Penguin Basements

Great service. Great project manager. Vincent was patient, took the time to listen to us and was always available. He made the experience enjoyable.
Thank you for the professionalism and great quality work.

Leila and fathi
OTTAWA

Very satisfied with our project manager Vince. He was always available for questions and to keep us informed of the process.

What an amazing experience from start to finish. From the day my wife and I started the process of looking for a company to take on our basement reno, Penguin Basements made the journey so simple but took the time and care to help us design our dream basement.

First step was with Matt, who helped us design our basement. He was so careful to collect our feedback and put our (sometimes vague) vision on to paper. He offered his recommendations, based on his experiences from other projects and suggested so many great ideas that helped bring it all together. Once we were done with that phase, they put the quote together in short order. I must have received quotes form six companies, and Penguin was by far the most reasonable (and competitive).

Next came the design phase where we worked with Rodrigo at their great design centre. He was very clear, and full of great suggestions making the process of selecting our finishes a very painless and enjoyable experience.

Then came the fun part. Project kickoff. From day 1, these guys worked so respectfully, carefully but at a good clip to make sure the disruption to our daily life was minimized as much as possible. They treated our home like it was their own, covering every surface to avoid any incidental damage, saying hello to my young son every day and offering our dog a nice pat on the head when he went to go see what all the commotion was about.

Every crew was as kind, respectful and skilled as the next. There was NEVER a point over the course of the project where I saw any task being done incorrectly or poorly. These guys know what they are doing. The framers, the electricians, the plumbers, the drywallers, the tapers, the painters, the flooring crew, the tilers and the cleaners were all top notch at what they do.

But without the foreman, it doesn’t all come together as smoothly as it did. Our foreman Vince was, simply put, the BEST at his job. It’s rare to see someone care about their job and their customers like Vince. Any time I had a concern or question, he was there. I tend to micromanage and I thought to myself that this guy is nuts for giving me his cell number so I could text him all the time. But every time i did, he answered extremely quickly and always took me seriously. He liaised with all his crews on my behalf and always knew how to deal with any situation that arose. His kindness and engaging nature makes him the ideal person for the job and I wish there were enough Vinces to be the foreman on every job.

All in all, my wife and I were nervous about undertaking such a huge project like this, but the month flew by and before we knew it, we were in our new basement watching movies and loving every minute down there.

Do yourself a favour and call Penguin if you’re thinking of finishing your basement. They’re the best at what they do.

From start to finish, Penguin Basements were extremely professional, and customer communications was always quick and responsive. The crews that attended to each phase of the project were quick, diligent and conscientious. The whole project was done within the estimated timelines, and I particularly liked how the schedule could be followed online with its incremental changes due to evolving conditions and circumstances. Very happy I went with Penguin Basements!

I'm not sure where to start as this project was pretty much a disaster once I signed on the dotted line. The sales process was very robust, pricing was in line with other companies, and there are areas that they delivered on, but I didn't expect to have to be the quality control.

My opinion is to stop reading this review now, and simply don't select this company for your project. If you need more information here it is. A long list of areas of opportunity for improvement:
-This company is based out of Toronto and the GTA. That could have been part of the issue as every group of people that entered complained about the commute to KW.
-Their selections office required a reasonable 1+hr commute, I knew that, however that was my first sign that I should have walked away. It was not a well maintained office, floors scratched, needing a fresh coat of paint and some items for selection were damaged.
-They showed up without an appointment for the chaulk lines, no-one was home so they left after 10 min, I called back after 20 but they were on the highway back home. Then the same thing for insulation, luckily someone was home this time given the commute :)
-The waste bin they put on my driveway damaged the driveway with 3 or 4 gouges into the pavement and scared the concrete sidewalk.
-They ran two blankets of insulation around the basement, leaving a 3 or 4 inch gap in space between the upper and lower application. Their fix was stuffing insulation into the gap and tuck taping it which just came off in pieces a day later.
-Electricians were good guys and did a decent job. However, not sure who put the pot light brackets in but they were not aligned or centred. I fixed them overnight but missed the one in the hallway near the stairs. They drywalled the next day and cut the hole for the potlight. They ended up having to remove the drywall, adjust the electrical slightly and re-drywall.
-The plumber was good as well but would have forgotten or missed roughing in the wet bar (poor plans) had I not been present and because they are on a timeline it would have been drywalled over before I figured it out. Not sure what they would have done had I not noticed while they were doing the work.
-Trying to stay on schedule they were laying the flooring while the drywall was being finished which is not the best approach if you don't want dust trapped under the floor.
-Because the stairway at the top narrows 3 inches half way down they installed a straight railing with a 3 inch block screwed into the wall, protruding from the wall, to screw the top of the railing into.
-Within 2-3 months there were 3 areas where the floor was peeling, we hadn't even really used it yet as we were still furnishing it. They did respond and come in and replace those floor boards, however they had to be cut out and glued to the concrete.
-The bathroom was very poorly done. It looks worse than the one we took out. The drywall is sloppy and paint on the walls and baseboards is poor. Yes it's a very small space but it shouldn't look worse that what I took out. They gave me a $500 credit to support me getting fixing it myself or hiring someone else - decent gesture but I would have rather had it done right and not have 2 extra meetings with the regional manager to get there.

Those are most of the issues along with several other minor inconveniences. The worst part was having to monitor their work regularly, which I felt I had to do because from the chaulk lines on there were issues. Had things for a week gone smoothly I probably would have backed off but there was a problem at every turn. Not an enjoyable process which I'm reminded of regularly when using the washroom or simply going down the stairs as I'll be replacing the railing given it's very cheaply made and looks that way. In some areas the paint will need some work also, seems if it's leaned on marks are left that don't just wipe down.

There are some good people there, but, the quality and general quality of work and responsiveness needs a lot of work. Look elsewhere for your home renovation project.

We are very pleased on how well our basement renovations turned out.
Many thanks to Josh and his team for their professional and courteous service. As the project manager, Josh went above and beyond. We would highly recommend Penguin Basement for your home renovations.

The team of workers were very pleasant and respectful. I was extremely impressed with how the job ran on time, and I was continuously updated on what was being done and who would be doing what. The quote was accurate and once the design was finalized and the job started there was no attempt to charge more.

I’m extremely happy with the work Penguin did in finishing my basement.

Excellent full home renovation from Penguin!! They did both our main floor and our basement and it all turned out AMAZING. We’re very happy with everything and would highly recommend them!

We put in a basement apartment. Josh and his team did an amazing job. They were always very professional. He worked very hard to ensure we were happy. I would recommend his team for your project

Do not under any circumstances use this company nothing was sone proper the shower leaked and caused holes and cracks around outer wall and tiles to start coming off the shower wall after hiring someone capable of doing renovations and removing the shower there was no water proofing behind the tile just straight drywall that’s just 1 of many many major problems costing thousands in repair costs