Basement Builders

Updated May 30 - Ben, one of the co-owners from the basement builders reached out to us after our initial review. He was originally unaware of the issues we had when our project was being completed as his business partner was involved in our reno. He listened to the issues that we had and worked with us to complete the laundry room cabinets we had wanted originally. We really appreciate his involvement in getting our basement finished. The tradesperson who came in to complete the cabinetry was great and fast. If our initial experience with basement builders would have been simlair to this second phase we would have given them a 10 to start with.

We reached out to basement builders and three other companies for quotes on finishing our basement. The basement builders came in the middle price wise. They originally verbally quoted us around 8 weeks in April 2023. We shopped around for a new house and not finding one decided in October 2023 to finish our basement using the Basement Builders. At the time of us recontacting them they did not say their timelines had changed. We have a small house and wanted to move our laundry room downstairs to make more room upstairs. They started Oct 21, 2023. No different timeline was communicated to us until we met with the designer to pick the finishes. She said it would be after Christmas due to the millwork timeline. My husband reached out to Murray and he said that yes their timelines had changed closer to 12-14 weeks but he figured 3rd week of January they would be done. We continued to see very little progress. They would send a tradesperson who would do a few hours of work one to two days a week. Yes sometimes there is only three hours of work and then a day needs to go by before they can do the next step but there would be days and days between steps. We reached out to Murray with our concerns about the timeline and he just said it was up to construction. We reached out to the owner, Mathew, and only received a curt response that he would tell his people about our concerns. It was becoming very evident that our basement was small and a very low priority.
When we first communicated to them that we wanted the laundry put downstairs my husband was told by the salesperson sure they could do that but not to worry about the cabinets, that it would be faster to do that later. They ended up building a bulkhead where the cabinets would go and then offering a solution of putting in two small 12in cupboards that would cost an extra $4000. This is outrageous. I went to the lighting store to pick the flush mount lights for the basement. I wasn't told that any of the lights had to be a certain size. The flush mount I ended up picking for the laundry area was unable to be installed as they had put a heat vent directly beside the light fixture. They swapped out with one from the stairs because it was to big. The lights sat in our basement not installed for two months with no thought. Once they were installed I got an email from Kristina saying that they swapped the lights. I told her and Murray I was not happy about their solution and neither responded to me. When we met with Kristina it was initially a positive experience but the tile we picked out for the shower ended up being ridiculously expensive for a bathroom basement. She was unable at the time of selections to give us the prices of anything that would be upgrades. When we said we didn't want to go ahead with that tile and I would like to try and find a different one it was impossible to find a time to meet with her again. I have a job to go to and she was on vacation or was never able to meet me on my schedule. She left one tile option at the tile store for me to look at and basically I was on my own after that if I didn't like it.
We already had a bedroom in our basement and wanted it to match the rest of the basement so we had said we would have them take out the flooring that was in it and put carpet to match the rest of the basement. They forgot to order the carpet. Murray said that he would give us a quote on getting baseboards in this room and forgot. They did end up giving us the baseboards for free which was ok.
Once it came time to do the finishing touches things kept going wrong and extending the project more and more weeks. They broke a tile on the bathroom floor then wrecked two more tiles fixing the first broken one. They didn't put caulking originally around the shower in the bathroom. The paint looked terrible in most places especially in the corners. They kept sending people back to do these small touch ups but two or three things would be touched up at a time then we would have to wait days to a week for more touch ups to happen. At the end of the day this project was not finished until Feb 28. They ended up taking 18 weeks to finish a 600 sq ft basement.
Until the construction manager, Brian got involved and started completing some of the small things himself it was painful.

The lack of planning and communication was insulting.

After a disappointing experience with another development company, we reached out to Basement Builders to save the day. From the initial meeting to the final handover we were continually impressed and thrilled with the people and process.
Mathew and Ben, Murray, Kristina and Bobby were all a pleasure to work with and were incredibly responsive and genuinely wonderful people. We also want to commend the trades that came into our home and how respectful and kind they were during each and every step of the build.
There cannot be a construction project without woes but the team worked with us to ensure that everything we had concerns with were resolved.
Basement Builders may take slightly longer to complete a project but I promise it is worth the wait.
Our basement turned out exactly how we wanted it to thanks to the team and their commitment to excellence.
10/10 recommend!

The basement builders built my basement 4 years ago,
and did a terrific job. Recently I had some issues with some of the lights installed when first built. I knew when I built with them that they have a rock solid 5 year warranty . So I called them up and they didnt hesitate to respond to the issue. They quickly sent out one of their awesome electricians and he came over and replaced the faulty units quickly and efficiently. I am very happy with the result as it appears to have fixed the issue. After 4 years to know that this company stands by their warranty no questions asked is a very welcome
attribute these days. The original work was excellent and you just cant beat this company in my opinion for the work price and dedication to their clients. Thank you guys and I wish more companies had your same values of pride and professionalism In all your projects. Gareth

We purchased our home with a "finished basement" (handyman special) that was neither functional or attractive. We had Basement Builders (and several others) provide ideas for improvement (with quotes) and felt BB offered best value. We were THRILLED with their communication, delivery, and workmanship from start to finish (and we are fussy homeowners!). We have gone through other, substantial reno's and Basement Builders far exceeded the best of our previous experiences. I will unquestionably use them again if the opportunity presents itself.

The work was performed on time, on budget and with the highest quality. At all times, the workers respected our privacy. The result was a top notch space which meets our needs.

Great company to work with when you need an amazing basements. From start to finish their professionalism shine through. The quality of their work went beyond my expectations and was above basic code. Any time we had questions or concerns about what was happening they were answered or handled within 24 hrs. Even Basement Builders post construction care was great. We had a railing come loose and the problem was fixed in a timely fashion. If I had another basement to finish I would use Basement Builders again.

Been a few yrs so I don't remember exactly what it cost but it was well worth it. I have had a couple of minor issues that Basement renovations have come back ( promptly) and fixed. The finished basement is beautiful!! I love the final product and would totally and enthusiastically recommend Basement Builders for anyone's renovation project.

Very happy with the finished product and workmanship. Kristina, the designer, was instrumental in this renovation being a success. Her expertise, personal attention, and collaboration were invaluable to us and we are very thankful for her efforts.

I would recommend Basement Builders and Kristina Dalziel.

Project completed - overall service was good and build was completed to the specs and drawings.

Murray and Basement Builders are professional of what they do. We are very happy to have chose them to do our basement project. I highly recommend them for any basement project.