Transform Renovations & Custom Homes

I can only speak to our experience.

When we first met Rod and Sarah we had a very good impression. They seemed to understand our concerns and they assured us that there would be a collaborative approach to our renovation. They even had us over to their house to go over design selections. Soon after this meeting our renovation fell apart.

A few weeks into our renovation we were concerned with the progress of our renovation so we asked for weekly updates. These never happened. We repeatedly asked for a new construction schedule and this never happened. We started to feel more and more anxious as we watched our renovation fall to pieces. Email requests for information and clarification were often met with snarky replies.

We were told we should just trust them and they would let us know if there were any problems. The only communication it seemed we got was to inform us that they needed us to sign a Change Order to approve an additional expense that was out of scope of their proposal.

This was very confusing to us as their website indicates their pricing is “...fixed and guaranteed”. We soon learned that the original proposal stays the same, we just pay more though change orders that are always out of scope of the original proposal.

Costs continued to climb. To ensure we didn’t go way over budget, we removed our master bedroom closet cabinets and eventually our basement from the original scope of work. We were still presented with cost increases that were not included, according to them, in their proposal. This meant we were now not getting a basement, not getting our closet cabinets but the original quoted cost remained the same.

We were starting to panic and we started looking much closer at some of the details. Transform’s website advertises a 2 year warranty and even a downloadable PDF of the 2 year warranty. It felt very odd that our contract only had a 1 year warranty?

We asked for a statement of account and learned our “custom cabinets by Rod” were mostly items purchased from a bulk cabinet supplier and some work to be done by Transform.

Their contract proposal indicated that they would:

“- supply and install new custom cabinets in the kitchen, laundry and all bathrooms, cabinets as per layout and design”.

We found it very deceptive to supply bulk cabinet doors, drawer fronts and drawer boxes and claim that all custom cabinets are built by Rod personally.

Where did I get the idea these were custom built by Transform? Was it their website that says states:

“As a certified journeyman cabinetmaker, all custom cabinetry requests are built by Rod personally.” and

"Our in-house cabinet maker sources local materials and personally handcraft every piece with pride and precision.".

We also received in our initial email :

“Rod is not only the contractor, but a journeyman cabinet maker that custom builds to fit your needs.”.

I think any reasonable person would be surprised to find that more than 50% of their custom cabinets personally handcrafted came from a mass cabinet supplier.

It is now less than a month after we terminated our contract with Transform. They currently have $184,762.97 CDN of our money and we have a demolished house, some electrical, plumbing, mechanical and framing done.

Now you are looking at the above number and wondering if I missed a decimal place well no I have not. We have paid to date ... One hundred and eighty four thousand, seven hundred and sixty two dollars and ninety seven Canadian cents.

I also have 2 used toilets that have been sitting on my driveway since August (it is now December). They seem to have forgotten to remove these and the additional garbage when they removed their renovation bin. I’m sure my neighbours love the look.

And what did that get us? Check out the attached pictures to see how far your money will get you with Transform Renovations.

Good luck ... but don’t say we didn’t warn you.

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 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 a very high 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.

Contacted Rod for a deck / door replacement and structural repair due to water damage. Working with Rod was so seamless and stress free. After many failed/poor interactions with other happy companies I was referred to Rod by a friend and my kind out at ease instantly. He was very honest and upfront about everything and did the job in a professional and timely manner. I would not hesitate to call him again in the future should the need arises. His professionalism is beyond compare.

This is a company to trust.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 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.The several trades and materials were scheduled to meet timelines during the very challenging Covid 19 period. They were always open to making adjustments during the process; not easy when a minor hall ceiling flood meant changing design elements or cross border delivery restrictions made for a delay in lazy Susan arrival.They were open to requests for added elements throughout the home including some added electrical and carpet repair. They made repeated efforts to ensure aspects like electrical, painting and countertops were done right. Best of all the job was done only when the last detail was in place. The result was a good flow and unity on the main floor with special aspects like under counter lighting

topping off the kitchen 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 lovely bar to our basement. He was easy to work with and all the trades showed up when they were supposed and on time. We are happy with the job they did.

Transform Renovations replaced our roof and eaves troughs. Rod was excellent to work with, very helpful and always kept us informed. Crew did a great job, cleaned up all debris, and there was no damage to plants. Would definitely recommend.

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.