Samson Homes

Davin Samson Homes' work on our project was done ahead of time and far exceeded my expectations. The main staircase in our new character home is rather steep and was completely open on one side from top to bottom. As such I needed to address this before my family moved in. The look of the staircase was important as well due to its prominence in the dining room. Davin understood the urgency and ensured the issue was resolved ahead of time with beautiful results. I wasn't available to discuss or plan the design with him, but while we were away Davin assessed our safety needs and created a high quality solution that safely enclosed the stairs. Furthermore it matches the style of our home perfectly and looks wonderful in the space. I am also very grateful to have returned home with the project having been completed ahead of schedule. I appreciate his honest and straightforward manner in helping us come up with a great solution too. It fit within our budget, keeps the kids safe, and compliments our home as well. Because of his abilities with both the design and construction process, he is able to deliver exceptional value. I have already referred him to others and am certain they will appreciate this firm's professionalism and quality as much as I have. Thank you for your great work!

I heard about Samson Homes on the internet. The job done was major. My basement was unfinished and they were able to finish it. I was very happy with the job. It cost 25 thousand and the project was on budget.

They were punctual, tidy, courteous and respectful of my home. The job was done in a timely manner and we are very happy with the job done, all in all a good experience and he would recommend to a friend.

Floors throughout were sanded and stained, walls and ceilings painted, all door and window trim replaced and painted, light fixtures and electrical replaced, and some small custom woodworking done. Davin and his team were highly organized, efficient, clean and tidy, and did beautiful work updating our chalet, it looked so amazing! I was sad to sell it, it was listed and sold 2 days after the renovations were complete.

Please use with caution. Davin comes in all smiles. Over promises but under delivers. My mother hired him to do a small custom bathroom. He charged for a custom bathroom but completed a below average bathroom reno. Davin advertises his company as a home builder/renovator with employees. He is a one man show who uses a few different trades to help him complete jobs. If the trades he uses are busy on other jobs, Davin's jobs get postponed days or weeks. Davin promised my mother he would do her small bathroom within 6 weeks. He took 3 1/2 months. I'm throughly confused by some of the other reviews on this site. They must be from a different time in his life.

As the job progressed we realized that we had entered in to a contract with somebody who has very little integrity for the work he's doing. He's extremely hostile when questioned about the quality of his work or his timeline. We started to hear stories from vendors and a few trades about Davin's bad reputation on the Sunshine Coast and on the North Shore. His tiler start calling my mother for payment as Davin refused to pay him. Unfortunately at this point my mother had already paid Davin more than 2/3 of the project payment and it was too late for us. We just hoped for the best.

The project was coming to an end with many major deficiencies we just accepted as we just wanted to move on. There were a couple easily fixable deficiencies that Davin agreed to fix by the third week of May. We have been calling and texting him for the last 2 weeks and no response. Today we called him from another person's phone and he answered. We asked him why he hasn't called us and he very rudely told us that he doesn't have a contract with us (he signed one), he owes us nothing and to not call him again.

Throughout the project he was very concerned about getting paid. I found this very odd. I had to keep assuring him he would be paid as per contract. I wish my mother had a "hold back" clause in her contract. She did not and so we paid him in full. I understand why Davin was so worried about getting paid, as he's untrustworthy himself. Please use with CAUTION!

Update: I made some calls (June 18, 2016) today and confirmed that a few more of Davin's claims are false. He has not had a business licence in the City or District of North Vancouver as he claims since 2015 . His workers compensation certificate is useless as he's in bad standing with WCB. He provided us with certificates and licences at the beginning of 2016 that were completely misleading and false.

Update: In response to Davin June 23, 2016

Davin,

In response to your letter. I’d like to clarify a few items. I’m definitely not trying to smear your “good” reputation and only telling the facts about this project, what we experienced and what we subsequently heard from other vendors. It has become apparent to me that this is not an isolated situation as vendors told me clearly about other projects you have been involved with which had significant issues as well. As for your claim that this project was completed in 8 weeks, this is a miscalculation. You started the project on Feb 22, 2016. You did not install the counter, sinks, faucets till May. Your contract clearly stated you would be done by April 4 or earlier. You were not significantly finished until May 5th and as of today, June 23, 2016 you have not yet completed the agreed upon deficiencies (signed by you).

I don’t believe that the work is of the high quality that you speak of. The tiling which is the majority of the finishing work is uneven (has high and low spots), dark spots from dark thin set used on white tiles (which are the majority of the walls). We accepted this as the only other recourse available would be to tear all the tiles off the walls and redo.

