3 Stones Custom Homes Inc.

General Contractors
Toronto ON M6J 2Z7
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3 Stones Custom Homes Inc.
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Reviews for 3 Stones Custom Homes Inc.

Average customer rating:
10 10 (15 reviews)

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kristievermeulen
kristievermeulen
1 review Toronto, ON
10/10

Full home renovation and extension

Can't say enough good things about working with Bill and Chris. I would 100% recommend them and can't imagine going through a renovation with anyone else. They were incredibly supportive, communicative and transparent throughout the entire process. Very professional, knowledgeable and just overall good guys. We are incredibly happy with the end product.

Approximate cost of services:
$400,000.00
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Peter Chapman
Peter Chapman
4 reviews Old Toronto, ON
10/10

3rd Floor addition, Underpin Basement, New front porch.

We hired 3 Stones Custom Homes to underpin and lower our basement as well as build a 3rd floor addition. I can't say enough good things about these guys. They were not the cheapest quote we got, but after examining the line items, it was simply because their quote was the most thorough. This meant that we weren't blindsided with additional costs once construction was underway. Their costing was transparent, allowing us to see and understand where every single dollar was being spent. They are excellent collaborators both in design, and budget, with great input on where to dial back costs when needed. When it comes to scheduling, they run an extremely tight ship, with regular meetings and updates. Our massive 8 month reno went over by a mere 2 weeks, on account of a single fancy railing which I totally consider acceptable.
The workmanship was top tier. We've been back in the house for over a year, and have had next to no issues.
The big big big thing about 3 stones however, is their customer service. They made this entire process so easy, and dare I say enjoyable. They are SO easy to work with. They are on top of everything. They are incredibly professional, and wen't above and beyond to ensure that we (And our neighbours) are all in the loop and at ease at all times.
I would not hesitate for a second to work with them again.

Approximate cost of services:
$650,000.00
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Company Response

Thanks Peter - we pride ourselves on presenting realistic budgets and schedules and then challenge ourselves to beat them. It was great working Fiona and yourself and are happy to hear you're enjoying your newly renovated home!

Private User
Private User
Private User reviews Old Toronto, ON
10/10

Home renovation

Can I give more than five stars? 3Stones is the dream renovation company. Chris & Bill are wonderful human beings and were amazing from beginning to end. They did a full gut and renovation on my home all inside 8 months. From our first meeting, they were friendly, easy to deal with, great with the neighbours, and completely transparent and accurate about the costs and timing of the renovation. They provided detailed spreadsheets with separate line items for the cost for each and every piece of material used so that I could track how design decisions I made would affect the cost of the project. The budget was updated every two weeks with copies of all invoices so there were no mysteries. They did excellent quality work. They run a very well-tuned business, coordinated their tradespeople expertly so there was no wasted time, and the respect they have built is evident in the long-term relationships they have with their tradespeople. I couldn't be more pleased.

Approximate cost of services:
$750,000.00
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Company Response

Thanks very much Fay for the kind words. It was a real pleasure working with you to bring your vision to life! We hope you enjoy your new space for many years to come!

PeterR
PeterR
0 reviews Toronto, ON
10/10

Redesign/renovation of 2 floors of Victorian House

3Stones did a major renovation and redesign of the second and third floors of our old Victorian house. They provided a detailed day-by-day! timetable and quotation of the work at the start. Every two weeks progress of the work and the budget was reviewed on site, detailed invoice for payment, and receipts were provided. Except for structural surprises and agreed-on savings as the work progressed, they kept completely within budget, and within the timetable. The work by all trades was excellent, progress meetings valuable and instructive. We feel very fortunate to have them do our work in such a transparent and excellent way.

Approximate cost of services:
$500,000.00
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Company Response

Thank you Peter for your comments! It was great working with you and Cynthia and your designer!

Bayla in Toronto
Bayla in Toronto
2 reviews Toronto, ON
10/10

Gut Reno & 2 Storey Addition

We have done multiple renovations over the years, this was our first renovation with Chris and Bill of 3 Stones Custom Homes and our best experience.

