MWS Contracting

DO NOT HIRE Matt Sinclair or MWS Contracting.

I hired Matt Sinclair, owner of MWS Contracting to renovate my home in April 2015. I fired Matt Sinclair of MWS Contracting in November 2015. I fired him before the job was complete, but many weeks after the agreed-upon finish date. I should not have waited as long as I did to end our working relationship.

It would be impossible to overstate how deeply frustrating and disappointing my experience was in working with this man. His work was not just (unbelievably!) poor in quality - it was in violation of MANY building codes, and simply unsafe and unacceptable.

Included in this review are a few pictures that will demonstrate an utter lack of pride, and in fact, basic knowledge or common-sense in the work. For example;

- a light switch installed UNDER door trim (seriously!). Mr. Sinclair not only installed the switch, but framed-in the door that covers it. Notice how he notched out space in the trim to allow the switch to toggle. (Picture below)

- a ceiling fan was installed in the wrong room, was affixed to the electrical box using a SINGLE screw, and wires were simply twisted together - HE DID NOT USE MARRETTES TO CONNECT THE WIRING!! Fortunately this was discovered before it started a fire because it had to be moved to the correct room after Matt was dismissed.

- light switches were wired incorrectly and a switch in one room controls the lights in a different room.

- Plumbing he installed had to be redone throughout the house.

- He installed a sewer vent-pipe through the attic and then through the roof. But, he did not connect the venting inside the attic to the vent through the roof, leaving the sewer exhausting into the attic, and a 6-inch hole in the roof (uncapped). Again, this was only discovered when the ceiling below caved-in because of the hole in the roof. The resultant water damage meant that 2 walls and the ceiling in the room below had to be re-drywalled and repainted.

- he (somehow) drywalled over top of the only electrical outlet box in a bathroom. That is, the electrical box was installed (appropriately sticking out 1/2 inch off of the stud) and wired (with live electricity), and he just boarded over top of it without cutting the hole out. He further mudded the seam between the two adjoining pieces of drywall to accomodate the 1/2 inch difference between the two pieces (because the electrical box was pushing the one piece out), leaving a large "lump" on the surface of the wall and live electricity inside.

- framing was not square. Almost every interior door had to be cut to accomodate the framing before it would close.

- floors of adjoining rooms were framed with a 3 inch difference in height. Notice the "transition" installed to work around the failure to build them correctly. (Picture below)

- installation of the laminate flooring around entrances left large gaps in the floor. Rather than cut under the door trim, he cut the floor around the door frame with the 1/2 gap required for a floating floor exposed. (Picture below)

- tile floors were installed with LARGE gaps and (poorly) filled in with grout and scabbed-in scrap pieces of tile. Only one image included here, but this was done in each of the 5 rooms that he tiled. (Picture below)

- bulk-heads were built to accommodate heat ducts, but without vents cut-out or installed. (Picture below)

- he used CAULKING instead of drywall compound to finish every corner of every room. (yes. seriously!). This is not just a ridiculous practice - it is contrary to Fire Code.

- while he was working on the project, the property looked as if it were a dump-site (picture below).

... these are just a few examples of his absolute incompetence. I could go on, and on, and on ...

HE STOLE FROM THE PROJECT, AND FROM ME. After his removal from the job, some purchased materials were inexplicably missing. Some materials purchased on my personal credit card had been returned for cash by Mr. Sinclair (and the cash thereafter, was unaccounted for). This activity was confirmed at multiple building supply stores. Police presence was consequently required when he was removed from the job site, and afterward.

When trying to sort out how to move forward after Matt's dismissal from the project, I discovered that inspections that he claimed were complete had never even been scheduled.

In talking with neighbours who witnessed the day-to-day events of the renovation, I was told, "he spent more time washing his truck than working on your house".

I learned that while he wasn't showing up to finish my project (though he had already been paid in full and it was well after the deadline), he was not only actively taking on other jobs, but actually seeking full-time employment under another contractor as "carpenter" and volunteered that "he had one job left [mine] that he could walk away from if need be". I was told this directly by Matt's would-be employer after his interview (who purely by coincidence was a friend of mine who I happened to call to figure out how to get out of the mess I found myself in).

In the end, I was forced to hire a different contractor not just to finish the project, but also correct most of the work Matt Sinclair had "completed". The project cost at least 3x the initial budget, and took almost a full year longer than planned.

DO NOT HIRE THIS MAN. If you have already hired him, do yourself a favour and remove him from the project immediately. If he has already finished the job, have a qualified individual inspect it thoroughly to ensure your safety is not at risk. This is NOT hyperbole. Matt Sinclair of MWS Contracting is dangerously incompetent and maddeningly dishonest.