Norseman Construction & Development Ltd

Norseman construction was professional from beginning to end. I hired them to do a substantial renovation on my house and not only did it get done on time, but they were great with communication and letting me and my husband know what to expect at each stage and keeping us in the loop. We were completely satisfied with their work and the price was reasonable as well. They bend over backwards in their customer service and construction departments especially David wagner and Kevin Potts.

We hired Norseman, based on their excellent reviews and the likeability of the owners and crew, to renovate our old house and build an addition. The owners are indeed amiable as are most of their crew. Sadly little of what we were sold with regards to services, planning, and management panned out.
1. Quotes: We were provided a scope of work that included completely gutting our main floor, building a 2 storey rear addition (including basement), and building everything back to a "finish ready" state (framing, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, insulation, drywall, subfloors). We made several comments about lack of detail in aspects of the contract and were assured that this was simply a "scope of work" and that detailed work plans, engineering, and materials specifications would follow. We were also assured pricing was complete to meet building code with minor adjustments for possible framing. The detailed work plan and engineering specs (except HVAC) never materialized and were told by the site manager that Norseman actually "doesn't do that". After the house was half-gutted we were informed that almost every aspect of the work was quoted incorrectly. We were told pricing was only included for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical in the new addition, not reconnection of the existing pipes, ducts, and wires that were ripped out in the course of our main floor renovation. Note: our contract stated: "Builders will move furnace. Builders will run new ductwork for all new supply registers and cold air returns. This includes relocating existing second floor supply and return registers where required" but Norseman then argued "This does not implicate an entire new HVAC system". Similarly for plumbing and electrical our contract stated "Miscellaneous work due to wall removals". These mistakes significantly increased the cost of the renovation (e.g. HVAC costs jumped by $7900, electrical by $2750). The wrong amount of insulation quoted in the contract for both the addition and the renovated areas (not to code). The price for siding did not match materials required in the designs/permits and Norseman originally requested a 25% restocking fee to change to siding that met code - this fee was "waived" when we protested. We contracted Norseman to remove the thin pour of cement in the existing basement, increase the head space as much as possible without underpinning and pour a new, waterproof concrete floor. After work started we were asked for an additional $11000 to complete the basement because the contract did not include the word "excavation". A compromise of an additional $2500 was reached that did not include maximizing the head room. Overall the job cost >40% more than original quote, not including the items that were indicated as extras. Work started in Nov, the contract and fees above were renegotiated in mid-Jan. When we tried to argue the wording of the contract we were told work would not resume unless the additional fees were paid up front. We did make changes to the work (removing some aspects and upgrading others) at that time because 1. the site manager had informed us of several aspects such as plumbing where our contract did not include materials that would qualify for municipal building credits, 2. we realized aspects quoted did not necessarily meet building code, 3. we were no longer confident they could complete the work as promised and 4. we were unsure if we could now afford to complete the renovation as planned. (Side note: Bank policies regarding property assessment mean you cannot increase or secure home renovation loans or home-line credit if your house is already under construction - even if you have saved all the cash to pay for your renovation + extras go to the bank and increase your home line or available credit before you start...)

2. Work Plans and communication:
We were promised that detailed engineering and work plans would be provided at the start of work only to be told later by the site manager that "they don't do that". There were no engineering drawings or work plans provided to the trades (e.g. electricians were only given a list of how many outlets and lights to install, no layout or drawings to work from; framers had to "wing it" using the architect's designs printed on 8.5x11" paper, which were not to scale; plumbers had no drawings, etc). This lack of planning and documentation resulted in frequent and serious mistakes including building the new foundation 2.5" wider than in the original architects drawings and encroaching on the property line (for which the city then required new designs and a new survey); door and window openings having to be cut out and reframed; and the eaves extending over the property line. There were also multiple stages of work where no one was sure what had been completed because there was no record keeping. No one who showed up at the house to work ever had any idea of what they were supposed to do as there were no work plans in place. Both Norseman's crew and hired trades were stressed out or angry due to lack of organization. Trades were hired, arrived, and then had to leave again (repeat scenario multiple times) because the site wasn't actually ready for them to work. City inspectors refused to conduct inspections because basic safety measures (temporary stairs, railings, etc) were not built (in fact we had to install construction stairs and railings ourselves). A significant planning issue arose with windows - while new windows were included in the architects drawings no mention of ordering windows was made by anyone until the work started at which point we were asked "when are your windows coming?". We admit we did not notice the lack of windows in the contract (and expected the charge to one of the additional costs) however we hired Norseman as a complete "design and management" service and so expected them to manage the entire project.
Communication broke down shortly after work started. While our site manager was quick to answer phone calls and texts he was vastly overextended and there was a definite lack of communication between levels of organization. Inquiries and complaints to the management frequently went unanswered, took weeks or repeated requests to answer, or were answered with contract legalese as opposed to well considered solutions. Upper management was frequently surprised by what was happening (or lack of what was happening on site). Supplies showed up at the wrong time or were the wrong supplies. Workers frequently showed up with no supplies or tools on site (we felt really bad for Al, a lovely and very competent tradesman who spent half his time on our job having to go shopping or borrowing our tools). No one (not site manager, not crew, not owners) ever wrote anything down while on site even though we requested they have a clipboard or other documenting procedure available. Trades were scheduled without the house being ready for them and had to be sent away. Norseman's crew frequently arrived not knowing what work needed to be done and asking us for direction.

