Meraki Home Services

Had a small 28sqft bathroom renovation completed back in December, 2022. Saw the great reviews here and on Google and after meeting Enoch, felt like the bathroom would be in good hands.

The good:
- They had nice fixture selection and design; we love the rain shower and tile selection.
- Took the time to investigate the existing plumbing to make sure my vision for the new bathroom layout would be feasible
- Was honest in letting me know that changing the door swing would be difficult and not recommended due to it being metal framing instead of wood
- Careful installation of the toilet was provided to just clear the door swing
- Careful sizing of the shower and vanity fixtures were made to ensure maximum use of the small space
- Cleaned the dust from my exhaust fan and separated the wiring so that it could be separately controlled from the lighting via a new timer switch
- Kept the house clean after each working day

Why only 4/10:

1. Timeline:
The job took much longer than expected - at first, we were told they would be able to start on Nov. 24 and end Dec. 3rd, but they later asked to delay start til Nov. 28 which I was OK with, but only completed on Dec. 20th. That's almost more than double the time we were told to expect the work to take. Not sure how the time exceeded the original estimate by more than double (1.5 weeks became just over 3). The shorter schedule was one of the factors in deciding to go with this company even though the quote came out higher.

2. Damage caused by Reno:
We found a ~1" wide crack in the drywall on the other side of the shower wall they were working on after the new drywall and tiling was installed in the shower. The crack spanned almost the entire height of the wall and was very obvious. At first they did not want to fix the crack, saying that they were already behind schedule and that they would have to come back twice. They ended up agreeing to have the drywall mud put on the wall and I was left to sand and paint it afterward with my own sand paper and paint supplies.

They also made a dent on another wall and patched it back but didn't paint.

My garbage can was used without permission - it was filled it with some kind of compound that dried up and was left unusable.

3. Workmanship:
Overall communication could have been improved particularly with scheduling (coming late, delay to the project) and in responding to concerns I had with waterproofing the shower.

I had raised concern over the use of drywall as a tile substrate particularly at the base of the shower where the wall meets the floor. At the time, I had noticed that the waterproofing membrane transitioning between the floor and the wall was installed behind the drywall rather than on its surface. This caused concern since per the drywall manufacturer's specifications, this type of drywall was not to be used as tile substrate in wet areas such as showers (M2Tech). When I brought up the concern about this due to the fact that the base of the shower is where most of the water would be, I was told not to worry and that they would put grout and silicone over the area to resolve the issue. At this point, the tiles had already been installed in the shower and they would have had to redo the tiling to fix the waterproofing membrane, so I felt brushed off and concerned about the longevity of the shower.

For the rest of the shower walls, originally I was told they would be only waterproofing up to 4 feet, but after I discovered they were using drywall as tile substrate (as opposed to Kerdi board or cementboard), I asked them to waterproof up to the shower head. They obliged after remarking that this is the material included in the quotation. I would have appreciated the opportunity to see the breakdown in the quotation for drywall vs. the "upgraded" material for consideration.

Grout/sealing around the shower floor-transitions: The darker gray sealing around the shower is OK, however it could have been cleaned up so that it didn't spread into the floor tiles. This makes the floor tiles look a bit unsightly.

Cracks in the grout between the tiles: I had asked for some cracks to be sealed which they did, but after first use of the shower the next day, it washed out and the crack re-appeared.

Shelving was incomplete - there was some miscommunication about the new mirror not coming with a medicine cabinet like my old one, so they offered to provide shelving. However, there was more miscommunication with the measurements for the shelving supports. They started to install the supports but later realized their design wouldn't work with the measurements so they abandoned it. I ended up having to redo the shelving with my own brackets and design.

My existing vanity light fixture was supposed to be removed but they recommended to keep it to keep the space brighter. However, they removed the lamp shades and I cannot find them anywhere. Now I will either have to remove it and patch the wall or replace the fixture at my own cost.

Overall I am disappointed - it seems the company does have the potential to deliver fantastic results but it seems like mine was one that fell through the cracks. I appreciate the effort that went into working on my project, seen and unseen. I hope this review helps the company to improve for all their future jobs.