We chose Sonoma Contracting to renovate our 425 sq. ft. basement based on Mike’s clear, comprehensible and reasonable quote, professional feedback, his extremely prompt replies and the overall quality of the pictures on Homestars. We definitely got what we were looking for: our basement is beautiful, functional, the work is of high quality. We are first-time home-owners, and first timers working with a contractor, and we had a great experience with Sonoma Contracting.
Our basement is a smaller space, and we needed to fit in a 3-piece bathroom, office, TV watching area, laundry, and some storage if we could manage. Our house was narrow: 14 feet at the wide end and 10 feet at the narrow end. We were also on a limited budget, and had just purchased the house.
When we invited Mike to take a look at our basement in our new house, he was very quick to respond. We had a quote within a week based on some drawings we produced with Autodesk Homestyler. Mike also connected us with True North Underpinning to discuss some height and waterproofing options for our basement. We solicited several other companies to quote on our job, and Sonoma’s was the only one that was clear, comprehensive and trustworthy. When we met Mike, we liked him: he was down to earth and straightforward, and we knew he was someone who we could work with.
We worked with True North Underpinning and Sonoma to waterproof (weeping tile, sump pump, delta wrap), redo the plumbing (install a backflow preventer) and replace our concrete floor. All the trades worked extremely well and both teams went above and beyond to do the work necessary. Mike was completely on top of all the layout needs, and made it right when something was overlooked on the drawings. Everything was done to code, and thoroughly inspected by the city.
Once the framing started, we were extremely impressed with Mike’s team, and all the various sub-trades that Mike employed to get the work done. Mike’s team were extremely professional: prompt, produced good work, and were sensitive to our needs as the client. Whenever we were concerned about how a certain aspect of the job was being executed, Mike always took our feedback very seriously and addressed it immediately. When there were delays due to external factors, some of the trades worked on the weekend to get the work done, like the electricians and carpenter who installed new railings and pickets. We had knob and tube electrical in our place, and electricians did a great job of tracking it all down. The HVAC guys were very accommodating given that we did not move our furnace location for the renovation: we had to reroute a section of the HVAC to accommodate the layout. We had gas lines routed to the outdoors for a BBQ and roughed in for a stove. As for the flooring and tile, the suppliers were very good, and the quality of materials recommended was high. There was a moment where Mike went out of his way to get the vanity we wanted, despite it only being in stock in Mississauga.
We would definitely use Sonoma Contracting again.