3. Work Flow: Our contract stated that work would take no more than 5 months but we were assured repeatedly that the actual work would only take 2-3 months (part of the reason for hiring Norseman). The start date was pushed back twice, however the initial work (excavation and laying new foundation, external waterproofing, framing new addition) proceeded in a timely manner (~3 weeks) with contracted tradesmen. Norseman's own crew began demolition of the existing main floor in late Nov but work essentially stopped after the first week of Dec. The house stood empty for weeks at a time while Norseman's crews was elsewhere. The crew would arrive for about a day and a half after we would ask for updates but never stayed long enough to finish anything. Demolition (removing main floor walls and finishes, opening back wall) was still not completed in early Feb. The house was in a limbo state of demolition and framing for months. Norseman tried to explain this delay as the Christmas break (many weeks, not days) and changing the scope of work however contract changes only occurred mid-January when we had to renegotiate the mistakes made in the original price quotes (see quotes section above). Norseman's crew told us in Feb that they currently had 21 other open jobs. We found work only proceeded in a timely manner mid-Feb to end of April because we took over managing the project ourselves (we got up every morning, called the site or project manager to ask why there wasn't anyone at the house, created our own work flow documents and check lists). We ended up doing some of the work ourselves (completing demolition, installing safety railings and construction stairs for workers and inspectors, cleaning up after work crews, properly screwing down subfloors). Plumbing, electrical, framing, and HVAC were all scheduled for the same week in March (rather than back to back) in a mad rush to finish ahead of the contract end date meaning these trades were getting in each others way, were upset with the work conditions, and again had to "wing it" to correct mistakes and work around each other. Every trade scheduled in March informed us Norseman booked them as a "rush job" rather than on an organized management schedule. We had leased a temporary apartment until after the contract end date but we had to put all our furniture in storage and move back into the house with no drywall, no running water, and only 2 connected electrical outlets. The work took twice as long as the contract end date and 4x as long as they assured us it would take. We still have permits open 1.5yrs after start of work - while part of the current permit issue is due to a change of personnel at the city inspector office in the last year these permits (plumbing and HVAC) should have been closed in March or April 2015. We understand the owners are now putting in their own time to finish up this administrative aspect, which is good because managing the permits was part of the construction contract.

5. Mistakes, unfinished work, and damages:
Norseman's own crew were not careful and damaged many parts of the house not included in the renovation, which costed us additional money and work to repair. One of Norseman's crew cut through the stringer of our second floor stairs with a reciprocating saw while removing a non-supporting wall beside the stairs (late-Nov) (the crew actually didn't know that the stairs were staying in place). We pointed out the damage and asked for it to be repaired. It wasn't fixed after several weeks so we repeated the request more than once including all managers/owners in the communications. As of mid-Jan nothing had been done and we complained that the stringer was starting to come apart and the stairs were no longer safe. Norseman then offered to build us new stairs for $10,000, which we had not budgeted for. Their first repair consisted of a 3 ft piece of 2x6" wood attached with one (1) screw to the stringer. We complained. The second repair consisted of 2x10" board nailed to the stringer - the angle of the board did not match the angle of the stringer and the nails were protruding through the original stringer onto the stairs. This board was not secured to the floor or ceiling joists. Unfortunately the stairs had deteriorated beyond repair in that time frame and we replaced them ourselves. Grading the basement for a new floor essentially did not happen - the concrete contractor who arrived to pour the floor stated the basement was not ready for concrete and frantically worked with 2 of Norseman's crew to clean the footings and push dirt around. No gravel or weeping tile was laid as per the contract. We had also stated that the basement did not appear to be ready for concrete. They pushed ahead and poured the concrete anyway. The floor was 6 inches lower at one end of the basement than the other and 2 inches higher in the middle than on the sides. A large crack formed across the middle where the concrete was too thick. We informed Norseman that the work was unacceptable. The concrete was eventually removed and replaced and weeping tile and gravel installed but it took months for Norseman to decide to fix it (only after we informed them if they didn't move quickly we would hire an outside company to do the work at Norseman's expense). Again the company hired to pour the new floor had to schedule and reschedule over the course of 1.5months while they waited for the basement to be ready for them. One of our windows and part of our door were broken during installation which took months of repeated contacts to eventually repair. Eaves, door frames, and the neighbours' properties on both sides were damaged. Norseman eventually fixed the damages on our house but not all the damage to the neighbours. The site manager indicated the neighbours would have to make an insurance claim to complete repairs. Norseman's crew constantly left jobs unfinished (e.g. A horizontal support beam for the second floor, required to replace the original back wall of house, was not installed until April when the inspector pointed out it was missing; the main and second floor of the addition were not bolted to the original house until the inspector pointed out the bolts were missing; someone put up joist hangers on a beam supporting the main floor but didn't attach the hangers to the joists; we had to pull out hundreds of nails and pieces of lathe that were in the way of drywall installation, a 1-2" gap left between the existing bedroom floor and the new subfloor as well as the ends of the existing subfloor left free-floating). These items were eventually completed because we took over managing the project and we had nit-picky inspectors. Norseman NEVER cleaned up after themselves (except to cart away heavy debris) or the trades, and left garbage and supplies all over our property and the neighbours' properties. We ended up doing the cleaning ourselves to prevent the massive amounts of plaster and lathe debris from being enclosed in the drywall and to accommodate the work of electricians and HVAC techs. Actually, Norseman once sent a guy to clean up after the drywall installation, because I complained angrily, but he only cleaned half the house before he got called to another job - he never came back to finish the clean up (note we had already moved back in).

