Samson Homes is a full service renovation and new home construction company. We work with our clients through the entire building process to ensure that it is a positive, stress free experience. Included in our service is project design, budgeting, permits, surveying, engineering, all construction, interior and exterior finishes read more...
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I hired Davin for a full house renovation that needed to be done in less than 2 months: 3 bathrooms + knocking down walls + kitchen + laundry + 2 living rooms + office + entry way + garage extension + 3 bedrooms....you name it, it had to be done. After only 56 days, we moved in. Davin´s commitment and attention to detail are amazing. He was always enthusiastic and offered so many amazing suggestions during the whole process, I never felt that he was not interested in the job, something I felt when interviewed 3 other contractors. His trade workers were always on time and everyone´s work was perfect. I am still amazed at the attention to detail. Such large renovation didnt come without it´s problems, but everything was solved so quick, that it didnt interfere with the moving date at all. Once we moved in, Davin worked on our back yard, creating a beautiful patio and deck, and once that was done he moved on to the house frontage. EVERYTHING was perfect. There are no words to describe how talented and competent Davin is. I will hire him again in a heartbeat and am recommending him to everyone I know. Don´t hesitate to hire him, he is 10/10 ! (and I am a very picky person who expects everything to be perfect). Thank you Davin and team for such dedication and hard work, it all paid off, the house is absolutely beautiful.
We encountered so many issues while working with Davin, I’m not even sure where to begin. Some of them were small, annoying problems, others were downright illegal.
We hired Davin to do a major renovation the exterior of our house. We were adding an accessory building and re-building 1100 sq ft of deck. We told him we had a party planned 6 weeks from our meeting, and our budget for the work was $30k. He said both of these parameters were ‘doable’. Our first mistake was agreeing to a cost-plus / hourly wage set up. He touted the benefit of this being that we can both walk away at any time, given that there’s no contract. The downside though, was that he didn’t need to keep track of total spend, or even timelines, and we flew past our budget with the end no where in site.
Davin hustled, but it came across as disorganization. For example, he took multiple trips to Dick’s Lumber every single day. Each trip takes at least an hour, which is all on the clock, of course. When we brought this up with him, he said that it’s impossible to foresee everything you’ll need up front. Multiple trips a day week after week, to me, seems like a lack of foresight or planning and a waste of our money.
As for the deadline of the party, this is where things got serious. Davin took a shortcut - he knowingly installed our (second storey) railings incorrectly so that they looked completed, but were, in fact, incredibly unsafe - the top bars were not secured at all. During the party, we had a child leaning up against the spindles of the railing, spinning them in his hands. He lifted up slightly, and the spindles and top rail fell 10ft to the ground behind him. Luckily, an adult was standing close by and grabbed him before he fell. We were livid. On top of all of the other things that went wrong, leaving the deck that unsafe when you know people are going to be using it is not only morally wrong, it’s illegal.
After that event, we sat with him in our living room and told him we were angry, and he yelled at me. I was 26 weeks pregnant at the time, and he stood over me while I was sitting on the couch, and yelled to the point where my other family members came into the room to cool him down.
Fastforward two years, the waterproofing under our deck has leaked and caused black mould in several spots, and the railings still wobble enough that it makes me nervous when our child leans on them. So not only did we have to hire a second company to complete the remaining work after we fired Davin, we’ve had to hire a professional decking company to lift all the boards and fix the work that he did in the first place. They said none of it was installed correctly.
Davin feels my review is “unfair and inaccurate”, to which I say… we had to spend thousands of dollars to fix his mistakes, and a child was almost seriously injured because of his decisions. I think he should be happy that a bad review is all we’re doing, and not anything further. As for inaccuracies, we had a party full of witnesses to the deck accident, and a professional company who replaced his work who can back us up. It could be that Davin is capable of doing small reno’s well - he does seem to have a number of 5/5 reviews. But all of the issues we had lead me to believe that large renos are not his forté. To his defence, since finding out about the deficiencies, he’s offered to come and fix them. Frankly, after the experience we had with him, I wouldn’t let him touch another thing on our property.
Update in response to Davin:
The work you performed for us was far from excellent. If you feel my review is not accurate or fair, please see my note above. My review is based on fact, and 'fair' would be getting back the thousands of dollars we've had to spend on fixing your mistakes.
