Norseman Construction & Development Ltd

Our semi-detached house was built in 1913 and a 3-story detached extension was added 40 years ago, so the place was badly in need of a complete overhaul. The first company’s quote came in very high so we kept looking. A large home in the area was being renovated and it looked amazing. That’s how Keith and I found out about Norseman Construction and hired them to renovate our main floor and front porch.

We chose to live in the house during the renovation. It was a bit tricky with all the construction dust and living without a kitchen, but it was very rewarding to come home every day to see the progress, as well as the problems. Repairs and renos from previous owners had disastrous results like rotted joists in the basement from a slow leak due to nailing through the roof liner. Under the main floor wood beam ceiling was a tile ceiling and under that was a lath and plaster ceiling.

Thankfully the project manager Greg, and construction supervisor Andrei are highly skilled, hard working and know how to do things right. Really nice guys by the way, and very helpful by steering us away from bad design choices. Greg suggested we go with tile in the kitchen rather than hardwood throughout that I had asked for – I realize now what a mistake that would have been! Greg, Andrei and their team transformed our dark and dingy home into a modern, sleek and light filled space. The front porch is no longer an embarrassment and the main floor is now a wow. Our friends and family can't believe it's the same place! We could not be happier with the results and would definitely recommend Norseman Construction to others. Our only regret is that we didn’t renovate the 2nd floor at the same time!

Finally I renovated my garage. It was a big investment for us but Norseman did such a great job. Wonderful company to deal with, great ideas, very professional. Thank you!

We are very happy with Norseman!

Our main floor was a distaster. Norseman was a pleasure to work with from start to finish.

Josh, sales team, was full of helpful ideas.

Dave, PM, was great at communicating with us though our entire project.

What more can we say? We recommend
Norseman and will use them again.

The project involved a total basement renovation, including a laundry room, full bathroom, living room and built-in storage. The job started on time and came in exactly on budget. Our lead contractor, Greg, was excellent to deal with. He sent daily e-mails with updates and photographs of the job. He was quick to respond to all of our questions and concerns. All of my interactions with the company were very professional. These guys are pros.

Our project involved expansion of our 2 storey detached, 2 bedroom 1 bathroom home, to a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home via a rear extension.

We provided the plans and permits to Norseman that we had completed independently, and they provided the construction from foundation to completion.

Working with Norseman was a very good experience, the two concerns that everyone undergoing a renovation project has were not an issue - Norseman came in on budget and on time.
The people that we worked with during the project were great. They were all very kind and helpful. Thomas was very helpful in preparing the contract and ensuring that we considered all points that we wanted included and omitted. From there we worked primarily with Kevin and Robert as our project managers, and they saw us through the project. They were both very professional, knowledgeable and available to address any concerns that we had regarding the project.

Going through a renovation project is inevitably stressful, however we found Norseman to have done a great job of mitigating that stress wherever possible.

There are obviously too many facets of the project to go into every detail for a review here, but we are happy with our completed home.

One concern we did have with our experience was that at times there was a slight lack of attention to detail, things that were not done as carefully or properly as we would have liked. That being said, when brought to Robert or Kevin's attention, they were generally pretty quick about rectifying it.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Robert and Kevin and the crews were great about working with us to help our paper and ink dream become a physical reality. Specifically, there were a couple of design changes that they suggested regarding the upstairs bathroom design and the basement bathroom/laundry location that turned out to be hugely positive adjustments.

Finally, a couple of big thanks to Kevin and Kris for taking the time at the end of the project to come by for a debrief at our home. It was much appreciated. It sounds as though the company is moving forward and working to address areas where we had concerns.

Also a big thanks to the guys from the demo/framing/general construction crew. They were great - I don't want to give all of their names without permission, but they were so helpful above and beyond what they were required to do (ie helping me erect the tree protection fence, adjusting the position of a door that was located incorrectly in the plans, helping me move finishing materials inside when they were delivered to site etc).

Overall a very good experience, we give Norseman an 8.5/10.

Thank you!

We are a small pub located in Toronto. Norseman Construction and Development renovated our entire building. They did a fabulous job! We have had many compliments from customers just loving our space!
Norseman was great to work with! Communication is very important to us, as this spot is our livelihood, and they were open and honest with us and had ways in which we could follow our project that we were very happy with!
We strongly recommend using them!

Norseman was professional and hardworking throughout our Reno.
We love our new addition and are looking forward to using them again for our main floor!

Complete redo of kitchen and master bath. Job was done perfectly. Workers kept the site very clean. Enjoyed working with the staff during the planning phase. Very professional.

I cannot say enough good things about Norseman - my reno experience was amazing from start to finish. I travel a lot for work but I'm also very detailed oriented and needed to stay on top of every last detail. My project manager (Kevin) was very accommodating, with daily email updates and photos of the project's progression while I was away. He was also extremely responsive to my emails, texts, & phone calls. With the exception of two minor but necessary change of work scope orders (and one purely of my choice) the project same in as budgeted. I also lived in during the project, and the Norseman crew did not even bat an eyelash at that crazy idea, and were very respectful of that choice (keeping everything as clean as can be expected under the circumstances). Again, I cannot say enough good things about Norseman, their work ethic, their professionalism, and their attention to detail. It was comforting to know that as I would not compromise on finishes and details, neither would the team. After all, it is their name on the project in the end.

In May 2016, I searched for a contractor to build my addition. I wanted one bedroom and one bathroom on my second level. I checked with four contractors. And of course, Norseman was one of them. All three told me that the minimal cost for my addition would be $80,000 – $85,000, except Norseman. The guy who came from Norseman told me that $70,000 would be enough. However, I should do the drawings with them to be able to direct the architecture designer to stay within the budget. Their designer cost $9,605. However, the company will give me $4,802.5 back when I start the job with them. And that’s why I agreed, and we did the drawings. In end of July, after they finished the drawings, he sent me an estimate with $76,000. Which I agreed and I thought that I could manage this extra $6,000. then during Aug. and Sep. He kept delaying, once he told me that we need to start with HVAC drawings and permit, then structural engineer, then plumbing, etc. I didn’t understand this delay, although I told him that we are expecting a baby on Jan 5, 2017, and I want the job to be done before my wife's due date. Unfortunately, after this delay, in Oct 2016, and before we start, he sent me another estimate with $94,000. A $18,000 above their initial one. And because I don’t have this money I said no. I called Norseman to see why this change and that I started with them because of their estimate which is $70,000. And their answer was that every partner in the company needs their share and that is why the estimate went up. I told him that I feel that they gave me a lower price, in the beginning, to make me choose them. They cost me more than $12,000 before the start which now I lost them.
The city of Toronto gave me the permit. However, they want a structural engineer to check the footage and foundation. So, before Norseman gave me the last estimate, their structural engineer told me that after Norseman starts the demolition and when they have all their equipment in the location he will ask the contractor to dig a hole in the basement to check and sign what the city wants. And when I asked him specifically, whether it is safe to start the project before getting the measurement, he said yes. He is sure everything is OK. And when I checked with one of my friends, he told me it is good they didn’t start, because people like them their only motive is money will start, and then the structural engineer will ask for more money and more things to be fixed because they all work together, and it would be my biggest mistake if I started the project before the engineer clearance.
Of course, I ended wasting more than $12,000 on the project which didnt start because of Norseman's change in their estimate. started with $70,000, then $76,000, then after I lost already $12,000 they changed their quotation to $94,000. I lost the trust of contractors and scared to lose more money and time. More important my wife and I can’t go through the stress again, especially that she is pregnant.