Essette Construction

This project was a disaster from the start. Originally contracted and deposited to tear down and rebuild a garage. Project scope changed and while Shawn agreed to do the work which the deposit would cover, he essentially strung me along for about 8 months and took off with the deposit.

No work done. No materials procured. 3,417.00 paid in deposit with nothing to show for it at all except a string of emails promising work to be done and materials to be ordered. Of course none of this ever materialized.

Currently chasing in small claims court.

Do yourself a favour, take a pass...

Further to latest review... I had retained Essette to do a garage project. The project was never completed, Essette essentially walked with my deposit. I took them to small claims court and won.

I am in the middle of enforcing the Writ of Execution in an attempt to retrieve the funds they owe. Enclosing a copy of the judgement for veracity

One other fact - Essette is no longer at 7575 Transcanadianne.. This is a group business office; group essette does not have an office there - in fact they have not for quite some time. It's part of National Business Centres - Group Essette has not been a client there for years. Their current listed business address is in Vaudreiul which is a UPS store.

With the judgement in my favor I have contacted Mr. Lafleur via Cell, email and text with no response. STEER CLEAR!!!!

Update - May, 2014 - Essette is no longer a solvent company, Shawn closed it down, emptied the bank accounts before my writ of seizure could be executed. He is now in business as Lafleur Construction. I'm likely never going to see my money - but if I can save someone else that pain, I will.

Essette recently completed a complete renovation of my condo. The quality was top notch and the staff was very courteous and neat. I would not hesitate to use Essette in the future.

A++++

Caveat Emptor - Buyer Beware

Unfortunately, we have had a VERY bad experience with Essette Construction and Shawn Lafleur. We hired Essette in March 2011 to build and install a built-in cabinet in our home. When we first met Mr. Lafleur we were impressed by his knowledge and manner. When he delivered the bottom portion of the built in we were pleased with the workmanship. At that time Mr. Lafleur asked me for more money as the ‘materials for the upper unit are very expensive'. Against my better judgment I gave him what he asked for without cross- referencing the original invoice. By giving Mr. Lafleur the amount of money he requested Essette had now been paid for approximately 90% of the job.

After the delivery of the lower unit there was a delay of approximately three months that was entirely ours – we needed to locate a piece of granite large enough so that there would be no seam on the granite for the built in.

Things began to go VERY wrong once the granite was installed. Mr. Lafleur assured us that he would return one week after the granite installation (mid-January 2012) to install the upper portion of the unit. He did not return and did not respond to our emails asking him to confirm installation. After many emails we were finally successful at establishing a date for installation and, the day before the installation Mr. Lafleur stated that the finisher for the large upper unit had 'disappeared' with our unit and that he would have to build a ‘new upper unit'. He then asked to visit our home to remove a door from the lower cabinet to give to the 'new' finishers so they could match the stain. He came to our home and removed one of the doors from the lower unit. This door has never been returned to us.

Mr. Lafleur guaranteed an installation date for the 'new' upper ‘within five weeks' (these assurances were given to us in writing). Eleven weeks passed and, after a series of emails requesting an installation date, Mr. Lafleur said that he had visited the finisher, had seen the piece and set an installation date the following week. He did not respond to my emails later in the week attempting to confirm the installation date. He did not show up to install the upper unit and did not call, email or text us to let us know he would not be keeping the appointment. He also did not return our calls, emails or texts.

At this point we were extremely frustrated and made an on-line report to the licensing body for contractors in Quebec, the RBQ. We also sent a copy of our complaint about Essette to Mr. Lafleur. This garnered a very angry response from Essette. Mr. Lafleur then sent us photos of the upper unit that he ‘would not be installing'. He stated that he had gone to his garage to take the photos to show us what he would 'not be delivering' because we had filed a complaint about Essette Construction. The photos showed assorted pieces of wood in what appeared to be a very messy, cluttered garage. We were shocked as it was evident that the upper portion of the unit was not, in fact at the finishers as Mr. Lafleur stated.

At this point we attempted to mitigate our losses by requesting that Mr. Lafleur deliver the door to the lower cabinet and that he deliver the upper cabinet so that we could pay to have another cabinet-maker install it. This also did not happen.

As we became more frustrated and began communicating our dissatisfaction with Essette, Mr. Lafleur sent us a new invoice and stated it was for installation of our AV equipment in the lower portion of our unit. He stated that because we had become difficult clients he decided to add this new charge.