I didn't say you went over the timelines - I didn't mention timelines at all in my review because, yes, we added to the scope of the work.
I didn't say we had a written contract.
I didn't mention the worker you hired off the street.
How is it relevant that I was "no where to be found" at the end of your workday? If you had something to tell me, you could've left a voice mail, texted, emailed, or even simply written a note.
Yes, we were originally planning on hiring a company to install steel railings. Yes, we changed our minds. Yes, that pushed the timelines. Yes, we asked you to help with the staining. None of that is relevant to my complaints.
None of these facts justify your installing the railings incorrectly. The railings were a pre-made kit, and the instructions were literally on the side of the box (I still have the photos). It was a very simple, two-step process, and you chose to only do one of those two steps. You could NOT "clearly see the railings weren't in properly". They looked exactly as they do now, except that the top rail was not screwed down. All a child had to do was lift up on the spindle, and the whole unit would come out.
As for the invoices - We paid you in FULL for all of the work you did, with the exception of the time you spent installing the railings incorrectly. That equated to half a day's work, for two of your men. It was not thousands, and you AGREED to this arrangement. From there, we asked you to quote on the remaining jobs, which you did, and we chose not to hire you back. That's how things were left - You didn't refuse to do any more work for us, you didn't chase us down for unpaid bills, you didn't refute the decision to withhold payment for the time spent installing the railings. Those things are simply not true.
The delay in my reviews are due to the fact that the mould and water leaking issues had just become evident this spring. I was willing to let things rest until we had to pay to have your work fixed.
Dear Natalie Martin
Samson Homes takes great pride in doing quality work and making our customers happy. The work we performed for you was excellent and we feel your review is not accur
ate or fair. We had no written contract. The job was done on a cost plus basis. I never promised to complete the job by your expected date. I told you we could most likely meet your timeline and we would do our best, but it was with the condition that another company would be installing your railings. Also, you were responsible for staining all the cedar decking before it was to be installed.
When you decided that the quotes provided by railing companies were too expensive you asked us to complete the work. You must realize that by increasing our scope of work it also increases the timeline for completion. Adding railings and staining added well over a week to the timeline.
We worked very hard to try to complete this project by your date so you could host a baby shower but the fact is it there was too much work be done with not enough time. On the Friday when we left you were no where to be found and could not be reached on your phone. It is true that the railings were not finished and you could clearly see that. Blaming us for us near accident is hardly fair.
As a result of not finishing your project by your expected date you decided to not pay thousands of dollars we had owing. I feel this was an excuse to get out of paying what was owed. If you felt our rates were too high then that is your right but pay what is owing and we would not come back to do more work.
Your claim that the deck was leaking "everywhere" I find hard to believe as we have built dozens of decks like the one we built for you and we have never had any of them leak. As well, it's a covered deck so it receives very little rain. If in fact it leaked and you paid your bill in full we would have gladly returned to repair any deficient work that was performed by us.
The fellow you claimed we hired "off the street" was a qualified carpenter and came to your address looking for work because he got the list of projects from the district when the permit was granted. I hired him to speed up the process so we could hopefully meet your deadline.
Overall your review is completely unfair and I question your truthfulness regarding the details. As a result of our experience with you we no longer work on a cost plus basis, all our jobs are with a written contract. The fact you posted this review 3 years after the fact leads me to believe you are being malicious.
We have many pictures showing the quality projects we perform. They can be viewed at Samson homes.
Davin Samson
Samson Homes renovated a bathroom for me in 2016. I was really impressed with how it turned out. Davin did a great job helping me with the design and I really like how it looks. The reno was on-budget, on-time etc according to our contract. I will be going to them again for my next project.
Cheers.
Davin Samson Homes' work on our project was done ahead of time and far exceeded my expectations. The main staircase in our new character home is rather steep and was completely open on one side from top to bottom. As such I needed to address this before my family moved in. The look of the staircase was important as well due to its prominence in the dining room. Davin understood the urgency and ensured the issue was resolved ahead of time with beautiful results. I wasn't available to discuss or plan the design with him, but while we were away Davin assessed our safety needs and created a high quality solution that safely enclosed the stairs. Furthermore it matches the style of our home perfectly and looks wonderful in the space. I am also very grateful to have returned home with the project having been completed ahead of schedule. I appreciate his honest and straightforward manner in helping us come up with a great solution too. It fit within our budget, keeps the kids safe, and compliments our home as well. Because of his abilities with both the design and construction process, he is able to deliver exceptional value. I have already referred him to others and am certain they will appreciate this firm's professionalism and quality as much as I have.
