Transform Renovations Inc

I can only comment on our experience and it is as follows.

Our first impressions of the owners were very good. They assured us that they were open, honest and plentiful with communication. They seemed to understand that we had a budget that we needed to stick with and they had no real concerns with the scope of work for our budget. They were going to put a quotation together for demolition and reconstruction of our house. By starting in late August, Transform believed they could be completed before our December 18th requested completion date.

Everything was going great, we were excited to get our custom cabinets ...build by *** personally as indicated on their website. Heck their website even points out that:
...custom cabinetry in Calgary can increase your home value. They usually fit better in your home and offer a more unique and personal feeling that manufactured cabinets dont offer.".
We were in luck! None of those lousy manufactured cabinets used by other renovators.

We were still in the demolition phase when we became concerned with a lack of communication and building schedule. We only ever received 1 building schedule that covered 2 months of a 4 1/2 month renovation. From August 9th, to October 26th (11 weeks) they only managed to complete demolition and 12 work days according to their building schedule. When we requested a pause in construction and a statement of account, they walked away from our project with no notification until we heard from their lawyer and received a lien against our house.

During demolition/construction when we requested more communication and weekly onsite meetings we were told No news is good news and never got weekly meetings or more communication. Often our emails went days unanswered and requests for more information and clarification were met with snarky replys. We were told to just trust them and they would let us know if there were any problems.

As Transforms ...fixed and guaranteed price (according to their website) continued to climb we soon learned quotes remain the same but change orders drive up the price dramatically. Funny that all the change orders were always out of scope in their favour. Soon we needed to de-scope our entire basement (which was now demolished) and our master bedroom cabinets.

At this point we were becoming very nervous and afraid. We started to look much closer at the quotation and contract presented to us. Our contract had a 1 year warranty but their website had a 2 year warranty documented? They even have a PDF download of their 2 year warranty.
Weird.

In our quotation it indicates:
- supply and install new custom cabinets in the kitchen, laundry and all bathrooms, cabinets as per layout and design.

We then soon learned custom cabinets by their in-house cabinet maker ACTUALLY means cabinet doors, drawer fronts, as well as the drawer boxes are OUTSOURCED to a different cabinet manufacturer.

This is confusing as their website indicates:
As a certified journeyman cabinetmaker, all custom cabinetry requests are built by *** personally.

Their website also specifies:
"Our in-house cabinet maker sources local materials and personally handcraft every piece with pride and precision."

In an email we received from Transform it indicates:
*** is not only the contractor, but a journeyman cabinet maker that custom builds to fit your needs.

We found it interesting that personally handcrafted custom pieces from Transform came from somewhere else.

To date we have paid Transform $184,762.97 CDN and they never got so far as to have a final
rough-in inspection for electrical nor plumbing/mechanical. Framing required from the engineering report has not been completed as required. I have 2 used toilets sitting on my front driveway (since August) and refuse left in my yard that never made it into the renovation bin Transform removed.

I have attached pictures to show you what almost $185,000 will get you from Transform.

I will leave it up to you to decide if another renovator could do better.

We could not be more pleased with the outcome of our kitchen and main floor renovation. Transform did a wonderful job
As caring and honest professionals, Rod and Sarah guided us through the renovation process. Rod's beautiful craftsmanship, together with Sarah's design ideas and talent-and suggestions from both of them, with no detail being too small-contributed to creating a space we truly love in our "new" home. Right from the initial meetings and ideas through to completion, we felt we were in good hands with Transform. The process was smooth and their work is of the highest quality.
We would not hesitate to contact Transform for any future projects.
Thanks, Rod and Sarah!

