Kitchen renovation and addition
Met the owner, Carl, of CGGC six years ago when I was visiting a friend. His company was doing a renovation beside my friends house and she thought I should talk to him about my kitchen reno as she said "very respectful of neighbours". I went over and he let me and my friends tour the house he just reno'd and it looked fabulous so I had him come by my house to consult. We hired Carl to do our kitchen renovation and it is now 5 years old and I feel as if it is brand new. It was a full kitchen gut and him and his crew were done in 8 weeks. We loved his work so much that when it came time to do a basement and main floor addition, we did not hesitate to only call Carl....our philosophy was "it is the devil you know vs. the devil you do not"! Nothing ever goes smoothly but it is how you handle and react to what is done and Carl is very professional with that. As with anything, make sure the relationship you have with your contractor is solid and understand the boundaries. We assumed certain things would be done, but because they were not on the drawings, we were reminded that it was not on the scope of things so meeting a lot prior to to ensure what is on your "wish list" is feasible and also ask for contractor input as well, not just architect drawings. It is also wise to remember that construction workers are tied to the weather conditions, so expect delays! The great thing about having had Carl do our renovation is that we feel safe as he is completely "by the code" contractor. We are glad that he recommended the internal water proofing, it is expensive, but where we live, so worth the money as I am sure we would have had our basement flooded by now as other newly renovated houses have been. Always remember, you get what you pay for! (We were also able to get the same guy, that Carl recommended for our kitchen cabinets to do our main floor build in...was able to match the same colour!!, not cheap but so worth it!, we had to take something off our list to get it so that is okay to do!! We did not like the cleaners that did the end of reno house clean, they missed a lot of stuff and we were cleaning a lot throughout the process so my expectations were high and they did not meet them. Definitely plan for going over your budget, my husband had one number in mind and I had another and it was mine that it was closest to...so we did not really go over...my husband got his BIG t.v.'s so he cannot complain! We did a demolition of an aging all season sunroom, full basement gut (we were not planning to but due to a neighbour reno we got flooded so we decided to fix it properly) adding a new main floor renovation with 2 piece bathroom, new 3 piece bathroom in basement (highly recommend steam shower), fitness room in basement and extended the basement to the same size as the main floor. Carl also has all of his insurances and we also got a Buiders Risk Policy (highly recommend, not cheap but great piece of mind). This renovation took 4 1/2 months and that included a two week delay because of weather and neighbours worried about a private tree in the backyard (even though our building permits were approved!, the City of Toronto does not work together!) LOVE our new space and remember to build for the future as well...our kids are entering teenage years and they will completely have space to hang out in! Thanks Carl and crew!!!
- Approximate cost of services:
- $240,000.00
- Company Response
Thank You Claude, David
You made it easy for us - always enjoy working with great people
Hope you enjoy the extra space for many years to come.
I'm coming to watch soccer on that monster TVCarl, Dave, Brad, Grant, David, Ivan, Henry