Thank you for your great work!
Samson homes did a beautiful Reno in our Whistler chalet. After 3 weeks of sanding and staining wood floors, redoing all trim, painting and replacing light fixtures and some small custom woodwork, our place was a dream come true! I only wish we had done it sooner. Davin and his crew were highly organized, and commited to finishing on time and to our satisfaction and date of completion. The place was spotless when they were done, I so appreciated that special touch. We feel so lucky to have found this company to put our trust in to get the job done so perfectly.
Hi Jill
Thank you for the great review. Glad to see you sold it so quickly. Thanks again for the dinner at the Keg, that was a really nice gesture that my crew and I thoroughly enjoyed.
Davin
Davin did our basement renovation for us. He is friendly, helpful and offered solutions to some unexpected problems encountered on site. The project was finished within budget. I would not hesitate to use him again for future projects.
Please use with caution. Davin Samson comes in all smiles. Over promises but under delivers. My mother hired him to do a small custom bathroom. He charged for a custom bathroom but completed a below average bathroom reno. Davin advertises his company as a home builder/renovator with employees. He is a one man show who uses a few different trades to help him complete jobs. If the trades he uses are busy on other jobs, Davin's jobs get postponed days or weeks. Davin promised my mother he would do her small bathroom within 6 weeks. He took 3 1/2 months. I'm throughly confused by the reviews on Homestars. They must be from a different time in his life or they are lies.
As the job progressed we realized that we had entered in to a contract with somebody who has very little integrity for the work he's doing. He's extremely hostile when questioned about the quality of his work or his timeline. We started to hear stories from vendors and a few trades about Davin's bad reputation on the Sunshine Coast and on the North Shore. His tiler start calling my mother for payment as Davin refused to pay him. Unfortunately at this point my mother had already paid Davin more than 2/3 of the project payment and it was too late for us. We just hoped for the best.
The project was coming to an end with many major deficiencies we just accepted as we just wanted to move on. There were a couple easily fixable deficiencies that Davin agreed to fix by the third week of May. We have been calling and texting him for the last 2 weeks and no response. Today we called him from another person's phone and he answered. We asked him why he hasn't called us and he very rudely told us that he doesn't have a contract with us (he signed one), he owes us nothing and to not call him again.
Throughout the project he was very concerned about getting paid. I found this very odd. I had to keep assuring him he would be paid as per contract. I wish my mother had a "hold back" clause in her contract. She did not and so we paid him in full. I understand why Davin was so worried about getting paid, as he's untrustworthy himself. Please use with CAUTION!
RESPONSE TO CONTRACTOR REBUTTAL BELOW:
Davin,
In response to your letter. I’d like to clarify a few items. I’m definitely not trying to smear your “good” reputation and only telling the facts about this project, what we experienced and what we subsequently heard from other vendors. It has become apparent to me that this is not an isolated situation as vendors told me clearly about other projects you have been involved with which had significant issues as well. As for your claim that this project was completed in 8 weeks, this is a miscalculation. You started the project on Feb 22, 2016. You did not install the counter, sinks, faucets till May. Your contract clearly stated you would be done by April 4 or earlier. You were not significantly finished until May 5th and as of today, July 5, 2016 you have not yet completed the agreed upon deficiencies (signed by you).
I don’t believe that the work is of the high quality that you speak of. The tiling which is the majority of the finishing work is uneven (has high and low spots), dark spots from dark thin set used on white tiles (which are the majority of the walls). We accepted this as the only other recourse available would be to tear all the tiles off the walls and redo.
There were so many times we felt uncomfortable as to the quality and completion of this work. The Nu Heat flooring that worked prior to this renovation stopped working after completion of the floor tiling. After a Nu Heat representative ripped up the newly installed tiling it was revealed your tiler had cut through the wire connections. After the tiling in the shower was completed the water wouldn’t and still doesn’t drain properly because the drain was installed to high relative to the tile base. As for the damage on the door frames it was on the two doors that your trades were working beside. We took you throughout the house to show you that there was no damage to any of the numerous other doorways, just the 2 your trades were working by, Obviously a result of abrasion from them rubbing against the door frames with materials, tools and possibly the tape they had put on those doors.
