GBL Construction Ltd. (Green Builders for Life)

We hired GBL to do a kitchen renovation in our 1913 house. The age of the house involved meant balloon framing and plaster/lathe. In order to achieve the renovation goals, multiple walls had to be removed. This in turn lead to the need to just gut the whole main floor walls, ceilings and floors. We couldn't save the old maple floors or many of the craftsman style windows and door trim as it was 100 year old oak.

The demolition process was very extensive and of course very messy. Jason and his crew were very diligent in making sure that each day the house and work space were left as tidy as possible given the mess that is plaster/lathe. Once that part was over it then became necessary to level the floors which was something we had not even considered as homeowners given the layers that were previously there (carpet, laminate, floor covering, 100 year old maple). It was a difficult task (2 inch drop in some areas) but again Jason and his crew did a fantastic job and the payoff was huge as the new maple floor looks incredible but best of all, they are level!

The crew worked very quickly to install the posts/beam for the opening of the load bearing wall. They were able to recreate all the original craftsman style window and door trim so precisely that you cannot tell its not original. Being able to keep some of the character of the house was one of our primary goals of this renovation. The re-creation of the trim was a difficult task as the old trim was so intricate, but the crew did such an amazing job. The kitchen we choose was Ikea and was installed by GBL. This again took some skill as we have 9+ foot ceilings so the cabinet combination we created was unique. The results again were fantastic as we blended Grey Bodbyn bottoms with High Gloss White RingHult uppers.

Overall we can't be happier with the results. We have a 1913 house that feels brand new but retains its old house charm complete with modern updates and absolutely love it. GBL demonstrated excellent workmanship, creativity and problem solving during this project and I would not hesitate to hire them again for a future project.

Excellent experience with GBL! The contractor always had our best interest in mind. We felt so comfortable knowing that our contractor cared about our home addition/renovation as much as we did! We are more than thrilled with the result of the work that GBL did and it has created an amazing space for our family for many years to come. Overall we are very happy with everything and would recommend GBL to others!

Terrible experience, we would not recommend this company to anyone. The project budget and timeline weren't managed properly, and we have found obvious issues with all the work sub-trades did.
The project went well over the 20% contingency in the contract without notice. Regular status updates were repeatedly requested, however minimal updates were provided.
Near the end of the project we asked the GC how our budget was before making a decision on adding scope. We were told the budget was good, which he likely had no idea because he wasn't managing it properly. Soon after we received an invoice for almost 50% of our budget, putting us over budget. Invoicing was extremely irregular.
The project finally completed just under a year after starting, when we reminded the GC to get a final inspection. The project was supposed to take 5-6 months. Most of the work completed after 9 months, however it should be noted that due to the poor quality of work, being over budget and over time, we decided to cut back on several items. A lot of things that weren't completed or done to a satisfactory level were eliminated from scope, and we took them on ourselves. We had requested several issues be fixed and gave ample time. The issues were not fixed at all, or the GC attempted to pass off a poor job as complete. At that point we had lost all confidence in the GC and wanted to be done with him.
Sub-trade work was poorly supervised and reviewed (if at all). We found numerous issues with each, a few examples are listed. Closets weren't painted, paint drops were left all over brand new hardwood floors, and spots were missed throughout the house. Several obvious plumbing mistakes were made (shower not working at all, hot/cold swapped) that we found after moving in. Electrical issues were also found that should have failed inspected, which we had fixed. There are several finishing issues as well that we have picked away at.