Penguin Basements

Dec 29 2017 update:
The team wrapped up my project as described below and fixed all issues I managed to find to my satisfaction, after completion I had to call for two additional issues: 1) shower enclosure leaking water due to improper seal, 2) wrong handle design installed in bathroom door not matching rest of the basement.

HOWEVER, two days ago (Dec 27 2017), we arrived back home after a vacation and found that our basement's temperature has dropped to 10°C, the same temperature as our cold room, it turns out one of the main air vents isn't blowing any hot air at all, vent grid was open but seem to be an issue on how the HVAC was connected. I'm trying to contact the company for two days now and no luck as I need this fixed ASAP, irony is that my basement was better heated before they finished it as the builder had installed proper HVAC during construction...

I'm very disappointed with work that keeps turning up surprises of things done poorly (Whether it's a shower leaking, wrong handle, HVAC not properly connected, etc...), I thought that was the whole point of hiring Penguin in the first place!!!

Original review:
I have these guys finishing up my basement as we speak, we are now entering the 7th week of a project initially planned for 4-5 weeks, without any clear communication on delays or the reason behind pushing out dates...beyond my own frustrations with their lack of communication here are a few facts about some of the things I had to experience through my project (still unfinished):

-Signed my contract back in April 12 with a start date of early June, they called me mid-June to ask for a early July, I had to call the day before planned start to realize they had forgotten my start date and scrambled through making last minute shifts to start me on July 4th
-Material Delivery went well
-Framing went well (I thought), they were asking questions along the way which was good
-When the boarding started, the drywall guys couldn't install their boards as the framing was off and unfinished...work had to stop
-Electrician came for his part, did his job and followed my instructions for pot lights positioning, framing guys came back and misaligned everything (pot lights were 3-4 inches off and not forming one line)
- HVAC guy connected the return to the air supply, and still not fixed, funny thing is that HVAC guy is actually arguing someone changed his install
- I noticed trades were coming in and off without any quality control, I emailed them asking who does QC they replied stating that my site manager was on vacay...through the period though no one controlled boarding, mudding/taping, first paint or flooring, etc...
- There were also a number of imperfections, all called out during the substantial visit, I'm not mentioning any of them here as I consider all to be "normal" and they were good saying they'll be fixing all

We did the substantial visit on Aug 3rd, and I had left town for business for one week, came back on Aug 12 and found that no work was done for a whole week, no heads-up of delays or issues communicated to me...

I understand projects have challenges, but I need a better communication and transparency to the timelines along with a better follow up on the issues I keep calling out, I plan to post another review once the project is complete and will share how things ended up being closed.

September 7th update:

After posting this review, the Penguin team reached out another supervisor (Eric) followed up to review and fix all raised issues highlighted above and beyond. The team also started being more diligence on sharing ETA's and giving the heads-up should anything be delayed. It did take the team another 2 weeks to wrap everything up which took my total project time to two months but ultimately wrapped everything up to my full satisfaction.

Thanks

This company dedicated hours on the phone and hours on site to completely understand our wants and needs.
After all was assessed with great advice on materials and methods and permitting and timing...they actually suggested we not go ahead..passing up a 6 figure job because they knew we would not be happy by the end based on the challenges of our space and hvac layout walkout challenges etc.
The level of concern, knowledge and effort..and insights... before..and then the honesty and integrity shown after analyzing our situation makes us want to recommend them. VERY professional and caring. Thanks Refa, Dave and Dan.

Overall we are happy with the new basement space by Penguin. From design to build, the quality and speed of the work is top notch. We much prefer the specialized teams approach they offer, rather the jack of all trades other companies uses. Lastly, we are glad to have Juliano as our PM, he's always on top of each step of the build and follows up on all of our questions promptly.

Finally we decided to completely renew our basement and decided to hire Penguin Basements for it, today we are completely satisfied with our decision. Good work from the whole team. Our Project Manager Juliano was always aware of our comments and requirements.
I would definitely recommend this company

We chose Penguin Basement after seeing their work from a showcase near our home. We were impressed with the quality of work and material used to construct the basement. David the sales manager was pleasant to speak to and gave us many ideas how to utilize our space. We had an idea of how to design and decorate our basement, but Amy, the designer, brought it to life. We were most thankful for our project manager, Juliano. He always kept us up to date on the process of the construction and ensured all his crews show up on time and did the job well. Juliano even communicated with us through text messages while he was ill in the hospital! Now that's dedication! Although there were a few hiccups along the way, overall, we had a great experience with Penguin. Now we have a new usable space to entertain and for our girls to play.

Pros: Multiple tradesmen doing the job with specific expertise from electrical, plumbing, wall, floor & painting etc. So you are sure everything is within specification.
Cons: so far we are running more than a couple of weeks behind schedule which maybe out of their control (i.e. Workers' availability, permits etc.)

We were very impressed- from the sales pitch to the very end of the reno. David, the Sales Representative was direct, informative and knowledgeable re: products to be used. He was also great at providing creative ideas re: layout and gave us the answers we needed. Robert, the Project Manager was also very nice and accommodating, and responded to our questions and calls promptly. Amy-Interior Designer, was an absolute sweetheart! She was very easy to talk to and helped us through the process-from our selections of tile, paint colours to the microwave we would need for our wet bar. Juliano, our site foreman was by far exceptional. We felt secure and confident in the project as he was diligent in calling us weekly if not every other day to report on the progress, upcoming plans for installations and deliveries as well as ensuring that our input in the whole process was always taken into consideration. Juliano was very attentive in answering all our questions and if he didn't know the answer, he was very prompt at finding the answers we needed. The entire crew and tradesmen were for the most part respectful and worked promptly, yet with good results. The basement came out better than we had planned! We have already recommended Penguin to our colleagues and friends! Thank you Penguin for an amazing experience and for giving us an awesome living space that our family will be sure to enjoy for years to come!

I gave one score because they came back to fix their mistake. It was our biggest mistake to hire Penguin to do our basement. The cost was almost double the price other companies asked but we hired them hoping the workmanship and quality of their work correspond to their price. However, it turned out as a huge disappointment. Their poor communication and management skills made the whole project very stressful, and the final result is also not satisfying at all. From the beginning to the end, there was no one being responsible for the project and thus no one cared about getting it done right. Of course we had project manager but he was poorly trained and barely reachable. Long story short, we do not recommend this company. Not good for your soul.

Some Excellent people like Rick, Jonathan and Project Manager Walter. Reliable, friendly, and professional people but Project took longer than anticipated. City permit was complicated but they came through after all.