During the initial interviewing process 3 Stones was highly professional. They did a thorough walkaround, listened to our key requirements, and prepared a detailed budget and timeline. Communication was great for both my husband and I.

With 3 Stones, we used a time-and-materials contract instead of the more typical fixed-price contract. All renovations have surprises and unforeseen issues after the demolition starts and these can cost extra regardless of the type of contract. A time-and-materials contract can be more effective when a homeowner and contractor are collaborative, mutually trustworthy and decisive. The original projected 7 month project was fully complete in 7 months + 3 weeks, despite Covid issues and material availability issues due to supply chain disruptions.

Throughout the renovation process, we met with Chris and Bill at least every 2 weeks. They provided detailed times when decisions were required, construction alternatives when various issues arose, useful recommendations based on their past experience, and typical costs associated with the alternatives. As our renovation happened during Covid, there were a few estimates that were off that could not have been anticipated, but Chris and Bill were effective at helping find reasonable alternatives in each case (e.g. substitute joist type, different vendor, modifying an existing fireplace, etc). At all times we felt we knew how, where and when money was being spent. This approach let us work out details and changes on the fly that resulted in a much more effective and great-looking renovation.

They continue to follow up effectively on details after project completion.

Chris and Bill are highly experienced and have great long term relationships with their trades. They are highly people-focused and a pleasure to work with. We are highly satisfied with the result and highly recommend Chris and Bill. We feel lucky to have worked with them.

Approximate cost of services:
$100.00
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Company Response

Bayla, thanks for your review. It was great working with Richard and yourself! Wishing you many happy years in your new home.

James in Toronto
James in Toronto
1 review Toronto, ON
10/10

Gut renovation of house

We hired 3 Stones Custom Homes for the gut renovation of our house in Little Italy.

It was a very complicated project since the house was in very poor shape structurally and on very bad soil. Not only that, but all of the framing in the house had been warping for a hundred years, so there were no straight lines.

We were the architects on our project and we worked directly with 3 Stones for structural engineering. They also managed the construction of the project.

As professionals who have renovated a few houses in Toronto, I have to say that our experience with 3 Stones was extremely positive and we hope to work with them again soon. Throughout the process there were several aspects of working with 3 Stones that made it so good:
Realistic estimates of schedule
Realistic and real time estimates of budget
Quick estimates of costs of design changes (we made a lot of design changes)
Openness to changes and to all of the one of a kind details that we designed
Professional demeanor
Friendly and positive attitude
High quality work

3 Stones has a schedule and budget update issued with every invoice. This helped us to adjust our expectations and to understand the consequences of the design changes we were making. Throughout the project, we also kept finding little opportunities for improvement on our design; 3 Stones helped us evaluate each of these potential changes in very fast estimates. We were always really impressed with the way that Chris could usually do the math on most of these changes in his head and let us know what it would set us back right after we explained it.

They were also always upbeat and open to anything that we proposed. Our experience with some of the other contractors that we interviewed for this project was that they frowned a lot in order to seem competent. They had a demeanor that gave us more confidence because it was clear they were up to the challenges.

On the whole we were really impressed with the work that they did. Their teams were extremely friendly, efficient and talented. All of the interior finishes, mechanical systems, millwork and trim were done with such an incredible amount of care. Our house now looks beautiful but also feels solid and well made. We can’t recommend them enough.

Approximate cost of services:
$1,000,000.00
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Company Response

Thanks James we look forward to working with the talented team at Lamas Architects again soon!

Private User
Private User
Private User reviews Toronto, ON
10/10

Full renovation of top floor master bedroom and three bathrooms PLUS upgrades throughout home

We are so pleased with our renovations and highly recommend 3 Stones Custom Homes!! Chris and Bill are a perfect team and an absolute pleasure to work with! They are highly skilled with many years of experience, extremely organized and truly care about their clients and doing a good job. Throughout the renovations, we always felt confident that we were in very good hands. Chris and Bill worked very well with our designers and have obviously built excellent working relationships with all of their trades’ people over the years as all of them are knowledgeable and work well together in a timely and efficient manner. Chris and Bill are always very responsive. They get back to calls and texts immediately and are good at fixing any small deficiencies in their work without delay. We especially like that Chris and Bill provided us with a detailed break down of all costs and expenses, along with a chart setting out the timing for different parts of our various projects, so that we could keep up to date with exactly what was being done and how much was being spent. They scheduled regular check-ins to go through progress, solicit feedback and provide updated charts so that we continuously felt satisfied that things were getting done in best way possible to meet our needs. The results speak for themselves! Our top floor master bedroom with walk-in closet and bathroom is particularly lovely. Thank you 3 Stones!!

