WHY TOWNE CONTRACTING?<br>
We chose Towne Contracting to do our main bathroom renovation (complete gut) after checking with several other contractors on HomeStars and a few outside of HomeStars. Steve was among the select number of contractors to actually get back to me for a quote where others would say they'd call back to meet, but never did.<br><br>
Towne Contracting had one of the more competitive quotes out there and after asking what methods and materials they use for things like waterproofing, checking references and looking at the work in-person at one house, they were chosen for the bathroom renovation. What set them apart was their knowledge of building materials, offering helpful suggestions and options, and easygoing attitude.<br><br>
Speaking with Steve, I was please to hear that he mentioned using DenShield (shower walls) and DITRA (under floor tiles) for waterproofing (sometimes other contractors would either mention products used for older methods of installing or not at all as if it's of no importance to the customer). I also requested that Schluter KERDI-BAND be used on the wall tile backer seams and along the floor edges for extra water tightness after coming across an informative video on Schluter's website and learning about the product.<br><br>
THE RENOVATION<br>
The scope of the job was a complete gut including: installing new floor tile, wall tile (including mosaic border and chair rail), tub & shower trim kit, vanity & sink, toilet, medicine cabinet, vanity light fixture, new exhaust fan (with a neat timer switch), priming/painting, and toilet paper holder & towel bars. They also checked into our tub plumbing not draining well plus some other little additional things we requested along the way (installing a new door, new door/window trim). Additionally, they added insulation on the outer facing wall and fixed exposed wires (thank you for pointing this safety hazard out) in our attic with a new junction box.<br><br>
We had primarily Steve and Milan on-site for the renovation with Andre and Mike to help out. The bathroom was completely gut in one day. They were good about keeping things tidy by laying down an adhesive blue protective sheet along the floor, vacuuming, tidying up their tools, and taking the garbage with them.<br><br>
Most of the materials we had purchased, but Towne Contracting helped source out the chair rail, pick up our bathtub, toilet, and tiles we selected as they were able to get a slightly better price since they have a contractors discount (keep that in mind if you're planning to select and buy your materials).<br><br>
Punctuality was acceptable with the "crew" (2 - small bathroom) arriving around the same time each morning unless they were out picking up materials and left no later than 5-6pm (on the few long days - usually finished earlier as they're pretty quick).<br><br>
With the house being 50 years old, we ran into some issues with not having any insulation behind the outer facing wall and Towne Contracting was great at offering a number of solutions along with prices in order to make a decision. The job was delayed a few days due to trying to source out some materials, waiting for some things to arrive on order and a big snowfall one day which is totally understandable. Along the way they had some questions about how high or where to place things and we appreciated that communication. They also provided some great ideas and solutions about how far to run the mosaic border around the room (good call guys!) and coming up with solutions for our tricky IKEA vanity & sink plumbing (note: try to avoid IKEA vanities if you can as the plumbing is not to North American standards) which turned out fine in the end.<br><br>
As we tested out our bathroom while the reno was nearing its completion, we noticed a few things like a leak coming from the tub overflow which they were quick to address along with any other issues. <br><br>
We are happy to say our tub now drains unbelievably quick after changing the plumbing which had build-up inside after years and years (even though it's older 1 1/4"? plumbing vs the 1 1/2" standard) compared to before where after a shower there'd be a pool of water about 1-2 inches high and take several minutes to drain.<br><br>
It's such a pleasure to use our bathroom now. No longer do we have to go on vacation to use a decent bathroom! The finishing of the work is just beautiful and we love the look of the mosaic and chair rail. It was really a night and day transformation of our bathroom and we thank Steve and Milan for doing an amazing job. Their easy-going personalities, professionalism and knowledge made it an enjoyable experience.<br><br>
We will be in touch with Towne Contracting again when it comes time to fix our other bathroom and any other jobs in the future.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $9,000.00
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- For anyone new to home renovations, I highly recommend looking at Mike Holmes' book "Make It Right" which will educate you (as it did for me) more than you could imagine on what construction materials should be used, what's involved, and things to look out for. Note that one of the materials used in the bathroom for the shower backing is a touch out of date (older cement backer board if I recall vs DenShield). This will help you put together a list of things to ask to help weed out contractors who may still use older methods for installations such as using a scractch coat for floor tile installs (which offers NO waterproofing) instead of using Schluter DITRA (orange waffle-like waterproofing material with an uncoupling membrane). Just ask in general what the contractor will do to make sure your bathroom walls and floors are waterproof and EXACTLY what method and materials will be used. It's better if you already know the answers to the questions you're going to ask. Use the calls to help inform yourself further for what you might not know and research online about the products/methods mentions. Don't be afraid to call contractors back to follow up and ask if they use "X product" or "Y method" to do something.