Penguin Basements

We hired Penguin to finish our ~500 sq foot basement and turn a 2 pc rough in into a 3 pc bathroom. We're a busy family really value the minimal spare time we have, so we wanted to hire a full service contractor who would handle permits and coordinate trades people.

Overall we are happy with the finished product. We went about 2 months over the initial timeframe, but this is quite good considering the job started during COVID/supply chain delays.

The tradespeople who came in were respectful of our home and the majority did a good job. We had a few concerns, but for the most part they were remidied.

The use of buildertrend allowed us to receive scheduling updates and oversee our project without constant phone calls. However, there was no lead person per se, which made communication a little challenging. Often our contact would change depending on the stage we were in, but weren't notified.

Overall we are happy with the job Penguin did. We're utilizing our entire home and have created more space and additional resources for our family.

I would like to start off by saying how thoroughly impressed and appreciative I am of all the superior craftsmanship and professional demeanor of the staff at Penguin and its tradespeople. The team has been extremely helpful, understanding and have provided us with helpful advice and suggestions based on their extensive knowledge, expertise and experience.

Additionally, I would like to give special recognition to Guy, the General Manager, as it is clearly evident that he takes a hands-on approach to ensuring the quality of the workmanship, level of service and overall customer satisfaction is met.

In this regard, I must note that we encountered an issue with the design element in our kitchen which had the ancillary effect of also effecting the electrical plans. I was expecting a long, tedious and confrontational discussion with the team, however, this was far from what happened. After discussing the issue, we were able to come to a resolution to the matter that was 100% what I was hoping for.

Ultimately, I will undoubtedly be recommending to all my friends, family and colleagues to use Penguin as the preferred choice for home renovations because they are, quick, the industry-leading experts, kind, reasonably and fair-minded persons, customer-centric and all around good people. If any company deserves a 5-star rating it is definitely Penguin.

When we decided to renovate our basement, we did a lot of research and chose Penguin due to their reputation and past work. The team did a fantastic job across the full spectrum of activities - the basement was partially finished, so we had it demoed and completely re-done. The demo crew was quick and efficient, the framers and dry-wallers were a machine, and the trades all super reliable and skilled. What we really liked about Penguin was the expediency of the project and the fact that they had pretty much all of the materials on hand and in-stock. A thing to keep In mind is that with any construction project, make sure to be available and involved in the process. We wanted to make sure everything would be completed the way we liked, so we were pretty involved throughout the renovation. When you're able to be a part of the process, it makes things smoother and we were able to deal with any construction related challenges or changes as they came.

We contracted Penguin for our legal basement second suite. They handled all the permitting for us, and communication was excellent throughout the job. No reno goes 100% according to schedule (especially during COVID!) , but they were responsive and handled all the hurdles throughout the process. The finished space was gorgeous, and we got a great rate on our rental.

We used Penguin Basements for our basement finishing project and have been extremely happy. Everything was very well organized, communication was great, and quality of work exceptional. Our project manager Ryan has been amazing. Very responsive when issues came up. We could tell he takes pride in his work as well - he would point out defects to be corrected before we even noticed them. Would highly recommend Penguin Basements.

Were very happy with this project. The pricing has been fair, the quality of the materials is excellent, and the craftsmanship has been really great! Our general contractor, Ryan, has been a pleasure to work with. Its been a great experience overall.

Very happy with the job done by Penguin. Workers were polite and diligent. Work was all done in two weeks.
Highly recommend this company!!!

We live in Ottawa and we were hit with massive power outages just prior to our project star date. This caused some communication issues at the start but our project manager - Ryan - was amazing- answering all our questions quickly!

They did their best to stay on schedule, even though the power outages had put everyone behind schedule.

The project from then on went smoothly - all the workers (framers, drywallers, electricians, etc) were extremely friendly and respectful.

One issue we had involved the doors to our storage area. However, they owned up to it and are going above and beyond to make things right. We are very excited for the new doors!

This was our first time doing a major renovation project on our home and had heard horror stories of being ripped off. Penguin Basements have put to rest any of those concerns.