Approximate cost of services:
$300,000.00
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Company Response

Thanks for sharing your experience with 3 Stones - we enjoyed working with you!

Kate Stewart in Toronto
Kate Stewart in Toronto
4 reviews Toronto, ON
10/10

Third floor master, basement reno and exterior

We did an extensive renovation project with 3 Stones that included fully gutting and rebuilding the basement and third floors and rebuilding our front porch. Chris and Bill always provided expertise and great advice as we went, which was especially helpful during the permitting process with the city. Of the three quotes we got at the beginning of our project, they actually came in the highest, and we were nervous about that, but in the long run we were reassured by their open-book budgeting process, which meant we knew exactly what we were spending, and on what. Remarkably, they came in slightly under budget, despite some scope changes along the way.

Overall, it was a real pleasure working with Chris and Bill. They and their tradespeople were always efficient, courteous, and kept the place clean as they went. On top of that, they always showed up when they said they would. This was a real change from our previous renovation experiences! They brought a great depth of knowledge and imaginative solutions to their work with us. We can't recommend them highly enough.

Approximate cost of services:
$250,000.00
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Company Response

Kate - thanks for the kind words it was an absolute pleasure working with you and Bret and we hope your family enjoy your new spaces for many years to come.

Carlo in Toronto
Carlo in Toronto
2 reviews Toronto, ON
10/10

Basement Renovation in Annex Victorian

We hired 3 Stones Custom homes on a referral from a friend. 3 Stones is a Toronto-based high-end renovation and new-build company. The scope of the work was a new basement (including waterproofing), an expansion of the kitchen, and a new interconnecting stair in the centre of the house.

Chris and Bill were excellent. There were 3 things I appreciated most:

1. Open and clear communication: Chris and Bill are available, literally, at any point to answer any questions about the work. We did not live in the renovation at the time, but Chris and Bill spent 2 hours every Saturday walking through the past week's work, the next 2 weeks, and asking us for input on any design decisions.

2. Follow-up: Chris and Bill have been diligently following up nearly every month since the work was done to make sure we are satisfied.

3. Design chops: Bill is a structural engineer and Chris has good design sense. Changes to designs, especially related to structure which is critical in a renovation, are quick and painless.

The work was high quality and we would highly recommend the team.

Approximate cost of services:
$250,000.00
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Company Response

Thanks Carlo for your comments. We hope you enjoy your new space as much as we did in building it for you.

michael.takasaki in Toronto
michael.takasaki in Toronto
1 review Toronto, ON
10/10

Kitchen, Floors, HVAC - all great!

We would hire 3 Stones again to work on our house in a heartbeat. Not only was their work meticulously done, it came in on-time and under budget. When does that ever happen? Chris and Bill are two of the most sincere, hard-working guys I've ever met. It was always clear how much they wanted the best possible outcome for us and, happily, they achieved it. Any (inevitable) bumps in the road were dealt with swiftly and easily. They are easy to work with and went above and beyond to make sure we were always completely up-to-date on the status of the project. They are top-notch communicators, which just cements (construction pun) their reputation for me.

Approximate cost of services:
$80,000.00
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Company Response

Thanks Michael - it was great working with your and Beth!

The reviews on this page are the subjective opinion of the Author and not of HomeStars Inc.

More about 3 Stones Custom Homes Inc.

3 Stones Custom Homes is a full service home renovation company operating in downtown Toronto. We have been in operation since 2010 offering complete design, permitting, and construction services for our clientele. Our projects range from creating basement suites to additions to full top to bottom renovations. For photos of ...
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