We hired Penguin Basements to renovate our 1960s basement (the dungeon) because it had too many small rooms, was dark and really ugly. They gutted our old basement, removed a load bearing wall and created something light, spacious and beautiful. I smile every time I go downstairs.
We interviewed many companies at the Home Show and invited some into our home for a quote. One company offered to skip getting city permits and another gave us an estimate based on square footage without knowing what we wanted. Penguin took time to understand what we wanted and even gave us a proposed drawing of the basement. We felt very comfortable with the process from the start with Lance. He spent a long time with us to work out the vision of the project and draw it out.
We've seen enough home improvement shows to know that they rarely go as planned. When they do not go as planned, the communication makes a difference. This is where our PM Josh really shines! He is personable, professional, easy to reach, easy to talk to, and incredibly patient. We were a little demanding but he worked hard to make us happy. He dealt with every issue quickly, appropriately and professionally. He's a great communicator and problem solver and an all around great guy!
The most significant challenges were early on in the project when they opened up the walls. We learned that the vision we originally had for the layout was not easily attainable. We were disappointed, but Jon and Lance came back to our house with new ideas for the layout and we settled on one that we are very happy with. We did remove one load bearing wall to create a more open basement.
Penguin uses the Buildertrend app to schedule, communicate and coordinate between all the trades and us. It is really convenient and useful. You can access information about the schedule (which tradesperson is scheduled), send messages to your team, see all documents related to your project, approve/decline any changes, etc. On a few occasions I had to ask that the calendar to be updated but the office staff (Angie and Rifat) are friendly and helpful.
We would also like to highlight that the crews that came to our home were knowledgeable and professional. A shout out to Roberto and his crew on framing, Andres and his crew on drywall, Alex and his crew on electrical, Oscar and his crew on painting, Garfield and his plumbing crew, and Anto with his crew on structural. These guys did a great job!
Be prepared to make some decisions on the spot with the crew eagerly awaiting your answer so that they can execute it. These crews are very efficient.
Some of the hardest won praise for the work that Penguin did was from my Dad who "supervised" for us on a few occasions. He is a retired old-school general contractor with over 30 years of experience. He approved of the work that Josh and the crews did at our house. Great job!
We would not hesitate to recommend Penguin, and have already recommended them to our neighbours and friends. They will work hard to make you love your basement again. Josh, you and your crew are welcome back to our home for espressos any time you are in the neighbourhood!