We had been thinking of completing our basement for the last couple of years and went through several quotes from various people and companies. We are quite meticulous in addition to being cautious due to past negative experiences with tradesmen and wanted to ensure we do it right.

My husband found Penguin basement on Google, went through their website in great detail and read their reviews. We felt comfortable enough to call them at the beginning of March and speak with Ryan who directed us to Matthew.

From speaking with Matthew to Guy over Zoom, the whole project was explained to us step by step. Everything was finalized online through Zoom meetings, phone calls and emails and we didn't have to go anywhere.

Initially, the project was to start in the middle of June as they were extremely busy. I requested them to see if it could be done sooner as we didn't want to be stuck with renovations in the middle of summer after such a lengthy lockdown. Guy said that he would do his best to see if things could be moved a bit earlier.

It was quite surprising to receive a call from them within a couple of weeks, informing us that they could start the project in May and we can start planning the basement with Rodrigo and Stephanie. Everything was finalized in April and they even started the work a week ahead of schedule.

From then on it was like a revolving door! Different tradesmen came in, completed their work professionally and left quietly. All of them were extremely polite, well mannered and tried to keep the dust and dirt track to as minimum as they could. The project went smoothly and here we are, in the middle of June with a fully completed basement.

Once the cleanup was done, leaving the place spotlessly clean, Jon came in for the inspection & corrections and did an absolutely amazing job with the final touch ups. The project ended up with a Zoom call with Lisa to ensure everything was satisfactory from our perspective.

Of course, when there are so many different trades involved, there are bound to be some glitches but ours were miniscule and not worth mentioning here. Needless to say, these small issues were dealt with immediately.

We appreciate the work done by everyone at Penguin Basements and would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to get work done at such a professional level.

Wishing the company all the best in their future endeavors!

Sonita & Kulvir

I'm a beginner real estate investor, with no prior experience in legal basements process and construction. Not sure what to expect from the contractors these days, particularly with horrible stories floating around. I had interviewed around 20 contractors before I turn into Penguin, and I still think that's the best decision I have made.

Penguin Basements came up top from the recommendations from fellow investors.

Hired Penguin Basements at the beginning of the year, received permits (mid-March), and the major part of the work was completed (mid-May) unbelievable, I haven't heard of this kind of timeline to complete the project, especially with issues around the world, Covid, supply chain issues, inflation, etc. During the initial meeting when Guy gave this timeline, I was skeptical and thought maybe it will be extended a few more months. But now I have a tenant moving in 2 weeks, very impressive work and timelines.
Penguin is super capable of handling the project, workflow was smooth, great company culture, any enquires are responded timely (email responses/updates were received in a matter of few hours depending on the seriousness of the query).
From beginning to end of the project, Penguin team demonstrated a high level of professionalism, knowledge, customer-first, attentive, fast-paced work, and central command post-project management style (North York). The overall project took 2 months from permits to finish. Considering number of trades, inspections, material supply chain issues, and so many moving bits and pieces in a project of this size, if I had to use one word to describe Penguin that would be BRILLIANT.
Builder trend App is handy and easy to message, schedule, and upload pics, and videos.
I follow the project very closely, had communicated with different team members on the daily basis. To mention a few notables: Ryan (phone calls), Guy (quotes, design & a great visionary), Stephanie (material selections), Iva (accounts), Rodrigo (drawings, design, and initial stages), Michael (Permits), Valerie (Intermediate stages), Roberto (Final finishing stages), Victor (electrical), Jorge (Plumbing), Oscar (Painter), Edgar (Inspections), Felipe (services) and Lisa (super-friendly, customer service, made sure all my concerns are addressed). Several other supporting team members that I had not interacted with directly (tradesperson, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, framers, drywallers, painters, finishers, 3D matterport team, etc). Loved it, keep it up!!!

Would I use Penguin again for my future project? Absolutely YES!
Kudos and wish you the best for the whole penguin team to your success.

FYI: Penguin is not a basement-only builder anymore; recently they expanded to build GARDEN SUITES too. Give a call to Guy (see pic attached)

If you have any basement/garden suite projects in mind, I strongly encourage you to give a call to Penguin and see if your timelines and budget aligns. You won't be disappointed.