5. In the end the work was completed and the renovation and addition to the house appear sound. Norseman's owners are still working on closing the permits and have made sure that all the loose ends are tied up and the majority of damages repaired. Norseman has assured us they will "stay with us" until permits are closed. The independent trades that Norseman hired (framing, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, drywall, siding, 2nd round of concrete) were all competent, efficient, and professional. In the end Norseman agreed to credit us storage fees and some additional costs incurred due to contract delays.
You may ask why we didn't just fire Norseman mid-contract? We did considered it more than once but felt it was too late in the game and we were too financially committed to be able to find a new contractor. We also felt overall the owners and crew had good intentions, they just didn't seem to be able to get this job under control. Norseman gets excellent reviews from other clients and we are unsure how our job went so very, very wrong especially at the level of planning and management. We are quite sure the numerous mistakes and delays cost Norseman significant amounts of money (above the costs we incurred). One of Norseman's employees indicated that the company went through a major change in format around the time we hired them for the design phase (summer 2014) and that they were struggling with the new project management format and were vastly overextended. We have been told that Norseman overhauled their staffing again in 2015.
If you are considering hiring Norseman you should 1. talk with at least 3 of their current/recent clients to assess how those jobs are proceeding, 2. do not accept their "scope of work" as your contract, insist on a contract that includes any and all details and specific materials, as well as defined optional pricing for 'what-if' scenarios (e.g. if they might have to repair old joists after removing a ceiling so get a price per joist in advance rather than an "optional pricing" statement), 3. get a second opinion on the contract details to make sure materials exceed building code and include standards for municipal/provincial/federal rebates, 4. insist on detailed work flow and engineering specs for framing, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC (separate from the architect's drawings) BEFORE work begins and as part of your signed contract, 5. get proof of how many open contracts they have and how many jobs each construction manager is responsible for (they definitely had more than they could handle during our project), 6. make sure your contract includes clearly stated and detailed consequences for damages (and time to get them repaired), and 7. include a "contract end date penalty" (many other companies we deal with guarantee per day credits (e.g. $100/day) for exceeding their contract end date or incomplete work).

Important side note: Purchase your own windows/doors from a trusted, local window contractor. Norseman's door/window supplier (we were never given the name, despite asking, but it is a supplier that only deals with contractors) provided poorly constructed windows - we've had to have all of the new windows and doors repaired or serviced. The windows also turned out to be more expensive and took longer to build than windows we've purchased from Pioneer or Gator. Also that supplier does not service the windows once installed so Norseman has had to put in many extra hours to source parts and repairs.

The most important things for a renovation: on time, on budget, good work. Sadly, most people have learned to expect to compromise on some or all. I didn't have to compromise with Norseman; they were on time (ahead of schedule, in fact), on budget, and I'm very pleased with the result. I was impressed with their staff and trades; it was obvious that they cared about their work, they did it well, answered my questions and they were respectful of the fact that it was my home, and I was living there during the work. The work areas were left tidy every day. A very grateful thanks to Dave, my project manager, who kept me in the loop, gave me straightforward answers, always had a plan when something needed to be changed, and kept good humour and even temper when I'd get frustrated. I plan to hire them again.

