Penguin Basements

Overall, we are very happy with the awesome basement. We needed it completed in 3 weeks before we went away and Josh made it happen despite the almost week delay by the Town's permit dept.

Why we went with Penguin:
We were sold on the mold free/resistant materials and the project management tool and communications, and selected Penguin after reading the reviews. It was a lot more expensive than we expected and so we had to cut down on our original plans to get it within budget. In the end, we felt we would be getting a premium service and so would expect to pay a bit more.

Initial Roadbumps :
This is probably where we were the most uncomfortable. The hand off post signature to the start of the project was not smooth. We weren't sure exactly what the next steps were. We were sold on the project management tool and great communications however, during this stage the tool did not have any thing scheduled and the communcations were non-existent. We would get things scheduled incorrectly, then when asked what they were, we wouldn't get a response. We wasted about 3 weeks trying to schedule an appointment with both myself and my wife, only to find out that we really didn't need both of us.

Project Management and Construction:
After we got past design and selections, we were able to schedule the start of our project. Josh was our project manager, and he was great. Since the beginning of our project, he has ensured that we were kept abreast of any delays, issues and when ever there was some thing that wasn't quite right, he personally saw that it was made right. It was at this point that the project management schedule was finally used. It was fairly accurate, with only 1 day where I expected people to come and no one showed (it was updated the morning of).
The construction crew was incredible. The number of people that were in the basement and how quickly they got things done was amazing. This is the second basement reno we've gone through and this is where going with a bigger company makes the difference. Despite the delay in getting the building permit, Josh was able to get a crew in the minute it was issued and we were back in business.

Timing and end product :
Josh knew we were on a tight time frame and he did everything to ensure that our deadline was met and it was. We're glad he was our PM and would recommend him to anyone.

Overall, we are very happy with the basement. It turned out as we envisioned. The workmanship is good. Maybe not as perfect as the 3 man crew we had before, but then again, it wasn't completed in 3 weeks. If you're looking for a hassle free experience and a company you can trust, go with Penguin.

** if you're wondering why I only gave 9/10 overall, it was due to the initial back and forth post sales and prior to the start of the project. I think we rushed into signing, thought things were included when they weren't and as a result, probably paid a bit too much for the change requests. Not entirely penguin's fault but it wasn't a seamless experience.