As for all the extra work you listed, it was all part of the work in the contract you signed. You should look at it. I asked you to paint 3 small walls in the closet next to the bathroom and I said I would pay you extra for the labour. The work site was left a complete mess for 2 weeks: there was drywall dust from the electrician cutting holes over the new toilet and tiles, the mirror and glass were smeared with dirt and dust and the adjoining room was a mess with dust and garbage. To help the project complete I spent hours cleaning it all up. After this as well as the inconvenience and delay resulting from tearing up the new floors to fix the Nu Heat, we agreed that this would make up for the extra couple hours to paint the 3 small closet walls. We do pride ourselves in having integrity and doing as we say.
As for the 2 year warranty you advertise and put on your contract and signed twice, our final and signed contract which included a deduction for the towel bars and hardware which I purchased myself (you were to purchase and agreed I buy them and you would deduct) and the adjustment for deficiencies was for $23,800 (total $1155.00 less than original) plus GST. We paid you in full (as it states on the check you cashed correlating to your signed final contract). Total paid to you $24,990 in 4 cheque payments. You also signed you would complete the minor fixable deficiencies by the 3rd week in May. Integrity means you do as you say (or sign).
As for speaking to the builder next door. We don’t know him. All we do know is that my mother was kind enough to allow him to tear up a hedge in between my mothers property and the house he’s building. Since we haven’t done business with him, I’m unclear as to how we “screwed” him. However, I do have to say he’s upset the neighbours to the other side of him and the new owners that have purchased the home from him. They actually knocked on my mothers door last week complaining about his work and telling us they were concerned about being taken advantage of. I can clearly see why you might have found a friend in a person like that.
In response to being the worse clients ever. I unfortunately wasn’t there when my mother hired you. If I had been, we wouldn’t have had to deal with you. As you know my husband and I have built a few homes together; we have never had an issue with a contractor like you. You are a senior’s nightmare. However, if I can save another person’s parent from being taken advantage by you, something good has come out of this.
In regards to your business licenses, as of June 20, 2016 you were not licensed in either the City or District of North Vancouver. My mothers home is in the District. You shouldn't have been operating a business there. In fact Terrace from the License department in North Vancouver City said your inter municipal license expired 2015. You had not renewed. If you have one now you got it in the last 2 weeks, since I wrote the original review. I recommend any potential client to check all your documents with the appropriate outfit. For example, as of June 20, 2016 you were in bad standing with WCB and not paid your quarterly payments.
Davin, we do agree with you on one item and that is we also regret working with you.
"I am very upset with how things unfolded with this client. I take tremendous pride in the quality of our work and go above and beyond to satisfy our customers. From the beginning of this job there were problems when this customer began insisting additional items should be included, when they were not part of our detailed, itemized contract. In an effort to satisfy her I did include a number of free extras: a bench in the shower, a more expensive glass shower door and enclosure, more tiling than was agreed to, a custom mirror covering the entire wall, painting their entire walk in closet, and repairing damage you claimed we made but was clearly wear and tear made over time, etc...
In the end this customer was simply trying to find a way out of paying the bill in full and get more additional work out of me, and I am still owed money on the job. Fortunately this is the only time I've had a customer go to these extremes in order to avoid paying their bill. If anyone has any questions as to the quality of the work performed I am happy to share photos of the beautiful bathroom we built for her.
My current North Shore multi jurisdiction licence number is BUS-0017738
My licence in the city of Vancouver is #16-207853
My $2M liability insurance with Canadian Northern Shield is policy #CN-15-9479
Davin Samson
Davin Samson Homes Ltd."
Samson Homes is a trustworthy and highly competent contractor. Davin contributed significantly to the design process, planned and estimated the work, and finished construction coming-in exactly on-budget. The resulting structure exceeded my quality expectations, and the price was competitive.
I contacted Davin for my project because of excellent reviews, and I am very pleased to have done so. I highly recommend considering Samson Homes for your renovation project.
