Hard Loft in Toronto

We went to Design Air on the recommendation of a neighbour. We live in a old brick loft with some interesting and unique spaces and challenges. After numerous other companies either just ghosted us after the first visit or could not find a simple way to deal with replacing our furnace and A/C these guys came in and were not fussed in any way by the job. It was like they'd seen it all and nothing phased them. They quoted quickly and fairly and were very responsive. Their installation team was the nicest group of service providers I have ever had in my house. Very old school customer service. The did everything they said they would do, on time and as -quoted, required zero micromanagement and left no trace. other than a brand new furnace and AC that is working just fine.

We originally hired The Reno Coach to help us sort through some complicated HVAC and plumbing plans. We live in a an unusual hard loft space. He was quick to get people in but we let the planning process lag and ultimately decided it would be far too costly with little upside on the ultimate value of our home. So we ultimately did a 180 turn one week before heading out of town for a two month span and decided to do more practical renos - upgrading our stairs to solid oak with industrial glass railings, adding some modern storage space to a very high ceiling room, upgrading some flooring etc. In just a few days he was on it, connected me with the right reliable trades people and we had a plan in motion. He helped supervise the reno while we were away, staying in contact and sorting out design plans via email. He also inspected the work regularly before releasing payments to anyone and always kept us informed. While our trades people were great anyways, we wouldn't have connected with then without him - he only connects you with good people. In fact he even restricted certain installations to very specific employees - as he knows who does certain things the best. No reno is without stress and in the beginning you may wonder what value The Reno Coach can add, but I assure you when you are in the middle of it you will be thankful you have him involved and at the end you will have no doubts about the value add. I would absolutely hire The Reno Coach again. On a side note he is also quite helpful even during your initial reno planning stage - he's been in the business for a long time and is quite up to date on more recent technologies and often has ideas for things you may not have even considered. I think one of the other challenges is being comfortable with any trades person quote you get - how do you know if it's reasonable? He does and can give you comfort so you don't feel like you getting taken advantage of or alternatively cutting costs so close to the line that quality will suffer. Finally - once completed his followup to ensure our satisfaction was fantastic. He'll come by to look at even the smallest concerns and then do the followup with the trades person for you - so you never have to get into any heated discussions about workmanship or quality.

I met Jay during a prior reno planning process - via Reiner Hoyer (The Reno Coach). Liked him from the start - clearly he's been in the business for a while and knows what needs to be done. Friendly and quickly picks up what you want. Months later we had a new plan and were about to leave town - could we possible have our new reno ideas happen while we were gone? Jay came by and in a quick 30 minutes I walked him through the house and the changes (glass stair railings and glass half walls, new star treads, new floors upstairs to replace carpets, new electrical lighting and working with a closet company to install some huge new 14 ft built in wardrobes). He had a detailed contract ready the next day with very reasonable payment terms (it was a series of small payments as he hit milestones). I made some quick calls on materials with his help. We set him up with a lockbox and headed out of town for 6 weeks. I think he was done the bulk of the work within 2-3 weeks. He had a full team of guys in to make it go quick. We sorted out final details like paint colours and light fixtures via email. he even went to pick up things for me and I was able to ship fixtures directly to him (for those I bought online). He made long distance renos easy and I did my best to be decisive and stay in touch. He never seemed to be all about the money - in fact I think he hit a number of milestones early and waited to get paid. He was very reasonable about a few final follow up visits to take care of small details. I never felt like anything was a hassle. It's been a couple of months and the quality seems solid in all respects. I suppose time will tell but I'm also confident he will follow up on any issues if they arise. I would certainly use him again and recommend him to friends.