Urban Studio

Home Additions
Toronto ON M4L 3Z6
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Reviews for Urban Studio

Average customer rating:
9.7 10 (57 reviews)

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

Second Storey Addition

Urban Studio was absolutely amazing!! From the beginning, the project manager Joseph was extremely patient with us when we were shopping around and comparing their quote with other companies that we had come in to take a look. After a lot of back and forth and indecisiveness on our end, Joseph remained very helpful and understanding. Even though we received a couple quotes that were lower than Urban Studios estimate, we felt most confident going with them. GLAD WE DID!!!

After sixteen weeks our addition is now done! We couldn't be happier with it, we have a ton of extra space to use now, nearly 1,000 sqft. Joseph and his team went above and beyond what we expected of them and somehow even finished the project 2 weeks earlier than the timeframe he gave us.

Joseph even came by and gave us a nice bottle of wine for new years so he definitely made our experience unforgettable .. Joseph, you're always welcome to drop in!

We highly recommend Urban Studio to anyone that is looking around.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Approximate cost of services:
$350,000.00
0 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Company Response

Thanks very much for the excellent 10 star review guys! We wish you both all the best and hope you will enjoy your beautiful home for years to come! Much appreciated.

Private User
Private User
Private User reviews Toronto, ON
0/10

Left in a lurch by Urban Studio

Our experience was drastically different than the reviews here. We initially chose them based on their reviews on this site, of which we have discovered at least one is not quite accurate. In fact, we have since discovered that this business has changed it's name (used to be Solution Build Group Inc.) and there are in fact many bad reviews of Joseph (Yousef), you will see this name referenced in the other business names' review. https://homestars.com/companies/2811467-solution-build-group-inc

We hired them to do an entire gut and second storey addition and quite early in the project ran into several 'small' snags (i.e. things that were supposed to be added to the contract weren't even after asking several times, things they should have caught, they didn't - no HVAC quote in a total gut!?, the structural engineer they hired contacted us with an angry email refusing to provide drawings as Urban Studio hadn't paid them, Urban Studio's Project manager suddenly didn't work there when we contacted her and again we weren't informed by Urban Studio that she had moved on). These were just warning signs of what to were to come as within weeks of the project we were asked for a large amount of money to fix a basement wall, which we later fixed for a quarter of the price they quoted us. Finally when we asked for our own structural engineer to take on the project instead of theirs (as we were losing faith) it got progressively tense and difficult. We started to hear from urban Studio less and they stopped the demo despite having already having paid them in full for it. We finally sent an email in August requesting for them to finish what we had already paid them for in full ( the demo and waterproofing - the latter hadn't even been started!?) and we have not heard from them since. This company turned out to be extremely dishonest, it has been a horrific experience.

Approximate cost of services:
$250,000.00
9 of 10 people found this review helpful.
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Company Response

Our company confirms that we were forced to proceed with cancellation of the contract with this client after the demolition phase, due to many reasons. But first and formal we would like to clarify that Urban Studio Inc. has never changed name and has never been called Solution build in the history of it's operating years! It’s very unfortunate to see that the homeowner is confused and clearly have wrong assumptions of our project manager Joseph being the owner of Urban Studio Inc. However, right about Joseph partially owning Solution build in his early days in which he experienced a bad partnership, not being able to deliver his standards he ended his partnership and closed down the business for so many years now while he started as a project manager at Urban Studio helping us for past few years achieving great success and leaving numerous satisfied customers.

As for Urban Studio's unique and different experience with this client it all started when the engineer who was assigned to the project proposed an option/alternative to resolve the structural issue their existing south foundation wall was facing due to water damage and not maintaining the house for years. We provided our detailed quote for the cost of all the additional work the engineer requested. However, The clients found are pricing expensive and wrote back “This is very expensive for some masonry worker as it’s only work with concrete blocks and mortar.” Homeowner then started to shop around and find a handyman for the job which should’ve be done by experienced trades while he put the entire agreement on hold! He then questioned the engineer and blamed him for not providing him with cost sufficient alternatives. Shockingly he then hired a family friend as an engineer with a lower price and asked me to get rid of the current engineer, He also refused to pay for the cost to our engineer Tony, even though he spent many hours and done 3 site visits. We tried to be sympathetic financial situation and agreed for them to have their family friend involved but the DISASTER only began when the new engineer couldn't prepare correct drawings in proper time and didn’t coordinate with the architect properly and cause 2 months delay that ruined the basis of our project time schedule. Our Architect (Michael) sent two emails on August 2nd, 2017 to owner, complaining about “endless negotiation with new engineer who is not listening to me.” We also warned about the extensive delay situation on our August 2nd email to the client which proof these facts.

As for the work at the job site we only got to finish the demolition task and we got paid for it after finishing as the payment was due to completion of work. They never paid us $1 extra as all the payments on the contract were based on mile stone payments and we never got to start the next phase of project due to delays their family friend engineer was causing by not providing the drawings! Not only we lost money on this project but they caused our company a great deal of inconvenience by even effecting our other timelines and we defiantly prefer to save our time and energy for the customers who need quality work, appreciate our expertise and have chosen us knowing what are they are paying for!

