AGM Renovations

We went through The Basement Finishing Company (aka AGM Basements). Worked with their internal designer (Svetlana who is great). Agreed to have them work Saturdays and come in anytime between a 7 am to 7 pm window. Project was set to start Oct 13th, but folks came in on the 12th to inspect and repair foundation cracks in the basement. All materials arrived the 13th and work started at a very good pace. The one-man show framer was excellent and very efficient. Separate teams who did the taping and electrical were good too. Tiling guy was fast and efficient. Flooring guy did good work and finished most of the basement, but then disappeared for a bit. He came back a week later to finish. Painters were ok and came in on a Sunday which was a surprise. All of the above (or what they define as “Substantial Work”) was contracted to be completed in 26 business days (they don’t include the Saturdays in their count even though they came in those days to do work) so that would have brought us to around Nov 17/18. Five extra business days were added for custom upgrades (with that, expected end date would be Nov 25th). Garbage was picked up once a week throughout this period.

After Nov 18th is when things started to get weird. Finally introduced to the Project Manager and did the walk through recording a list of 20+ deficiencies (ie. missing toilet, missing faucets/fixtures in bathroom, missing cold air vents etc). A couple arrived the evening of the 18th at 8 pm to finally install cabinets and worked till about 10 pm. So knocked one off the deficiency list. Then dead silence from them with no one showing up for days. Reached out to Customer Service (Maria, who is awesome by the way and is really on your side whenever you have issues), but unfortunately still had ‘no shows’. Tried to contact the Project Manager and whenever he responded after a couple of days, he would give us future dates of completion, but instead were dates of further ‘no shows’. We find out from Customer Service that our project was mistakenly recorded as ‘Complete’ on Nov 29th, therefore they re-directed the contractors to other job sites. The cabinet guy finally comes back in early Dec at 7 pm to install shelves (on our deficient list) but left them unleveled. Rationalized that this is allowed within a builders’ margin of error. Stuck a paint can on one of the shelves and was happy to show me that it didn’t slide off, but visually it was leaning forward. Not accepting this, I travelled to Home Depot to buy washers to add behind the shelf brackets and leveled them myself. More days of “no shows” and no responses to my “reach outs”. After multiple days of neglect, a Handyman finally shows up to knock off more items on the deficient list. Then we were back to normal of more days of “no shows” and “no responses”. The plumbers finally make their appearance on Dec 7th to install the bathroom toilet and faucets. With a smaller list of unfinished items, I now had a choice to either accept more days of neglect and prolong the project completion date even further out or just finish the stuff myself (seal all gaps and spaces between the drywall and windows, finish horrible looking plaster issues around the stairs, seal gaps around the shower floor, cut/install/paint base boards underneath vanity cabinets that was left unfinished, caulk areas that required it, etc. I just wanted this all to end so got instructions from guys at Home Depot and did the rest myself. By the way, during this period they also stopped picking up their garbage.

So after a bunch of fits and starts, I can say that the basement work was finally completed December 11th (which include the time of my repairs and no one from AGM has returned since Dec 7th). I’m writing this review on December 23nd and they still haven’t picked up their garbage. Maybe we were the suckers who got the short end of the stick so that others could get their basements finished within AGM’s/The Basement Finishing Company’s advertised 3 weeks.

Obviously past reviews have been positive (gave us the confidence to hire them). I’m hoping our complaints to AGM/The Basement Finishing Company will help them improve whatever they need to, in order for future clients to have a better experience. Unfortunately our overall basement finishing experience was not a positive one and would not wish what we went through upon anyone, therefore AGM/Basement Finishing Company are not a company we would recommend.

We recently had our unfinished basement completely renovated by AGM Renovations at a price which we thought was very reasonable.At the outset we met with one of the company's designers who worked with us to provide a plan which matched our needs. The plan included an office/ bedroom with ensuit washroom with shower, an exercise room, a full size rec room and a storage/ HVAC room.We also had a built-in closet in the office/ bedroom and another walk-in closet in another area.
The quality of workmanship was amazing and we were extremely happy with the end result. The tradesmen were all professional and took a great pride in the quality of their work.Every detail was taken care of , to ensure our complete satisfaction from start to finish. Our Project Supervisor visited regularity and made sure any issues were immediately taken care of.I can honestly say that we were given the impression that our complete satisfaction was the goal of the company. Based on our experience , we would not hesitate to recommend AGM Renovations to anyone who is giving consideration to having their basement renovated.

