I made the mistake of choosing this company, based on an appearance on a television show. At the beginning, co-owner and general contractor Stephen was as charismatic in person as he was portrayed on tv. Funky and easy-going, he assured us a stress-free first-time reno experience, solid workmanship and that no corners would be cut. We trusted him. Afterall, he has a tv image to uphold.
When most of the work was completed, we politely questioned the quality (and safety) of some of the wonky finishes (panel doors cut improperly, a dryer vent hose that was leaking and stuffed with insulation, potentially unsafe and unattractive electrical work (wires crossing plumbing, electrical outlet behind a water faucet), a half working heated floor, etc). It seemed like the more they tried to fix, the more mistakes they made. We got nothing but excuses. When we informed them we were not happy and gave them (at their request) a list of items that needed to be addressed for our 100% satisfaction, they assured us it would be done.
There were more excuses, and 10 days when nobody was on site. It was only after we sent a final "to-do" list and asked for our two house keys back and they were paid the bulk of their money, did they decide to walk off the job.
The cost of our basement reno turned out to be about double the original estimate of $17,000. Even though they got twice as much as first expected, they claim they had lost thousands of dollars by adding products and services that we didn't even ask for.
While we held back 10% of our initial estimate, there is no way it will cover the work needed to correct all of their unsafe and unattractive work.
What was even more alarming was that they used pictures of my home and posted them on their facebook site. I was game at first. But then they started posted comments and pictures of my basement, insulting me for failing to be specific on what kind of doors customers should expect(pre-fab vs slab).
My husband and I also sourced a lot of the materials and trades for this project on our own, including tile, tile grout, lighting, cabinets, countertops, with little to no expert guidance.
They also left my backyard riddled with shards of tile, they dumped paint on my lawn, and left four empty paint cans and bags of garbage in the backyard.
I don't consider myself a picky person. We let a lot of things slide (there are too many to mention, but I have a photo record of everything)for the sake of keeping the crew happy. I made coffee every single day they were on site and we even treated them to dinners and beer.
I'm sad about how it turned out. But hope that others will learn from my mistake.