Renovate By Design

My wife and I started working with George and the Renovate By Design team again shortly after they finished the project of re-vitalizing the façade of our home.

We had such a great experience with them on the first project that we thought we would let George and the team give their expertise and ideas on how to do everything we wanted.

Being in a 1910 semi that had already gone through 1 botched main floor reno with a previous contractor, we were skeptical on what could be done to a) fix what had been done and b) make it into a beautiful, functional space that suited our personalities.

We tried to do my wish list with another contractor in the past, they were only able to do a couple things on the list. When we saw the project was running way over budget compared to the work that was actually being done we had to cut it short. This left us with a bad taste and a constant reminder that our vision had not been fully realized.

We were anxious to start fresh, so I gave George my entire wishlist and my budget and asked him to see what he could do, assuming that we could only do a fraction of what we wanted. There was a lot to do – new flooring, turning our “walk-in freezer” back room addition into a sitting room, 3 walls removed (1 separating the kitchen and living room, and 1 partial wall to open up a previously enclosed staircase, and 1 opening up our entryway), new countertops, kitchen island, various lighting, oversized pantry, 2nd floor hardwood flooring and hallway repair.

George provided a quote, and we both worked diligently on defining the scope so that there were no gray areas or misunderstandings. He came in on budget, and I was satisfied with his thoroughness and professionalism so we agreed to get started right away. Right away, I was impressed by the holistic approach they take to the job.

As an example, our previous contractor put in pot lights for us, exactly what we asked him to do. I cant fault them for giving us exactly what we asked for. After the job was done, we were unhappy with this as we realized that there were only 2 switches for the entire room, so it was either blinding house lights or total darkness – no in between. Should we have asked for something more? Probably. Did we know we had to ask for this specifically? No - you just assume that when you pay someone a lot of money they should take care of these little details.

After having a walk through George said first off, he would make sure all lights were on dimmers. He said he wanted to create pools of light in each area according to our traffic patterns, our hallway entry, where we walk, where we eat, where our daughter does homework, where we watch tv. Small details to some, but this attention to detail is what separates George from other contractors we have worked with in the past, and it carries through in every aspect of the project. He took what we had, changed it and molded it into something really great and thoughtful.

George looks at everything both as a builder and a designer. George and Maia, our design consultant, were fantastic in helping us select paint, fixtures, flooring and countertops. We previously did all this by ourselves, with little to no help from our previous contractor. Let’s just say that using a professional is well worth it!

We collaborated on many different ideas to make the changes that we wanted fit in under our budget. Things did not always go as planned, as to be expected, but George, Zack, Shantz and Maia were always in constant contact and collaboration with my wife and I on how to proceed with issues as they came up.

We wish we had met George earlier! We would definitely recommend George and his team to anyone looking to renovate or refresh their home.

Renovate By Design took our awful front porch and made it beautiful and classy. We had an old and decrepit front porch that wasn't going to last much longer when Renovate By Design came in and saved the day. Zach, one of George's crew members came to ask us a few questions then we met with George who gave us drawings and digital renderings of his vision of our porch based on our previous discussions and we were blown away. George presented us with different options based on our budget and continually worked with us to ensure we remained on target and still give us what we wanted. Seeing the vision come alive was truly amazing. George and every member of his group who worked on this phase of our renovation were polite, professional, kind and respectful. We love our front porch and people are always complimenting us on a job well done which really needs to be passed along to Renovate By Design for their fantastic work.

George and his team were fantastic throughout our project.

Experienced, respectful and very diligent - I'd recommend them to anybody looking for help with a renovation.

Nothing but a great experience!

This was the first time I used an online system to find a contractor. Although I was very apprehensive and sceptical, it worked out very well. After posting my scope of work and general concepts, several contractors replied resulting in on site reviews and quotes. I picked Renovate by Design for my project. Their quote was very competitive and I had a good feeling from prior discussions and meetings. The actual work was small but time consuming, tricky and included opening a wall, new island range hood and coordination of new counter tops. John, the on site contractor, was great, pleasant and skillful. As an architect by original profession, he added valuable input and suggestions. As a whole, I was very happy with the work and final product. The job did take a few more days than expected and no matter how much plastic is used, it's going to get very dusty very quick. The final costs were about 20% higher than the original quote (a good number to use for contingency) primarily due to modifications on the fly and unexpected electrical work. I would recommend this company.

It looks great. Great advice from George at Renovate by Design as well as the contractors

Renovate By Design designed and constructed a beautiful and unique front porch, incorporating a stylish garbage/recycle bin storage box that doubles as a bench. It is such a novel but highly functional design! George and his team provided expert advice, sketches and samples and continually kept in touch with us. Their professionalism and courtesy was greatly appreciated. Moreover, we did not think we could replace our clunky brick pillars because we thought they were structural in nature but George and his team, after their review and analysis, advised that they were not structural and that it was possible to replace them and now we have beautifully hand-crafted pillars that greatly improve the entire look of our house and increase the curb-side appeal. This is our second project with George and we will definitely contact Renovate By Design for our next project!