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

Addition in the Beaches

If I had to do it all over, I would hire Urban Studio again in a heartbeat! My husband and I hired them to do a 2nd floor addition and to finish the basement of our bungalow in the Beaches. We’d been considering it for a couple of years but started seriously investigating options 6 months ago. We decided on Urban Studio based on the quality of their previous work and our opportunity to see that work in progress in two of their ongoing projects at the time. Even from the initial stages of getting a quote and design options, these guys stood out. Their payment structure worked well for us as they collected payments only after a stage had been completed They were thorough, competitive, passionate, and communicated with us every step of the way. I’m very happy that my initial instinct turned out to be correct and that it resulted in much more space for our growing family - with high quality finishes, work that was done on time, and an open modern feel that is reflective of our needs and aesthetic. Thank you to our project manager Joseph and his friendly crew for the upscale, efficient, transparent, and professional package that they provided us. We would recommend them to anyone looking for reliable, quality workmanship!

Approximate cost of services:
$400,000.00
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Company Response

Thank you Sonya! We are certainly pleased that you and your family are enjoying your new space. Thank you for choosing Urban Studio and for posting such a lovely review. All the best!

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

Design and frame custom house beaches

My husband and I, researched and met with more than five different design firms and builders in Toronto in order to find a company who is specialized in both design and drawings process as well as all excavation, new footings and framing this new house for us. The company we finally chosen was "Urban Studio", simply because what they offered stood out among the others. Their quote included the design until achieving our ideal layout and providing all the drawings, as well as getting all the permits on our behalf! We were very pleased with both the architect Micheal as well as our project manager Jospeh. Hands down not only he preformed an smooth hustle free job but he made himself available through out the project to us answering our questions. I must mention that even the city's inspector was impressed with their quality and workmanship. they passed all inspections with flying colours. My husband and I are extremely pleased with our experience and highly recommend Urban Studio to anyone who is in the market to hire a professional team.

Approximate cost of services:
$150,000.00
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Company Response

Thank you Rebecca for your kind remarks regarding our project. It was a pleasure working with you and we're so happy that you are satisfied with the end result.

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

Foundation replacement/Underpinning

Urban Studio was recommended to us by our neighbours down the street who had hired them previously for underpinning and water proofing. Our project was a little more complicated as our existing foundation walls were in very bad shape and needed to be completely replaced. I knew it was going to be a nightmare and based on previous renovation experiences, I was sure the project was going to be not only a hassle, but potentially stressful and unpleasant. To my elated surprise, I'm happy to report that the crew at Urban Studio Inc. operated very differently than most contractors I've encountered in the past. The job was done on time, and it actually finished a few days before the given time frame. Great management, a professional crew, all the right equipment, working hard non-stop (including weekends!) - this was night and day to our previous renovation experiences. Thank you all for the hard work!

Approximate cost of services:
$120,000.00
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Company Response

We're delighted to hear that your expectations were met and surpassed. And thank you for taking the time to post a review for us!

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

Fantastic Job!!!

We were in the process of looking for a new home but in this market we were loosing hope. My wife and I are expecting in the fall so we were looking for a larger living space. We started to explore the option of working with our existing space. We reached out to the team at Urban Studio who presented us with an alternative plan which was to add a 2 storey addition. We are now loving our new and improved space as we were able to add a new bedroom and bathroom to our second floor as well as a family room and larger open concept kitchen. Our bright new space is better than we could have ever imagined it. Our beautiful modern windows welcomes the natural light into our custom kitchen. Our new bedroom is perfect for the nursery and the convenience of a full bathroom on the second floor is imperative. Since we added the addition we completely re-did our exterior from the old siding to a modern stucco. I am now proud to drive up to my house as it is easily the most beautiful one on the block.

Approximate cost of services:
$350,000.00
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Company Response

Thank you Hughes for your business and review. We're so happy that you're enjoying your new space.

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

More about Urban Studio

Urban Studio specializes in large-scale renovations and home addition projects. With a core focus on some of the older neighborhoods of Toronto such as Leaside, Davisville, The Beach, Upper Beaches, Leslieville, and the surrounding East York neighborhood, We are a full-service company working with you from conception to completion. Each project is managed by one of our professional project managers who work with each client one-on-one from start to finish to obtain the best results above industry standards.

CATEGORIES
Home Additions, Builders, General Contractors, Design/Build, and Architects
SERVICES
Home Additions, Full Residential Renovations
SPECIALITIES
Home Additions
WEBSITE
https://urbanstudio.design
YEAR ESTABLISHED
2010
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
30
RETURN POLICY
N/A
PAYMENT METHOD
Cheque, Money order
LICENSES
Licensed contractor
MEMBERSHIPS
BILD, RenoMark, Houzz
LIABILITY INSURANCE
Yes
DIPLOMAS
PhD Urban Planning
WORKERS COMPENSATION
Yes
PROJECT MINIMUM
$150,000
BONDED
Yes
WRITTEN CONTRACT
Yes
WARRANTY TERMS
Labour: 5 years, Roofing: 10 yrs
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