Penguin Basements

We had several quotes. Penguin's was by far not the cheapest, and they weren't available the fastest, but we were impressed by their philosophy, materials and their expertise when it comes to basements. They quoted a project timeline which I found difficult to believe but based on reviews was hopeful that it could be accomplished.

Well, it was! They started early as they had time become available, and finished on time! All the people coming in and out of our home were very pleasant and respectful of the fact that it was our home and were a pleasure to deal with. Everyone from the initial appointment, to contact with the office and design was fantastic.

Josh, our project manager, was amazing. He responded to each of our (sometimes trivial) concerns promptly. There were a few things that weren't ordered (doors and paint etc.) that were chosen in design, but he was very quick to remedy any problems and gets extra points for winning over our dog who by the end barked at us but not him when coming in the front door.

The only thing I might mention is delivery material was sometimes very unorganized (for ex. I got an hour's notice that the drywall was being delivered, however thankfully was home), but in this grand scheme of things this is an extremely minor issue.

We love our new basement! Correction: our son and his friends love our new basement - we can't get them out of it!

Thanks Josh and Penguin!

Penguin Basements were an absolute pleasure to deal with from the start to the end of our project. The level of professionalism, experience and expertise of staff from the sales manager to project manager to designer and all trades involved is compared to none. Our project was completed in a timely manner and with such ease beyond belief. Special shout out to Rob our project manager who was such a delight always cool and ensured everything was done to our abosolute satisfaction. Your company will continue to climb to great heights. Our heartfelt thanks to the entire team for everything!!!

The project ran smoothly from start to finish. There were a few things that were missed during the planning process. Fortunately our Site Manager, Walter, recognized the oversights and ensured everything was done to our satisfaction. Overall the trades did a good job. Walter finished the final details and did an excellent job. He was pleasant, professional and very responsive to our questions throughout the process. The project was well done, completed on time and within budget.

We have been very impressed with the Penguin Basements team - right from the first appointment, to scheduling with the office staff, through meeting with the designer, and especially working with Alan, the project manager. We felt confident that Penguin knew what they were doing when they first talked to us about the materials they use, their approach to the work, and understanding what we really wanted and making it a reality without up-selling us. We had been thinking about a basement renovation for a long time but the idea of having to find and coordinate all the trades ourselves was putting us off. By hiring Penguin, we had a dedicated project manager who ordered all supplies and scheduled all the trades. It was great to have one point person, and Alan was very good at explaining each step of the project and answering all our questions. We are very happy with the final project. Alan went above and beyond with little touches here are there to really finish off the whole space.

It was a great experience from their initial guidance in design to the final project. Biggest pros - quality of work and accountability. The builder trend app is fantastic. It was an aggressive schedule but they delivered. And our project lead Alan was exceptional.

Cons - there were a few disconnects early with the demo phase. And the work comes at a significant premium, so the benefits (quick completion, accountability, quality) need to be worth it. For us they were.

Penguin Basements exceeded my expectations - and I’m a picky customer! I was admittedly at first a little hesitant as we live in an older Toronto home, had recently underpinned our basement and knew the complexities of our project were anything but ordinary. Penguin handled these challenges with ease, and took care of any issues that arose promptly and professionally. HUGE credit goes to our Project Manager Vince Sciaraffa for going above and beyond to ensure the timeline was met, the work was done to the highest standard, and we were always kept in the loop. His communication skills, attention to detail, eye for quality workmanship and level of professionalism is so rare to find in the industry. Big thanks also to Chris Reece on the office side of things, helping us every step of the way even as we embarked on the underpinning process (all pre-Penguin work). Overall we are so thrilled with our new basement!

Basement Review
Pros:
- great finished product
- very competitive pricing
- quick turnover: 1000+ sq ft basement completed in 2 weeks (as promised) compared to 6-8 week timeline from other contractors
- available online website which stores all project documents, photos and contacts you can message for any necessary correspondence
- Workers were very friendly
- All necessary touch-ups were done in a timely fashion by our project manager
- All remaining supplies like paint and plaster powder were left for any future necessary touch-ups (except for the stairway hand-rail stain).