We added a new bed room on the first floor of our house. It was very difficult and challenging work, a few contractors refused to do it. Finally we contacted George at Renovate by Desing. He checked the entire house, basement and the roof thoroughly and made the suggestions. He then called the engineers to double check the house. Engineers visited at least twice and then they made the plan. George then helped us to get the permit from the City of Toronto, it takes a while to get the permit and by then the summer is over. But George helped us by giving the contact numbers to speed up the process. Once the permit was received, workers started their work very quickly. I must say that George has a very knowledgeable workers like plumber, electricians and all other experts. The work was finished within the time limit and with our full satisfaction. The addition of the new room, by cutting the room and putting extra supporting beams in the basement was not easy but Renovate by Design did it the way we wanted, excellent work.

Gautam P.

George of Renovate By Design and his team beautifully renovated our 1960's bungalow with honesty, care and professionalism. Every room has new flooring, trim, paint and the kitchen and bathrooms were completely gutted.

With a very tight timeline, George navigated his crew tirelessly ensuring attention to detail, craftmanship and integrity. As with any renovation, there were speed bumps along the way with permits, delays, extra expenses and an ice storm with power outage for 7 days! George handled this with calm and grace and always made us feel like he was still in control of the ship, and he was. We were left with a dream home of great design and construction and we couldn't be happier!

We also are blown away with George's warranty he has provided on the house for a year after the work. He has been back numerous times to tweak minor things such as doors expanding and needing planing, extra grout in tiles, and other settling of the house. Always attentive and cheerful, with expertise architectural and design experience, he is a pleasure to work with and certainly the dream renovator for your next project.

George and his team did a great job building our front porch. There were some issues with timeliness and budget but overall we are very happy with the results. The porch is beautiful and the workmanship is outstanding.

We hired George and his team in the spring of 2013 and I am pleased to report that the project started on time, was on budget for what we could foresee, and the results are great and with the look and style we wanted -- modern!

George listens carefully to needs and seeks to accommodate. We appreciated his steady even-tempered style -- he is a joy to deal with. He also has a design sense and gave us great advice on the bathroom in particular -- a small footprint which we have absolutely transformed. In addition, through Renovate by Design, we were pleased to have a consultation with a professional designer as part of our arrangement -- a great resourceperson.

We value the fact that Renovate by Design seeks to make things right so when there were issues they were addressed promptly. We felt fairly treated at all times including on the costs when there were unexpected overruns.

Renovate by Design has a crew of specialists who execute the particulars. All workers were unfailingly respectful of our home and space. It is a pleasure to find a contractor and team who we could rely on and we will not hesitate to use Renovate by Design again for the next project. In fact, this was our second project with Renovate by Design!

George and his team were a pleasure to work with. George always kept us in the loop every step of the way and was always at the site to monitor the progress. He stayed true to his word regarding timeframe for completion, which we really appreciated. I would recommend Renovate By Design without hesitation and will use them again for our next home renovation project. Thanks George!

George and the Renovate by Design team did for me a very good job. When I searched for the service George was one of the quickest in responding to me. Preliminary quote was pretty competitive and fare, made over the phone based on sq footage and the scope I described. I had a few face to face meetings before we started the project. Most of the details were discussed prior we signed a contract. Request for down payment and further payments were absolutely reasonable. They completed the job quickly with good quality, always consulting with and propose to me alternative solutions in case of questions. George was always available by phone and by e-mail. He and his team was professional and friendly! His team has experience and is capable to do all king of works, related to renovation. After the project was finished, they left my place clean from all construction garbage. I would definitely recommend him to anyone that is renovating. You may trust him and his team in doing professional job at competitive prices!

Andrew.

George and the renovate by design team did an amazing job. They gave me a preliminary quote over the phone based on sq footage that was very competitive. Before they commenced the project George and his team came by and had a look, we signed a contract, I gave a down payment. They completed the job very quickly and even primed the walls, there were no issues. George was available by phone if I needed to contact him, he was professional and friendly! I would definitely recommend him to anyone that is renovating, I understand he does all aspects of renovation unfortunately I already had people for the other trades. You can trust this guy, he's fair and has competitive prices!

Flavia

We hired George and his team to do a complete renovation of my parents condominium. They did an excellent job in terms of their ideas, workmanship, professionalism, finished product and follow up. George also works with an excellent interior designer who made everything come together. Further, George's team is filled with really creative people (this include George himself) who pride themselves on quality work. The project did run a little behind schedule but that was not due to undue reasons, George and his team strive for perfection and the wait was well worth it.

Renovate By Design is highly recommended!! George is absolutely amazing, excellent at keeping you in the loop, is friendly and is simply a good person. He was able to work with my budget so I could renovate the kitchen and bathrooms for my parents. Duran did a superb job, was very meticulous, took pride in his work and delivered incredible results. I felt completely comfortable and trusting having them work on this renovation and I had no concerns whatsoever. I truly recommend them for any jobs you may have. Do not even bother calling around. You will find everything you need with them! Thank you Renovate by Design!!

