It's unfortunately too rare to find a full-service contractor who does what they say and says what they will do and works with you through the inevitable bumps and surprises of major work. It is with mixed feelings I leave a review as they will only become less available when others realize this and I need them for additional work.
What pushed me past my selfishness was reading the double-dip negative review punch by seeming husband and wife on here, whose account could not be further from our experience.
Cameron (owner) started with phone call. Very friendly and generous with time on call. We were remodeling an 80s house with multiple, constantly expanding, set of ideas: finish basement, main floor, second floor, railings, bathrooms, etc etc. and quickly became apparent we'd need to break into multiple jobs to tolerate disruption and manage costs.
Starting with the main floor we went from 5 flooring types (really) to one with bonus of them being all the same height, moving from wood insert fireplace with raised, tiled, hearth to modern gas built-in; complete kitchen gut and remodel, removal of a wall to open kitchen through to dining and replacing large fixed pane windows to dual quad folding Marvin doors to open through inside to outside space. So combination of structural, functional and aesthetic considerations.
I'm a self-confessed geek and minor control freak with a dash of ocd, so there were numerous areas where I wanted specific appliances, wine cooling, design and counter styles - for both kitchen counters and waterfall center island bar. This geekery went as far as mock up renderings and walk throughs. This was/is a double-edged sword and when I realized Cameron was a consummate professional and the contractor for us; he not only took my input, he helped shape it to be both practically achievable and highlight considerations amateurs shouldn't presume (eg opportunity to move outside door to simplify and expand storage potential, flow throughout kitchen, more modern lighting options for overhead lighting in (essentially) new ceiling, hvac line reuse for kitchen floor comfort areas, etc).
We agreed on pricing and timing timeframes. Yes, there was some sticker shock, though this was more my "frugalness" according to my wife - something about not knowing the price of milk or bread was also mentioned ;)
There was also some concern with expected duration, though my naivety was quickly educated as their experience shone through here too, the "under-promise and over-deliver" and "do the right things right" takes time. The material availability complicated the orchestration of numerous sub contractors, so we did overrun on time, and material costs did increase, though Cameron kept to his word on pricing and had legitimate reasons regarding delays and external issues in this current clime.
It takes a leap of faith to trust that the right things will happen, that the bumps and surprises will be worked through, and that communication will remain open and transparent - doubly so when inevitable tensions increase. We never had an issue having Cameron return a call or answer a query before, during or after the job was done. Even where we had insisted on us supplying some materials directly they helped us work through issues with that supplier and missing pieces directly with the supplier - now that's above and beyond service.
There is enough stress and angst with remodels, and choice of contractor is critical; interviewing them gives part of the story. Again, I reluctantly post this due to my own wish to selfishly not increase the already significant lead time for their availability.
Apologies for the length and detail here, though for others to have such a different experience, to the point of trying to double dip and show an undue bias, I find truly hard to understand given our experience and wanted to give details for context. read more
