny. Manny is not only one of the hardest working individuals you will ever meet, but such an enjoyable presence who also connected with our children. Manny built our children a play house in the basement, a play house that is the awe to all of our friends and family, and the joy of our 2 children. Thank you Manny.

Everyday whether or not Marcel actually had to be at our house, he came to ensure the trades had arrived, checked on the status of their work, and asked us if we had any questions, comments or concerns.

The workspace was always kept extremely clean to the point you barely knew they were there. Our house did not appear as a construction zone, they clearly treated our place as though it were their own.

Finally once the work was done, Marcel surprised us with a customer name plate for our Children's play house, and a final bill that lived up to his promise from the beginning that we would not be going over the initial quote.

I felt compelled to share our story here as I assure you anyone looking for a contracting company, this is the team to go with. Any future plans we have we wont be looking anymore, we found our contractors for life.

We had CBU finish our basement, powder room and office recently, (spring/summer 2016)

We had numerous contactors quote but we felt best with Marcel and his commitment to the project. All work done was very competently and at most times timely, outsourcing of all contracting work occurred.

Overall, great job on the basement, powder room and office. Would I recommend CBU, I would not..... As be aware of warranty issues once the bill is paid, (CBU) Marcel will state wear and tear, not workmanship and thus you are left to your own to correct issues.

Be aware of improvements not to contract, the upsizing is cost probative, many contractors look to make their money on the upside.

Marcel and Maney,
Long overdue however the basement reno in 2013 and our en-suite reno in 2015 are both amazing. Thanks for your attention to detail, staying on timeline and budget and for being so professional and keeping it fun. New projects planned....keep in touch.
Total recommend.
Joanne & Dave

We recently had the pleasure of working with Marcel and Team at Contracting By Us to finish our basement. We did a bathroom, bedroom, storage closet, TV wall and sitting room. Right from the start Marcel impressed us with how he walked the floor and suggested ideas on how to make our concept for the space become a reality.

He provided a detailed contract of everything that was to be done, highlighting specific timelines on when each section of work would be started and completed. It was not only followed to perfection, he even finished a couple days ahead of schedule. His team was always on time and they kept the work area clean and tidy.

We love our newly finished basement and would highly recommend Marcel and Contracting By Us for anyone wishing to do work on their home. We can’t thank them enough and are looking forward to the next project when we can call upon them to help us out.

Ginny and Adam

As new homeowners, we were a bit nervous hiring a contractor that we didnt know for such a large job. But Marcel put us at ease from the very beginning. We appreciated that he was onsite every day and discussed even minor details like the type of light fixture and carpet colour. The crew worked quickly, neatly and I never felt nervous leaving them in the house. Marcel was even so kind as to get a LARGE sticker made of a hockey team logo and put it on one of the walls. So cool! We'd definitely hire and recommend CBU over and over again!

After a long search and going through several quotes, Marcel's was the only design that made sense; met our requirements and achieved the vision we had for the basement. His was also the only proposal that included a detailed work schedule that allowed us to follow along and know what to expect in the entire remodeling process. Marcel and his crews are very efficient and very professional which means they hold themselves to a very hight standard when it comes to the quality of their work (with special mention to Manny who is Marcel's carpenter as well as the painters who did a flawless job) which make you feel that they treat your project and space as if it were their own. With Marcel you can expect to get exactly what was promised based on what was agreed upon. So, would I recommend him to friends and family? You betcha! Basement dreams do come true.

Marcel recently finished my basement and he and his team transformed it from a dreary cave to a beautiful, light, airy living space. It turned out even better than I expected!
Everyone was friendly and professional, and all stages were given ahead of time, and they kept right on schedule. Marcel checked in often and was always available for questions.
I am very happy and am now planning to have them come back to work on my kitchen.

It was a pleasure dealing with Marcel and his team. We invited other contractors to bid on for our project but found Marcel's quality standards to be much higher than others. Our basement renovation was completed in approximately 4 weeks as promised. The work crews were always polite and punctual. Tip: Be home and available when the tilers and electrician are scheduled to perform work just in case you need to make small changes.

A special call out to Manny (Marcel's carpenter) - such high attention to details and excellent workmanship.

Marcel is well connected with the trades he needs to engage. The painters for example did a terrific job!
They sanded between coats and I even saw them take flashlights out examining the walls. Walls were flawless and smooth to the touch.

I would highly recommend CBU to anyone - such a positive experience! I will certainly call Marcel again for my next project.

Basement, home and backyard renovation
We hired Contracting By Us to give our outdated home a much needed face lift.
Marcel had many great design ideas that we implemented. They transformed our master bathroom and bedroom, replaced our kitchen counters, finished our basement to include a bar, bathroom and great room. They also created our dream backyard getaway with a cedar deck and sunken cobblestone patio and fire pit. All of our neighbours wish they had Contracting By Us renovate their homes.