I first messaged Rod on facebook to get a general idea about pricing for some of the ideas I had about renovating a house I had just purchased. I was pretty nervous because I had never done a home renovation so I wanted someone who was honest and up front with me. His prices are fair (we had gotten five quotes from other contractors to be thorough) and I loved the fact that his wife, Sarah was able to help with the interior design aspect- I was worried I would end up with a house looking like my Grandma's. The scope of work done to the house was fairly large- redoing the kitchen, tearing down a wall, new flooring, new fireplace, new master shower, and painting the whole floor. Rod used his ingenuity to come up with a unique solution to expanding my master shower (switching the main bath with the laundry room and taking space from the 'main bath' to be used as room for the Master Shower) and the result was spectacular! As they are a husband and wife team, there are multiple projects on the go and communication with Rod is sometimes a little difficult as it is the two of them and they have multiple contractors performing the work (we had only wanted one side of a door painted but both sides were painted and we were not told- this is minor but I liked being in the know as it was my first reno). But Rod would always get back to me and answer my questions honestly and when I wanted a budget update he was able to get this to me in 2-3 days. At the end of the renovation he did a 'trades day' after I had been in the house for a week to fix any deficiencies that were noted! Even after that trades day was done he worked with me to fix small issues that I noticed after the final invoice was paid. I really appreciated this as it shows his care in wanting the customer to be happy, he didn't have to because the invoice was paid but he followed up with everything! I would highly recommend Rod and Sarah from Transform Renovations for EVERY home reno project you decide to do.

Transform Renovation is a team venture with Rod as the contractor/ cabinet builder and Sarah the designer. Sarah and Rod are caring, responsive professionals.They are honest, reliable and dedicated to quality workmanship. We chose them for our main floor Reno including the kitchen, family room built-in, laundry area and 2 piece bathroom after seeing their website. Checking testimonials added to our confidence. Sarah and Rod came with a clear vision grounded in experience. They worked in partnership guiding us through each step slowly to completion. They helped us choose appliances, fixtures. colours, flooring; helping us with each detail in the design. The several trades and materials were scheduled to meet timelines during the challenging Covid 19 period. They were always open to making adjustments during the process. They responded readily to requests for added elements throughout the home. They offered suggestions and made repeated efforts to ensure touches were done right. Best of all the job was done only when the last detail was in place. The result was a flow and unity on the main floor with special unique aspects highlighting the design. We were delighted with the results and Transform’s efforts on our behalf.

Transform Renovations did some random jobs around the house including dividing a large bedroom into two. Rod did a great job and was a pleasure to work with. Would work with again.

Rod helped us to add a bar to our basement. It looks great and we love it! He was very easy to work with and all of the trades that were needed to complete the job did excellent work and showed up when they said they were coming. Great job Transform!

Rod and Sarah were wonderful to work with on our bathroom renovations. From the very beginning we felt like we were working with friends, rather than contractors. They were both fantastic answering our questions and giving us recommendations around the designs and various options. We had three bathrooms to be renovated, along with odds and ends around our house, and we are very happy with the end results. We really enjoyed working with this husband/wife team - great communication and excellent work and fantastic results! We had called around for other quotes and there were other companies worth considering, and we're so happy we went with Transform Renovations.

Transform Renovations did an outstanding job on our complete home reno. Not only is the quality of work outstanding but they were on time even with our tight timeline! They didn't nickel and dime minor changes and the cost impact of more significant changes were clearly explained to us and agreed to before proceeding. I would definitely recommend Transform for anyone looking for a high-quality, on-time renovation at a fair price.

Rod did a fabulous job on our ensuite Reno. Rod demands excellent workmanship from his trades as well as his own work. He’s very careful when it comes to safety as he made sure our fan was getting the ventilation necessary. Most important he is an honest person which is so refreshing when dealing with a large reno. He is also a pleasure to deal with. He and his wife Sarah make a superb team. As an interior designer, Sarah was so helpful to me in choosing tiles, paint colour, cabinet style, hardware, lighting, etc. so that it all flows. Together, Rod & Sarah came up with an excellent design for the bathroom and closet. We love it!

Excellent craftsmanship and attention to detail. All staff was respectful and courteous. Project was managed transparently, on time and on budget and without any surprises. I would recommend to anyone looking for renovations.