We found Davin and his crew to be friendly, proficient and skilled. Our garage needed a complete remake. Everything had to start from a complete tear down to the studs and removing of the old concrete flooring. It also had to be made to fit the new garage door. Throughout the course of the project we needed to make some small changes and additions and found Davin to be very accommodating and helpful. He would provide a cost estimate for each change/addition before he started so we both knew of the costs. There were no surprises.
We considered our job to be a small one, but Davin and his crew treated us as if we were just as important as a big project. Overall we are very satisfied with the work done. We would definitely consider using Davin and Samson Homes for any future construction or renos.
I was delighted with results of my bathroom by Samson Homes. Davin was efficient and has very good ideas. His taste in decor is excellent and really helps when your unsure of what you want. The work was excellent. Full marks for Davin
Samson Homes has a TrustScore™ of 3.6. The average TrustScore™ for other businesses providing similar services in North Vancouver and the surrounding areas is 3.1. For detailed information on how TrustScore is calculated, click here to learn more.
The following elements are used to calculate TrustScore:
Customer Reviews | Last 12 Months | All Time |
---|---|---|
Total Received | 0 | 14 |
Approved | 0 | 14 |
Unverified | 0 | 0 |
Suspicious | 0 | 0 |
Overall Rating | 4.3/5 |
Complaints Received | Last 12 Months | Last 3 Years |
---|---|---|
Suppliers & Creditors | 0 | 0 |
Employees & Sub-Contractors | 0 | 0 |
Transparency | |
---|---|
Posted License Information | Not yet provided |
Posted Liability Insurance | Not yet provided |
Posted Workers Compensation | Business does not require workers compensation |
Company Website | Yes |
Social Media Profiles | Not yet provided |
Endorsed by Peers | Yes |
In Business Since | 2008 |
Member of TrustedPros Since | 2015 |
TrustedPros does not validate certain information provided by contractors and vendors in conjunction with the creation or maintenance of their profile and we cannot endorse or guarantee the performance of any contractor. TrustScores are provided for informational purposes only. We urge you to use the TrustScore™ in conjunction with the tips provided in our Hiring Guide to maximize the probability of hiring the best professional for you project.
Samson Homes has been recognized for their skills and expertise by their peers in the following categories
We have worked with Samson Homes on several projects. Always organized and clean sites when we show up to do our work which helps us do our job easier and more efficiently. In turn it makes the project run smoothly and stay on schedule. Highly recommend using Samson Homes!
Specializing in residential contracting of interior and exterior renovations, additions, custom homes. In business since 2008. Principal owner/operator carries a Bachelor of Technology in Construction Management. All trades are ticketed professionals and are fully licensed and insured.
Specializing in residential contracting of interior and exterior renovations, additions, custom homes. In business since 2008. Principal owner/operator carries a Bachelor of Technology in Construction Management. All trades are ticketed professionals and are fully licensed and insured.
Custom bathroom renovations including re-framing, plumbing, electrical, tiling, natural stone, custom glass surrounds, Nu Heat, ventilation upgrades, lighting etc.
Custom sundecks of all types including drippless, vinyl, cedar, treated, custom concrete, and more. All types of railing systems including frameless glass, metal, wood or built up custom designs.
Custom basement renovations including suite conversion, bathroom additions, kitchen additions, and structural changes to create open concept living.
Samson Homes is a full service renovation and new home construction company. We work with our clients through the entire building process to ensure that it is a positive, stress free experience. Included in our service is project design, budgeting, permits, surveying, engineering, all construction, interior and exterior finishes and clean up.
We practice fair and transparent business practices and strive to get the best value for our clients budget. At Samson Homes we use only ticketed professional trades people and our work is guaranteed.
Davin Samson, the principle operator of Samson Homes has a Bachelor of Technology in Construction Management and with over twenty years experience building and renovating homes can make your dream home become a reality.
Main contact(s) | Davin Samson |
Alternate Phone Numbers | 604-987-9586 |
Listed with TrustedPros since: | 2015 |
Residential work | Yes |
Commercial work | Yes |
Warranty | Warranty details not yet provided |
Accepts credit cards | No |
Year established | 2008 |
Offers financing | No |
24 Hour emergency service | No |
Legal structure | Incorporated |
Licensing information | Contact Samson Homes to request licensing info. |
Insurance information | Contact Samson Homes to request insurance details. |
Check local laws pertaining to license requirements and verify license and insurance details provided by the contractor prior to hiring.