We hired Norseman to transform our basement, from a low-ceilinged rabbit warren of rooms to a light-filled space with high ceilings, lots of room and a beautiful new laundry room and bathroom. The project involved digging out the basement by hand (2 feet down), relocating the furnace and hot water tank, all new plumbing, and more. The process was very smooth, and was completed within the expected timeframe (4 months). Andrew, our site manager, was fantastic. Before the project started, I was worried about the disruption and mess, but with Andrew in charge I soon realized that I did not have to worry at all. He communicated often and thoroughly, addressed all my questions and concerns, and minimized the impact of the project on our household wherever possible (like putting the washing machine and dryer on a temporary platform, so we could still use them after the floor had been dug out.) Kevin, the operations manager, also communicated frequently with detailed status emails and site visits, and all work order changes were explained in detail, and formalized in writing to avoid any surprises. Shawn, and all of the work teams, were great - happy to answer any questions, and keep me up to date on what was happening. Overall, we were very happy with the process, and the project results. Now we have a great basement recreation area that we will enjoy for many years to come. I would highly recommend Norseman for the quality of work and project management.

Norseman went above and beyond to get our basement done. This big, complicated project was done to code with lots of attention to detail. We were advised at every step, almost daily, and consulted frequently. Communication is vital in these kinds of projects and Kevin kept us in the loop at all times, answering our calls and emails swiftly and patiently.

Unavoidable delays in permit issues, complications and some of the workers' odd hours (e.g. coming in for a few minutes on weekends, staying till 9pm) were necessary evils in order to complete the basement before Christmas (more than a month over the deadline). But any job worth doing is worth doing right, so budget for extra time and cash.

Norseman workers continue to come to the house to attend to any small problems or details they might have missed. While not wholly efficient (they might only be here for an hour and not complete what they're working on all at once) the support and extra care is appreciated. Just be aware they'll need access to the house for quite a bit of time after the job is complete.

Overall, the job was done very professionally by mostly courteous workers who did their best to complete the job under high stress and sometimes less than ideal circumstances. It was an expensive job but ultimately worth the investment.

We hired Norseman to rebuild our sagging front porch and replace a support post. I dealt with a salesman/project manager named Josh. The carpentry work on the porch was completed by a subcontractor, and for the most part it was done well. If that was it, I would have given Norseman 7 or 8 out of 10. However, I had two big problems with the project and the company:

1. The subcontractor built the (single) step up to the porch at 10" high - 3" above code and also a very awkwardly short distance to the floor of the porch. When I mentioned to Josh that I thought it was a bit high, he said he had looked at it and it was fine. When I then mentioned that it was higher than code, he said he would come fix it himself. To his credit, he did eventually come do this. But not until after I contacted him several times to remind him about it.

2. During construction, the subcontractor knocked off some of the angel stone facing on the brick support pillar between our house and the house next door. In doing so, he exposed the bricks underneath and noticed that the mortar between them had been worn away. Josh offered to have one of his masons come and fix the brick for us. He made a big deal about how he would do it at no extra cost to us, and that they would fix it up so that it would look nice.

When the mason came, he patched up the brick and then covered it in concrete. He didn't patch up the bricks on our neighbour's side. The whole thing ended up looking like a pretty bad patch job. We told Josh that we weren't happy with it, and that we hoped and expected he would do something to address the problem. He came over once more and said that he was sorry but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Now we are left with spending more money to fix the problem that Norseman caused.

We hired Norseman in September, 2014 to rebuild our enclosed front porch, do some tuck-pointing, as well as to replace the roof. The people at Norseman are professionals and are great to work with. Greg, our Project Manager, kept us updated throughout the renovation and made sure that all of the finishing touches were completed. The project took longer than we anticipated but we are happy with the end result.

We used Norseman for a short reno of our living room/dining room and thought they were great. From the first consult, when they suggested a design change we hadn't considered that saved us thousands, all the way through to the finishing touches. The workers were friendly, tidy, and punctual and our project manager Scott deftly dealt with the unexpected things that pop up when taking apart 100-year-old houses.

Really happy with Norseman and the quality of their work on the many complicated aspects of my complete basement renovation. Throughout the project, they were consistent and communicative. The quality of the work was very high and there was a lot of integrity in how they approached the project, especially from the awesome project manager, Greg. He was fantastic - reliable, thorough and resourceful. In general, everyone from Norseman was friendly and professional.
When I needed to spend more money, it was both for good reason (clearly explained) and a fair amount. I also felt that when things went wrong (as they naturally do on a large scale project), they took full responsibility and made sure it got fixed.
They delivered what they said they would and worked hard to make sure I was totally happy with the end result.
My favourite part of working with them was just the fact that their professionalism and thoughtfulness meant I could relax during an inherently stressful process. I knew I could trust them to do everything right!