Our daughter contacted George at Renovate by Design to surprise me with some renovations to our main bathroom, powder room and kitchen as a Christmas gift. She had contacted other contractors, however her limited budget made it impossible for them to give her a price she could afford.

After speaking to George and having him come to look at the work to be done upon hearing it was to be a Christmas gift he offered her a quote she could handle.

The work done was absolutely beautiful. A new tub was installed, drywall replaced, gorgeous wall and floor tiles, new vanity and fixtures as well as baseboards. They even suggested a company that supplied us with a granite vanity top for our powder room at an excellent price.

George the project manager checked in daily to make sure we were happy with the work done so far as well as the progress and to answer any questions we had.

What a wonderful Christmas gift and many thanks to George and Duran for their superior work and customer service. We are grateful for all they did for us and will certainly be using them for any future renovations. We highly recommend them to anyone thinking of having work done in their own home.

What work did the reference have done?

George worked with us to redesign a very tired house that was built in the 1970's. We added on a 2 bedroom in-law suite addition and we extended our bedroom. George was hired to work with us to design a home that would have curb appeal, add value, and comfortable to live in.

When was the work completed?

We started the design process in Mid-March 2010 and ended in June 2010 when we submitted for permit.

How did the reference hear about this contractor?

We found George through the handy Canadian Website. It was destiny.

Did the reference interview other contractors before hiring this one? If yes, why was this contractor chosen?

Yes, we interview 8 other design and build contractors. George was chosen because he made a good impression. He seemed well organized and had a vision that was consistent with what we were looking for. He understood and explained that the design process would take time and that was was happy to flexible work with us as we solidified what we were looking for. The design process could have gone faster but we kept changing out minds.

What responsibilities did this contractor have for the project?

1) Redesign our existing home so that we could see a transformation in terms of curb appeal

2) Prepare and submit for permit approval with the city

What was the best aspect of working with this contractor?

1) Patient

2) Cordial

3) Friendly

4) Good listener

5) Flexible

6) Attentive to detail

Would the reference ever hire this contractor again?

absolutely!

Work ranked according to the following scale: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor

Quality of work - excellent

Ease to work with - excellent

Kept to budget - Good (we had a few extra unplanned cost)

Kept to schedule - Good

Adhered to Contract - Excellent

Communicated with project owner throughout project - Excellent

Kept project owner informed of progress - Excellent

Offered sound advice, good suggestions - Excellent (still allowed for my opinion and design ideas)

Was willing to work through problems - Excellent

Was easy to talk to - Excellent

Was easy to work with - Excellent

Managed crew members and any sub-contractors well - Good (There were a lot of people in the background doing work for George....for the most part we did know they were there until the permit stage....would have been good to know)

Delivered what was promised - Excellent

George is and excellent designer. I highly recommend him.

Once the house is finished I will add photos to this review.

We hired Renovate By Design initially to redesign our home. We wanted to explore the possibilities of adding on a bigger front porch, redesigning our kitchen and upper floor with a possible addition. From the start, George, from Renovate By Design, was very pleasant and easy to work with, fully understanding that our renovation would be done in stages. He was very knowledgeable and presented us with some great design concepts.

The first stage was our front porch and by the end of the design process, we felt so at ease with George that it was a no brainer for us to ask George to also go ahead and complete its construction. The carpenter that George brought in was friendly, very professional and best of all, had such keen attention to detail. The finished porch was more than what we had hoped for. We loved the look of the porch so much that we decided to carry on, hiring Renovate By Design to landscape and refresh the complete front façade of our house. Each trade George brought in was again friendly, professional and had great attention to detail. The end result was a completely new looking house, a house with great curb appeal.

Best of all, throughout this whole porch project, George had been in constant contact, arranging all the details and always making sure things were done, as well as making sure that every little detail was perfect. He made it easy for us from the start to the end.

Now that our first stage is complete, we are looking forward to our next project with George and Renovate By Design. We would definitely recommend Renovate By Design to anyone.

October 23, 2010

George

Renovate by Design

Thank you so much for the help that you gave us in addressing our problematic basement door.

This seemed like a simple job but as you pointed out -- and we knew -- because of the original construction, there were some issues that meant structural work.

What we especially appreciated, George, regarding your approach and service was:

• your hiring of experts for the things we needed done. For example, for the masonry you had a masonry specialist, for the tiling, you had someone especially skilled come in for that, and for the carpentry work there was another individual with those skills assigned

• your checking in frequently with us and the workers and reviewing the quality and pace of work

• your willingness to do a small “re-do” when we felt that the seal of the door was not quite right.

Your personable attitude and service quality means we would not hesitate to recommend you to others.

So thank you again for fixing that basement door. We are happy with the results.

Please feel free to use this letter to recommend your services. All the best, George and we will be calling you for our next project.

Sincerely, Keith and Lyn