Murehan Construction

Murehan construction was recommended to us by another labourer, who hired Murehan construction to do reno’s in his come. Based on his reviews and some internet research, we hired Robert and the crew from Murehan construction to renovate my mom’s kitchen. We only were thinking of replacing the countertops, but after talking to Robert, decided to re-do the whole kitchen from top to bottom. Specifically: replace all of the cabinets, install granite countertops, add an island and install a pull out spice rack. Robert does know what he is talking about, and the kitchen does look good, but his communication skills and work ethic is lacking.
A down payment was given in April with the understanding that reno’s were to start the first week of June. To make a long story short, that never happened. What did happen, many, many times throughout the reno, was the fact that many phone calls, texts and e-mails were sent, and many of them went unanswered. We only heard from Robert on odd occasions, such as when days for install would suit them, or when we started questioning if our reno’s would ever be started, or eventually completed. To be fair, we were told that up until that point (June 12), boxes cables and crown moulding was ready, but it would “be another week or so” for the doors and countertop. We were given the option to either wait until everything was ready, or go ahead and install the items that were available. We opted to wait and get it all done at once. Finally, demolition of the kitchen started on July 12, a whole 1.5 months LATER than quoted due to “the warehouse being behind”. Our “newly, half updated” kitchen consisted of upper and lower cabinets, some pullout drawers, and our old counter re-installed because the granite was not yet available (even though we were told it would be). At this point, we were somewhat happy that something installed was better than nothing because we started to doubt that it would actually happen.
We had rearranged our schedule to accommodate Robert and his team many times.
After confirming with Robert about a good week for backsplash installation (because it could only happen after the granite was installed), I went ahead and booked a day…only to have to reschedule (and thankfully not incur any extra costs) because of Robert not showing up as promised. I rescheduled the backsplash install for the following week, and Robert promised that he would show up on the Monday. That didn’t happen. What did end up happening was Robert showing up on backsplash install day at 0830 (instead of 0800 as he promised), with a Tim Hortons cup in hand, rushing to get the granite installed. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy that the counter was installed, but the tile installer ended up sharing the workspace with the Robert, making the situation awkward at times.
The above wasn’t the only time we had to rearrange our schedule to accommodate Robert. For instance, there was someone scheduled to show up on a Friday to do some work. Friday came and went, and no one showed up or called. Robert received a text and a phone call from me, which wasn’t returned until a couple of days later, on Sunday. The excuse this time was: “Sorry, I am camping with my family, and thought I could have a couple of days off. The installer was going to come, but couldn’t. He didn’t have your phone number so he couldn’t get a hold you”.
Needless to say, the kitchen was STILL not fully installed by the end of August. The island needed the panelling installed, cabinet doors needed to be installed, the rest of the pull-out drawers needed to be installed, crown molding needed to be installed, handles needed to be installed and numerous other things. What was the real kicker, was that Robert asked for the rest of the payment during a random work day. We kindly declined and said “not until the kitchen is done”. Robert and one of the workers could not have left any faster that day, claiming that when they got to the truck, they will make a list of things that needed to be finished the next time they came.
After a lot of texts, emails, and voicemails, the kitchen was not “finished” until September 19, making it 3 months later than quoted, and 2 months after demolition had started. That list of things to finish that Robert said he was going to do, didn’t happen. Yes the kitchen looks great, but I am left with a useless pull out spice rack, something that Robert promised numerous times that he will complete. He even asked us if we wanted our money back “just in case he didn’t come back”. I should have jumped on that opportunity but didn’t because I believed that he was going to come back as promised. Roberts story behind the spice rack: it was made by a “German man” who owns a warehouse somewhere by Calgary. Instead of getting 5 baskets, we only got one with the promise that Robert will get more. Robert told is us that he was trying to get a hold of this German maker, but found out that this man had to go back to Germany, on short notice, because his visa or something ran out. To reassure us that we will get our spice rack up and functioning, Robert was going to make the trip down there to look through the warehouse himself if needed. That didn’t happen.
Needless to say it is now December 2018, and I have tried to text, call and email Robert numerous times, without any success. I have a useless spice rack with one basket that can’t even be used because there are no brackets to affix the basket to the rack itself. After some research, I found out that the spice rack is from a German company called Vauth Sagel and contacted them myself. I have hit a dead end with the company because they no longer make the size of baskets that I need. I am also missing a panel for the side of my cabinet, and a bigger piece of Granite that he also promised to get. My regret throughout this process was not being more assertive and holding Robert accountable.
The quality of the cabinets are ok. While Roberts team was still here on one of their random install days, we noticed that the facing strip on a shelf was coming off (and this is only a only a couple of weeks after install)! The shelf was replaced. However, the facing strip on one of the lower cabinet dividers is now coming off. To help keep its integrity, my mom bought a plastic paint roller, cut it down the middle and wrapped it around the strip. It’s really great having ‘bumpers’ on the lower half of the cabinets in case I stub my toe. Also, due to a design flaw, I know have a tennis ball permanently fixed to the oven to help the cabinet door maintain its integrity (please see photos).
We have come to accept the fact that Robert will never call us back. I have already started looking for a new spice rack, only to find out that it will cost a pretty penny because of its’ smaller size. We thought we did some really good research on Murehan construction, and because they came highly recommended from someone else, he would do an excelled job. I honestly do want to give Murehan Construction a better review, but his lack of communication and professionalism is something that I take seriously. I would have loved to work with Robert to make alternate arrangements, but know any form of communication would go unanswered. I strongly recommend in doing your own research before hiring Murehan Construction.