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.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $35,000.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Give customer guidance and choices before doing the work. Don't assume clients know the difference between prefab and slab doors, sanded and unsanded grout. Listen to customer's priority (safety over cost) Don't send clients lists of freebies that were either not requested or were not really free. Do not post pictures of a clients' home online with patronizing comments. Do follow through with promises by owning up to a job and finishing it. Take responsibility in the work performed, and accept constructive criticism.
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Get everything in writing. Make no assumptions. Ask for credentials (professional licences, etc) Don't assume a contractor featured on tv has the experience or skills to do the job right.
- Company Response
We at Urban Renovations, are committed to providing our customers with the highest level of service and workmanship. We are very sorry that this particular client's experience did not go well and we ourselves have learned from this experience and continue to grow. We have hundreds of satisfied customers however we are upset about this one isolated incident. We did walk away, which we have NEVER done before and the decision was not come to lightly. We tried countless times to better the relationship with the clients and schedule times to be onsite to finish this work before choosing to walk off site but in the end the environment and treatment from the clients was too hostile for ourselves and our workers. There were problems with their dog who is known to bite and was never properly contained while we were on site. One of our employees who tried to move the dog out of the way while painting was seriously bitten and hospitalized causing tendon damage and scarring. The client did source their own trades for various items including the HVAC work against our recommendation. Some of these trades delayed the project and actually did damage to the work we had completed. The client did opt to utilize their own design ideas, which we support, however when they were informed that something in particular wouldn't work, would cost more or just wouldn't look right they continually insisted we go ahead. The project did go over budget due to numerous additions and changes. The over budget items included: Corner Gas Fireplace with an Oak Mantle, Re-ducted Entire Home, Removed and Relocated Gas Lines on the Outside of the House, Added a Kitchen, Added a Custom Built Oak Book Shelf and over 10 other items that are too long to list here. The Facebook issue was not meant as an insult. We did have consent from the client to post the photos. There was a caption under a photograph regarding different types of doors, we did not know this was an issue for the client and we apologize that our comment made the client feel attacked since we meant no harm. We regret this project did not go smoothly. We feel we went above and beyond to try to keep this client happy, and did suffer great losses in unpaid additional labour. Unfortunately we could not resolve several issues, had to walk off the job but we did not ask for the 10% final payment in good faith that the client can move forward and get the few minor items we left, completed.