We wish that we had seen the reviews on HandyCanadian.com before hiring Essette as we would have chosen to give the work to a company with better consumer feedback. Unfortunately, our only recourse will be in the courts and we have decided to take legal action against Essette Construction. Caveat emptor....buyer beware.

Essette Group recently completed a basement remodel for me. The basement project consisted of adding two bedrooms, a storage room, and a large sitting area. After a few weeks of demo, new sub-floors, new walls and ceilings, the basement looks really great. . It's bright and airy, and the new floating floors look amazing. I'm very happy with the work done and look forward to them coming back soon to complete a deck project .

We would like to share our unpleasant experience working with Essette Construction. We signed the contract with Essette Construction Inc. and Shawn was hired on October 15th this year to finish inside of our country house with tongue and groove wood paneling. He looked very professional upon arrival on the job site (expensive tools, company's truck and etc.), but after a day of work it was clear to us that he had no idea how to work with wood (all the paneling on the walls were crooked with 1/2" gaps everywhere). We wanted to terminate the contract this very day, but he reassured us that the job will be done according to our needs. Couple days later he asked for full amount as an advance payment even though the job wasn't half way through. We were very hesitant to pay him in advance for unfinished job, but Shawn swore that he was very honest contractor (unlike "others") and that he would had finished everything on time. Unfortunately, we made the payment and a couple days later we left on vacations, hoping that Shawn would finish the job according to our mutual agreement. He stopped replying to our phone calls and text messages the next day we left. Later, we have found out that Shawn was gone, the job wasn't finished. It's been a month since we've been trying to get in touch with Shawn without any success (phone calls, letters, messages and etc.)

P.S. Dear Shawn,

In case you are reading this letter, please find the courtesy to answer for your deeds in front of all handycanadian.com community. Please note that we are proceeding with RBQ complaint as well as we are filling a court case against you and Essette Construction.

By the way, we would like you to know that you've got a contract with us only due to the positive reviews on this reputable website.

Dear Handycanadians and "future" Shawn clients, please note that Shawn could make a great first impression but in fact there's a lack of professionalism and honesty, so be aware!

Hoping to find justice customers.

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Added comment to Essette Construction:

Hi Shawn,

We are glad to hear from you. We knew that the only way to get your attention was to write the truth that you wouldn't like. Unfortunately, for you the facts stay the facts: we have the contract for $3942.50 and you've got paid $4100 and the job isn't half done!

How could you say that we are deadbeat customers if you've got paid 2/3rd of the total contract amount right after you started, to be exact 3 days later? I guess that you've forgotten your own words that you needed an advance payment for your 1st subcontractor from Ottawa for his accommodation in Quebec province.

For your information, you were paid for the extra job of installing strapping and vapor barrier in advance as you requested and guess what - you've never done it!

We don't deny that we are picky customers, but how come your second subcontractor Daniel was able to install that "crooked wood" in the right way without gaps? Maybe Daniel just knows how to get it done and unfortunately for us you don't, despite your advertising pictures of wood siding that you have sent us.

Anyway, I would like to keep it short: please contact us immediately to deal with unfinished work by our contract, otherwise you'll be legally punished for what you've done!

Best regards,

Andrey

Groupe Essette installed a brand new bathroom in my basement. The concrete had to be broken up to install a pump, as we are on septic system, the pump was installed in such a way as to reduce the noise of it, as well as part of the plumbing had to be run and berried in the concrete floor. They did a fantastic job, they designed the layout of my bathroom, installed heated flooring, created a beautiful tiled shower with glass door. The end result was amazing and the quality of the work is obvious, along with their friendly service.

I will definitely be calling Essette for any future projects!

Thank you,

Mrs. Letourneau

Shawn was hired to complete a major home renovation for us in August 2010. As the work progressed we mutally agreed on additional work, including some covered by an insurance claim that we made.

The workmanship was good, however the project was paid for in full, as a result of the insurance settlement, and the work was not completed. There was at least $3000 worth of work that was paid for but not provided.

Shawn and his painter from Essette did a great job on building a new wall to block off a room in my condo. He was very thorough for the estimate and gave great suggestions since I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted in terms of a window/door on the wall. Shawn was very friendly and professional throughout the whole project and kept me updated during its progress. His painter also did a fantastic job, with a flawless painting job! I would definitely recommend Essette for anyone needing construction done at a fair price and in an efficient manner.

Shawn Lafleur from Essette Construction did a great job on our backsplash for our kitchen. His work was detailed, meticulous and thorough - a true professional. We would have no hesitation in requesting Shawn and Essette Construction for any future home improvement jobs at our property. Thanks Shawn.

Dave Syme