Penguin Basements

Craftsmanship is where Penguin really shines. Their tradespeople are professional, courteous, and personable. As two women, we never felt taken advantage of or treated differently. From the boarding, to the tiling, to the painting-we were consistently blown away with how amazing the work was. The drywallers (Marco and Tony) in particular were outstanding. These gentlemen went above and beyond and boarded our laundry/utility room for us, at no extra charge. One of the reasons why we chose to work with Penguin was their usage of magnesium concrete boards instead of traditional drywall. In terms of quality of work, it is evident that Penguin works with the best tradespeople in the industry.

From a customer service perspective, our experience was fair. As the client, we had to be very proactive throughout this project. We initiated contact frequently to inquire and push for concrete start dates, copies of updated floorplans, booking a design selections meeting, etc. With good reason, Penguin is a very popular renovation company. As a result, we found ourselves delayed a lot due to other projects. On multiple occasions we were guaranteed a date that work would resume, but they were often pushed further back.

Scheduling was also a concern for us. We often had tradespeople (cleaners; painters; finishers) arrive at our house in the evening to complete their work. There were quite a few instances of poor communication and scheduling which led to costly changes and delays. A lot of issues could have easily been alleviated with simple communication, such as a call or a text. But we found that a lot of decisions were made without our consultation and we had to inquire often and remind Penguin to communicate with us more consistently.

But at the end of the day, through the majority of the issues, Penguin worked with us to find solutions. We found the timeline listed on our contract (which lines up with a weekly payment schedule) extremely conservative. Delays naturally exist throughout large projects, especially with a busy company like Penguin who work with many clients simultaneously, so it is best to be cautiously optimistic when planning timelines. Although Penguin has quite a large organization, with departments such as finance, a regional manager, separate project managers, and a designer on site, we found it prudent to be deeply involved in the overseeing process.

A note- it is a good idea to keep aside a decent portion of your budget for upgrades and change orders throughout construction. The package that you sign with comes with basic selections and often, an under-estimation of materials needed. For example, after drawing out our basement layout and measuring it to size, we were told that 12 pot-lights were plenty for the basement. Later, we discovered that 22 were actually required. The costs quickly add up. Upgrades are, naturally, much more expensive, but rest assured that the quality of product really shines through. We splurged on a few features such as a sliding barn door for the bathroom and more electrical work for 2 extra scones for the bathroom vanity. But we are so glad we did. These upgrades really make the room stand out.

Another tip is to carefully read your contract before signing. There were a few things Dan, the regional manager, promised us at our meeting that were not actually included in the contract. We had to fight for them and ultimately, the owner Guy, agreed to keep their commitments.

Overall, we are pleased with the quality of our basement. Juliano was a very responsive project manager, and all tradespeople were highly skilled. If you are looking for a quality crafted basement, Penguin would be a great fit for you. When you invest a large sum of money into a renovation, you want the final product to really stand out. And this is exactly what Penguin delivered.