Cons:
- the online website meant for correspondence wasn’t very useful messages were returned no earlier than within 2-3 days
- our project manager was out of town and unavailable during part of our project and there was no one else who could respond to us in timely manner (again no earlier than 2-3 days). Communication despite the online tool was poor and untimely.
- building material drop-offs were done at times we were not expecting them. We DID have scheduled dates & times but they weren’t done those days. So twice I took time off from work to be home expecting deliveries and twice they didn’t deliver those days. This was a problem because they had to be placed into the garbage therefore scheduling a time for us to be home was essential. They didn’t deliver during those times. Luckily we were still home when they finally did show up (but just as I was about to leave) otherwise the supplies would’ve been delivered on another day and our schedule would’ve been delayed. This happened twice and was a big inconvenience because we had to change our schedule to fit their what seemed to be their disorganized delivery times.
- the painters used this company (or atleast this one particular crew) although being very friendly left our bathroom in quite the mess. Part of the contract was providing the workers with a bathroom to use during the project. That wasn’t the issue. The issue is just because our home was technically a construction site didn’t mean that our bathroom was to be treated like one of those portable ‘ Johnny-on-the-spot’ bathrooms. Without the getting into too much detail let’s just that the toilet was left in quite a mess.
- Another part of the contract was to provide the workers with a sink with running water to use for mixing materials etc. This same painting crew who used our main floor laundry room sink to wash their paint brushes left paint splatters everywhere in our sink, walls and floor. They didn’t bother to clean up after themselves and forgetting that this was a home and not a construction site.
- Although they did send a cleanup crew as part of the service (which was a good idea on their behalf) to clean the whole basement area, BUT they had to be reminded to clean our paint splattered laundry room sink, floor and walls (even though I was reassured by the project manager that it would’ve been done). Again, poor communication. Even when I told them they had forgotten to clean it (as they were about to leave) they still did an unsatisfactory job at scrubbing the sink, walls and floor as I would’ve done. In fact, I had to do this myself after they had left.
- I am still awaiting a response from the project manger regarding why I wasn’t given any leftover handrail stain (or atleast to tell me the colour of the stain so I can get it myself). I was told by the project manger that he’s find out and get back to me ASAP. Again I was reassured a timely response but I’m still waiting. I’ve been waiting since November 29th for a response. Again poor and untimely correspondence.

Overall
Although we as a family are very happy with the finished product and looking forward to enjoying our newly finishes basement, there were many inconveniences along the way, like poor communication, disorganized and inconvenient scheduling of deliveries as well as workers who treated our home like a construction site. In short, we loved WHAT they did with our basement, but DIDN’T love how they went about doing things. But we’re still glad we chose Penguin basements and would recommend them to others.

Our basement was completely unfinished and the Penguin team came in and gave us beautiful new finished basement. The work was done within the expected time frame of two weeks. There were just a few minor glitches which were handled quickly and professionally by our project manager Vince S. He was very friendly, made sure everything was to our liking, and just a really nice guy.
Thanks to everyone who helped out on the project.

The work was done in a timely manner with quality craftsmanship. We are extremely pleased with the work that was done. Vince and his crew were very professional, polite & respectful while in our home. We will highly recommend this company to anyone that asks. We have a very nice,cozy basement that we can enjoy year round. Thank you Penguin basements!

If you want a basic basement, these guys are okay. Insulation, framing, electrical, drywall, paint and floors. The basics but at a premium for sure. Overpriced by about 25% but if you want convenience then pay for. I would not hire for anything beyond that. Workmanship is rudimentary, a step above DIY and finishings are average builders grade. Our problems mostly started at trim time. Plumbing concrete not poured completely, trim in wrong places and “recycled”, door missed in order, another door damaged and patched, custom bookcases not made to order TWICE, undercupbiard bare, undercupboard hole not patched, stonework rudimentary, electrical outlets on stone badly finished, pillar stonework finishing not professional, trim on pillar patch job, poor finishing choices for wet bar (did not capture our vision, more like kitchen than entertainment oriented), decorative shelving quality poor (glued together laminate). In the end, 3 weeks late as well. Expected better quality, better workmanship. If you want the basics and don’t care about $, they are ok. Anything with quality finishes, look elsewhere.