My wife and I attended the Home Show in Toronto last spring and this is where we were first introduced to AGM Basements. We were at the show because we were in the final stages of a fairly major home renovation (main floor and upper floor) and we were just there to look for some finishing touches and decorating ideas. When we went to the Home Show, we had no intention of renovating our unfinished basement. We called it the dungeon, with its concrete floors and concrete block walls and 6 bare light bulbs hanging from the ceiling joists. It was our storage area, where unused or unwanted ‘treasures’ had been piling up for 40 years and it was certainly not a place that we would allow friends or neighbours to see, even if they wanted to.
What caught my eye on the AGM booth was their “Basement finished in 3 weeks” claim. Since my upstairs renovation experience was still fresh in my mind, I went into the booth to challenge whoever greeted me about this claim. After what we had just been through with the upstairs of the house, I wanted to hear how AGM proposed to transform the dungeon into a space that we could use and be proud of in just 3 weeks.
The gentleman that I spoke with was friendly and knowledgeable and very patient with me as he explained the AGM process. Every question that I had about a potential basement renovation (which in my mind was still not a real possibility) was answered credibly and professionally and by the end of the conversation, I agreed to at least have a sales rep drop by the house to see the challenge and quote the project.
He too was patient and professional and most importantly, prepared to quote me a firm price on the spot. He also explained to me how an AGM design consultant would work with us to customize our basement so that the finished result would include everything we wanted in a finished basement. Our specification included a cozy family room with a gas fireplace, a workshop, a sewing room, a storage room, a wet bar, a bathroom, a utility room and a large open area where our grandchildren could play when they came to visit. My wife and I also agreed on a budget. The sales rep presented me with a quote that seemed fair and reasonable, and to my surprise, was close to the budget we had in mind. It was at this point that I began to believe that if the 3 - week promise was real, now would be the time to bite the bullet and finish the entire house. I again pressed the rep on the 3-week promise, only to learn that we would receive a cash discount for every day the project extended beyond three weeks. We decided that if AGM was prepared to back up their promise with cash, they must know what they were doing. We signed the contract and prepared to meet our designer.
The design phase of our project was absolutely delightful. Andre was friendly, creative and talented and was able to offer several design ideas that we had not even considered. He had a tablet with an impressive design software program with which he could create a 3-D rendition of our basement layout, complete with flooring and tile ideas, furnishings, paint colours and even artwork. Andre seemed as excited about our renovation as we were and it was clear to us that he was doing everything he could to make us happy by designing a basement renovation that was attractive, modern and functional. After a few meetings with Andre and his design software, we were all satisfied with the design and anxious to begin the 3-week demolition and renovation phase of our project.
During the next three weeks, tradespeople were at the house every day, except for the 3 days that drywall mud was drying. Day after day, different people with different skill sets would be busy at work in the basement and every day I could see the significant progress that was being made. First the
demolition crew, then HVAC, then framers, then plumbers and electricians, then drywall and tape and mud, then flooring and tile, then trim, then paint and finally a handy man to touch up any imperfections. Not only was each tradesman skilled and efficient, every single one of them was friendly and courteous and careful. If I had concerns about the quality of workmanship, it was quickly obvious that any doubt I had was unfounded. The workmanship by every trade was excellent. Even the scrap was cleaned up and taken away quickly and efficiently. The entire project was professionally managed and executed.
Three weeks later the renovation was complete and my wife and I were totally satisfied. I still go down to the basement every night and remember how it looked when we started and I smile. It all started with a trip to the Home Show in March, 2016. Hindsight is always 20/20, but I am very happy that we decided to go to the show, that we met with AGM basements and that we had the courage and the trust to begin another renovation after doing the upstairs. For us, the experience was entirely positive and I am happy to recommend AGM basements to anyone considering a basement renovation.

I have just finished paying my last installment on a wonderful job completed by AGM Basements. Not only did we have the basement renovation done by them, but we also had a separate entrance excavated to create a walkout basement.

All in all, I was extremely happy with this company. That is not to say there were not a few problems along the way. When you undertake a huge project which has a complicated structural component, you are bound to come across a few glitches. However, it is how a contractor handles these issues that speaks to their professionalism and integrity--and this company was stellar! For example, one of the subtrades hired by AGM created quite a mess on our project. Their poor workmanship and attitude was a shock to AGM who had not used them often in the past. Their work was not up to AGM's standards and AGM was embarrassed and extremely apologetic! AGM ended up having it redone immediately and without complaint (or extra charge). Many companies can provide good workmanship; but taking ownership of problems and remedying them for the homeowner shows, in my mind, the high level of customer satisfaction to which they adhere.

I will say that, despite my 100% satisfaction with the company, I was a little frustrated by the lack of communication at certain times. Although I ended up realizing that they had everything under control and were probably just too busy to reply to some of my texts and emails, I am an office person who is used to responding promptly to correspondence. I had never completed such a large project, and, in the beginning, when I would send emails and not get a response, my imagination had them running off to Bora Bora with my money and leaving me in the lurch! Lol. For example, I would occasionally text the project manager or designer to ask them when a tradesman was expected and would get no reply. Nevertheless, the next day at 8 AM the electrician was at my door. My point is that they were managing my project and the work was getting done, but I was not always kept in the loop to the full extent that my hand-holding personality needed! I am merely making this point so that others do not worry about this like I did. Rest assured, they are on top of it, but perhaps spread a little too thin to also be on top of all of their written communication.

Bottom line, at the end of the day, we have a gorgeous basement completed by a reliable and trustworthy company. I would definitely use them again and refer them with confidence.

Wonderful job.. Trades people were fantastic.. Stayed until we were satisfied.... I highly recomend them if you are looking to do your basement....

Efficient. Very professional. Everything is scheduled accordingly and timely. Very organized company and they want to satisfy the customer, no cookie cutting.

Job well done

Love it !! love it l!! love it!
Thousandth words will be not enough to describe how happy I am with AGM Team!
During our meeting with designer I fall in a love with a basement layout, we discus every single details and color. Designer was very patience and knowledgeable, she help us select best finishes ( great material selection in a show room) , she explain all renovation process and help us a lot to understand all basement limitations.

After reno was started I was in shock! Everything happen so fast! Trades was coming from early morning and working all day long, frame was done in couple days!!! Construction team are awesome, every single person very polite, punctual and PROFESSIONAL!
I was so confident in timeline and workmanship.
Now our basement the best.

Best Regards! Katherin.

Best Regards! Katherin.

-Designer (Svetlana ) was really good! She showed us exactly how our basement would look even before starting the job.
-All the trades that worked on the basement were good and friendly , they all cleaned up after they were done.
-Garbage was picked up every week.
-Material used in the basement was good not cheap!
-Project manager (Randy) was Awesome!!
-Very happy with the work that has been done!

This was my first experience with AGM Renovations and I have been very pleased. A job well done! The workers are professional and efficient, as well as friendly. A neighbor actually recommended them, which also helped me to decide to go with with this company, i am happy i did, so is my wife.
I will recommend this company.