There were so many times we felt uncomfortable as to the quality and completion of this work. The Nu Heat flooring that worked prior to this renovation stopped working after completion of the floor tiling. After a Nu Heat representative ripped up the newly installed tiling it was revealed your tiler had cut through the wire connections. After the tiling in the shower was completed the water wouldn’t and still doesn’t drain properly because the drain was installed to high relative to the tile base. As for the damage on the door frames it was on the two doors that your trades were working beside. We took you throughout the house to show you that there was no damage to any of the numerous other doorways, just the 2 your trades were working by, Obviously a result of abrasion from them rubbing against the door frames with materials, tools and possibly the tape they had put on those doors.

As for all the extra work you listed, it was all part of the work in the contract you signed. You should look at it. I asked you to paint 3 small walls in the closet next to the bathroom and I said I would pay you extra for the labour. The work site was left a complete mess for 2 weeks: there was drywall dust from the electrician cutting holes over the new toilet and tiles, the mirror and glass were smeared with dirt and dust and the adjoining room was a mess with dust and garbage. To help the project complete I spent hours cleaning it all up. After this as well as the inconvenience and delay resulting from tearing up the new floors to fix the Nu Heat, we agreed that this would make up for the extra couple hours to paint the 3 small closet walls. We do pride ourselves in having integrity and doing as we say.

As for the 2 year warranty you advertise and put on your contract and signed twice, our final and signed contract which included a deduction for the towel bars and hardware which I purchased myself (you were to purchase and agreed I buy them and you would deduct) and the adjustment for deficiencies was for $23,800 (total $1155.00 less than original) plus GST. We paid you in full (as it states on the check you cashed correlating to your signed final contract). Total paid to you $24,990 in 4 cheque payments. You also signed you would complete the minor fixable deficiencies by the 3rd week in May. Integrity means you do as you say (or sign).

As for speaking to the builder next door. We don’t know him. All we do know is that my mother was kind enough to allow him to tear up a hedge in between my mothers property and the house he’s building. Since we haven’t done business with him, I’m unclear as to how we “screwed” him. However, I do have to say he’s upset the neighbours to the other side of him and the new owners that have purchased the home from him. They actually knocked on my mothers door last week complaining about his work and telling us they were concerned about being taken advantage of. I can clearly see why you might have found a friend in a person like that.

In response to being the worse clients ever. I unfortunately wasn’t there when my mother hired you. If I had been, we wouldn’t have had to deal with you. As you know my husband and I have built a few homes together; we have never had an issue with a contractor like you. You are a senior’s nightmare. However, if I can save another person’s parent from being taken advantage by you, something good has come out of this.

In regards to your business licenses, as of June 20, 2016 you were not licensed in either the City or District of North Vancouver. My mothers home is in the District. You shouldn't have been operating a business there. In fact Terrace from the License department in North Vancouver City said your inter municipal license expired 2015. You had not renewed. If you have one now, you got it this week. I recommend any potential client to check all your documents with the appropriate outfit. For example, as of June 20, 2016 you were in bad standing with WCB and not paid your quarterly payments.

Davin, we do agree with you on one item and that is we also regret working with you.

Samson Homes is a trustworthy and highly competent contractor. Davin contributed significantly to the design process, planned and estimated the work, and finished construction coming-in exactly on-budget. The resulting structure exceeded my quality expectations, and the price was competitive. I contacted Davin for my project because of excellent reviews, and I am very pleased to have done so. I highly recommend considering Samson Homes for your renovation project.

Samson Homes did some finishing work on the exterior of our house when it was first built a while back. It looks great. Davin and his team did a really good job.

Samson Homes built a garage and a bedroom addition on my home and they really deserve the perfect rating I’ve given them. They did a thorough great job and everything came in totally on budget and on time as well.

I’ve worked with Samson in a supplier capacity so I’ve seen various job sites of theirs and I’m familiar with the high quality of their work. Davin does a great job and runs a tight ship with his boys on the job site. He also has a really good design aesthetic and I’d definitely say they are a good recommendation for anyone wanting a renovation.

Samson built a cabana around my pool, a deck around the back of my house, did some good outside repairs and put a floor in my basement. It was quite a bit of work but it was all very well done and creative. I’m quite happy with it.

Samson Homes did a complete renovation on my main bathroom in my condo. I was delighted with the results. They were efficient and had very good ideas. Davin's taste in decor is excellent and really helped when I was unsure of what I wanted. Full marks for Samson Homes.