Carick Home Improvements

We hired Carick in spring 2007 to completely gut and renovate our basement in our small 2 floor semi. The work consisted of demolishing/removing existing drywall and sub-floor (there wasn't much), replacing the existing skim-coat concrete floor with a proper to-code concrete floor, replacing existing tile sewer drains and installing new plumbing, new electrical/cable wiring, installing new drywall and flooring and a new staircase.

Carick provided skilled, competent, and polite workers for each part of the project (their concrete crew was particularily exceptional). If we needed anything Joel was prompt to return our call.

Cost over-runs were minimal and in any event were well worth it (replacing our root-clogged clay drains and upgrading to an oak staircase).

Now approaching the 2 year anniversary of that renovation I can say that all of Carick's work has held up and we have not experienced any problems related to it. Our basement is our favourite place to hang out and it has thoroughly improved our house.

I would recommend to anyone that they consider Carick for a home reno project.

This was a large job to us and after one and half weeks with the crew at Carick we saw it was entirely manageable, they made it look easy.
We opted to have Carick arrange drawings and permits and that part of the job was more than worth while . If you don't want to add 40% to the final cost , avoid architects for this kind of work and let the Carick way guide you; the drawings were tight and approved without correction , the permits and drawings were delivered on time and exactly on budget .

The crew was on time to work , pursued the project directly and answered all and any questions while showing sincere respect for our home and the areas we tried to keep clean during the work . They cleaned up at the end of each day without fail .
The project , removing walls between rooms , was done complete on time and exactly on budget . Geno even through in some kitchen tiling work and a sink installation gratis .( I think he volunteered Tom for it , but the result was excellent)

All the work was done to code and done to approved specifications as a matter of course and I could see the electrical crew would never consider taking a short cut for any reason. I Know for fact in some cases due to the age of the building , there was more material required for some stages and that Carick acquired it without discussion and never added any charges to the bill.

If a client plans their project ,makes comprehensive notes and communicates all their needs to Geno and the people at Carick , this crew will see it gets done without unpleasant surprises. It is the job of the home owner to realise what is possible and what is beyond their resources and Carick will tell you well in advance what to expect at each stage .
We were taken care of like we were the only project that mattered to Geno and they went the extra mile in each phase of our work . We could never have realised our dream space without their fine expertise.

From the day that we first met with Geno to tour the house, we were impressed by Carick's professionalism and honesty. Geno was straighforward about all costs and made sure that our budget was met. Geno's trades were polite, on time and diligent. The time estimate for the work was spot on. Geno was always accessible to answer our questions. All of our phone calls were returned within an hour or two. We had heard horror stories about lazy trades and renovation projects going way over time and over budget. Not with Carick. We always knew what was happening and when. Geno set a tight schedule for the trades to complete their work and they did. No compromise on the quality of the work either. I would certainly use Carick again and would eagerly recommend them to anyone undertaking a renovation project.

We had planned our family vacation to Europe and also needed our house to be renovated prior to leaving.As a result we placed Carick under a very tight time schedule.Happily both the renovation and holiday went off without a hitch.
Our house needed a third bedroom and required some key restructuring and relocation of rooms.We also installed a new basement washroom, study and T.V. room for the children.In addition the kitchen was moved to a different location and an open-concept entrance to the house was created.
Geno and Joel were always cordial and available throughout this process.They understood clearly what was required which gave us a great sense of security.Carick began and completed the project on time.It was also kept on budget which helped our holiday time.We thank Carick and recommend them strongly.

We are very pleased with the many various jobs Carick has completed for us over the past several years. Both Joel and Gino have been thoroughly professional in their approach with suggestions, during the work and afterwards with follow ups. This company gets it! They have always listened to our problem(s) and have either suggested a course of action, (with one or more of their very skilled contractors), or have suggested how we could complete the work ourselves. The work has always been completed in a professional and timely manner. We would highly recommend Carick Home Improvements for any of your household improvement needs.
H & M

First, Carick is a thoroughly professional contractor and I would recommend them if you are doing a renovation. We had them renovate our kitchen and bathroom, which were in dire need of renovating. Once they started, they worked diligently and cleaned-up at the end of the day. Joel was excellent and there was no problem getting in contact with him when there were things to discuss. Carick was renovator of the year in 2004 and Joel was on CP24 discussing how to hire a good contractor, so that’s a pretty good sign of their professionalism.

This was our first renovation endevour and Joel made the process relatively painless and easy. The best advice I can give is to thoroughly communicate with your contractor. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, write down what you want and make sure you discuss them with your contractor to get them done or at least determine practicality. Joel was very accommodating and attentive to what we wanted and he made design suggestions that turned out to be perfect.

Not everything is going to go smoothly and we had a couple of hiccups along the way but Joel was quick to get those problems resolved quickly.

By all means, call Joel if your thinking of starting a renovation. Good contractors are hard to find and Carick is one of the good ones.

MK

The majority of the work was great - if only the finer details were too. Many delays, and Design Plans were not followed, which caused fitting problems and having to order more material. Our floor tiles still aren't fixed yet - some still click/move when we walk on them. I was told I would be happy in the end, but I'm left disappointed.

Having worked with many contractors over the years, it has been a pleasure to work with Carick Home Improvements. A major renovation, second storey over an existing house, involves reconfiguration of old and new spaces. Surprises sometimes occur. Carick deals with issues swiftly, efficiently and effectively. Overall I have been extremely happy with Carick. Their long-term commitment to building, over 30 years to date, speaks volumns. I trust that I will be able to count on them for at least another 30 years. You don't win renovator of the year without having merit. Well done Gino & Joel. And thank you for the excellent work on my project.

From the beginning to the end Joel was very honest and professional. We love our new kitchen and family room. Our master bedroom and beautiful ensuite bathroom has changed our lifestyle. We had our ups and downs throughout the whole renovation process and through it all we have to say we are happy we chose Carick Home Improvements.

Geno was very strong in his presentation to start. Low key approach, talked a good game. George, the foreman, is a master and was critical to the final completion of the project. The feeling we got was this company's strength is smaller projects such as basements, kitchens, etc. This project seemed too large for them. Major problems were extra costs piling up, terrible electrician, and now not living up to warranty. Basement is leaking even though we paid an additional $ 10,000 to waterproof original part of house plus addition and because Carick doesnt use the waterproofer any more, they wont dig to find the problem. Will most likely hire our own waterproofer to fix problem. Is you use this company, insist on George and only do a small project.

Postscript:
Ratings were reduced by the reviewer after the initial post. Additional Comments: The upper floor was much colder than the ground floor in our house. New furnace, new ducts, insulation in attic from Carick in 2004. We had to hire another company this year to repair major problems due to cold air return opening directly into attic thermal bridging from uninsulated skylights gaps in "new" insulation uninsulated and unsealed attic covers and existing insulation taken from R10 to R44 (would have expected someone to tell us it was inadequate and would have gladly paid. Response to company response below: Water problem was NOT rectified - Geno indeed came quickly and looked very quizzically but offered no solution except "call me if it happens again". We had over 70 halogen pot lights installed (we were not told the cost ($ 180 per light) until halfway through install which dropped significantly when we said take them out. We desperately wish we had not gone with them. Now we have replaced over 70 bulbs (screw-in PR16) ($ 7 each) in less than 2 years. "We have never had a problem with them" and then "We dont use them anymore" were the responses. No solution was offered.