Keith in Richmond Hill

We had our master ensuite gutted and redone by P&P back in 2013. Why am I writing a review now? Because I've become increasingly frustrated by the end product. Rafael and Javier were the main guys working on our reno with Mario overseeing it. When you first look at the bathroom it looks nice...but once you look a little more closely and start to use it, that's when you notice the problems. 1) Unlevel floor tiles - multiple areas where you can feel it under your feet. They returned to try to fix 2-3 of the main tiles that were not level but it actually turned out worse. 2) Grout between floor tiles is cracking. 3) Popping sounds over certain tiles likely because there is not good adherence with the thinset. 4) Unlevel mosaic tiles in the shower stall...sharp edges of mosaics sticking up slightly are very uncomfortable on the feet 5) Unlevel shower wall tiles...doesn't bother us during usage but visibly not right 6) The washroom is FREEZING in the winter...I used a thermal gun on the exterior facing walls of the washroom and a good section of one wall is significantly colder than the rest which means it was not properly re-insulated. Also the relocation of the floor vent away from the large window also contributes. 7) Incorrectly installed tile direction...basically they had wasted so many tiles during the tiling process that they had to use whatever left over piece remaining and hoped we wouldn't notice. 8) Chipped edges of our large vanity mirror....when they reinstalled our old mirror two edges were chipped. 9) Beadboard panels separating - a couple of spots where adjacent beadboards meet are starting to separate. 10) A year after the reno, I had the attic re-insulated by an insulation company and they found bags of garbage left in the ceiling above the washroom. 11) Metal safety plates not used in wood studs where electrical wires exist...I found this out while driling a pilot hole into a wood stud on the bedroom side to hang a TV mount. I ended up drilling right into an electrical wire and blew the circuit. I cut a square block of drywall out and saw no protection for the wires...not to Code! The first few weeks of the reno, everything was going well. The guys were very friendly and easy to get along with. They tried to keep the job site and house clean every day. At one point, they broke the special carrera marble threshold piece we had purchased and they installed it anyway while trying to mask the crack the best they could. Fortunately I noticed it right away and complained. After that things seem to go down hill, with progress slowing down. They ended up being 2 weeks delayed for no real reason. By the end of it, we were just happy to finally see them go. Natanael responded to my complaints by telling me to follow up with Mario even though Natanael is the owner and the person we met and signed the contract with. Mario made the final inspection a big rush affair after they tried to fix the unlevel floor tiles...basically he just wanted their last cheque and didn't want to actually meet with me in person to have a real inspection. I left a cheque for him at the house as requested and was just happy the reno was 'done'. P&P seems to have many good 10/10 reviews these days, so kudos to them if they have righted the ship and more of their customers are happy than not.

Harmony finished our basement reno in mid-September and I decided to wait on writing this review until we had a chance to use the basement for a while to see if any problem issues would arise. Thankfully nothing has! We've used other contractors in the past where this was not the case. The best thing about the basement...it is WARM. This is due to the combination of using Roxul wall insulation, the DryBarrier subfloor and the Torlys luxury vinyl planks (w/ cork backing). When I walk on this floor with the current winter weather we are having, my feet are toasty warm. I've been in other basements where my feet are freezing and I know the contractor either didn't do a subfloor or didn't use a good product. The DryBarrier product is great because it very thin while still providing a thermal break and doesn't use up the limited headspace I have in my basement. The basement looks great and feels great so my wife and I are happy with the end product. Have a look at our photos! That doesn't mean things went perfectly though. So to be fair, here are my criticisms. First, we were told it should be a 5-6 week reno no problem. Given how simple our basement design is, this really should have been the case. In the end it took 10 weeks from start to finish. Secondly, related to this delay, we were never certain when workers would show up. Some days it was bright and early. Other days it was late morning or early afternoon (or in the evening!). And there were quite a few days where nobody showed up at all. I understand that there are often other jobs happening for contractors/subcontractors but it would be nice if we were told in advance who was coming and when to expect them. Lastly, the order of operations was 'odd'. My father was a plumber and I worked with him in my younger years so I have a decent understanding of how construction process should work. I think Harmony did things as subcontractors became available which meant the ideal work flow was not adhered to...at least in my opinion. This doesn't necessarily affect the quality of the final product significantly but it is not what is typically expected. I'll wrap this up with some positives. Mold resistant materials!!! Roxul, Drybarrier, vinyl floor planks, moisture resistant drywall, Kerdi membrane behind the shower tiles, steel stud construction...that's all quality stuff! Also it was built with a proper building permit where many other contractors will try to dissuade your from going this route. The folks at Harmony were a pleasure to work with. Diego, Mark and Lawrence are friendly, fun guys at the main office who helped us get this project within a fair budget. There are alot of basement finishes to choose from at their headquarters and Sasha was very helpful there. The bonus is that we were able to supply some of our own finishes and receive a credit on that. All the subcontractors were very friendly, courteous and respectful so we didn't have a problem with them being alone in our home even while we were at work. Lastly, Leo is a very easy to work with project manager and always available by phone or text message. I really wanted to give Harmony a 10/10 on Homestars. Unfortunately, unless a project runs start to finish without any hiccups and without me having to stress over any aspect of the reno, there's no way anyone should be giving 10/10. So my 8-9/10 still reflects a very good final job done by Harmony but deducts a few points for late completion and a bit of poor work process. I do recommend Harmony based on the people there and the quality of the materials used in the construction. We have used other contractors in the past for our main bathroom ensuite renovation and business office reno...Harmony exceeded them in every way!