We had Ashton Renovations do a home renovation for us a little over a year ago. We were not super impressed with the work that Mark did in our house, in particular there were some issues with his hvac subcontractor (missed hooking up a vent and ended up making a big hole in the floor as a result, which was left for me to fix myself...) For the most part, we thought the work was okay though. Not great, but okay. Since Mark was in our house, though, we have been doing some additional smaller renovations (mostly diy) and have uncovered some bad electrical work. The first (last spring) was a hot wire junction that was not in a box, just stuffed up behind some floor joists. I contacted Mark but also called the Electrical Safety Authority to see how their inspection could have missed that. The ESA told me a permit had not been taken out for the electrical work (even though we were billed by Mark for an electrical inspection). We brought that problem to Mark's attention but rather than admit that wiring like that is not up to code he was defensive and just repeated that his electrician was reputable. We had that issue fixed by someone else. Now today, I found in a bedroom upstairs that a new outlet (3-hole) had been installed just over old ungrounded wiring (so that it looked like new wiring had been done when nothing had actually been changed). Another outlet in the same room had new wiring behind a new outlet, but the wire is trimmed too low (below the box) and there was no clamp holding the wire in the box.
In general, Mark's regular crew seemed pretty good but he doesn't seem to have much oversight of his subcontractors. Now we're left wondering what else could be hiding behind our walls...
- Approximate cost of services:
- $60,000.00
- Company Response
This project was a main floor renovation that mainly involved the kitchen, a new powder room, and electrical service and panel upgrade. The homeowners were a young couple and first time homebuyers. Things were moving along quite smoothly up until the point were Nathan and his wife began to run out of money and tensions started. I believe this occurred because little was left for allowances should a problem arise with their house. And indeed it did. Asbestos was discovered, and this added considerable cost, along with termite damage on the main floor that was hidden under the hardwood floor. Common in the beaches. Their furnace also broke down in the middle of the project, and required immediate repairs, which we assisted them with.
More specially, regarding the ductwork, it was originally all removed in the basement and first floor by the asbestos abatement crew. Later, it was replaced with all new ductwork. During the rough in stage of construction the homeowner noticed limited heat to 2nd floor. Next day we were on site and noticed a take off on the top of one of the plenums, which was extremely difficult to see, was missed. It was impossible to connect to from below, so I instructed the HVAC contractor to connect to it from the first floor, which required a section of flooring to be removed. This was not a big deal, as the flooring had been removed above, and in many sections the subfloor had already been removed due to terminate damage. The following day we returned to repair the floor, but the homeowner had already repaired it. I believe this was done because the homeowner was actually installing hardwood on the main floor and wanted it filled in right away. Originally we were contracted to do the hardwood flooring and subfloor, but the homeowner asked if he could do it to save money. We agreed to remove this work from the contract, and I believe he was thankful we allowed him to do it to save money.
Regarding the electrical work, it simply isn't true that Nathan was charged for a permit, and did not receive an inspection. A copy of that inspection is available at the Electrical Safety Authority, and at our office in his file.
Last spring, a problematic wire was brought to my attention by Nathan. Unfortunately, he would not permit us to visit the home to look at it. I looked at photos he provided me. After speaking with my electricians, and getting more details, I believed it was a connection missed from an earlier renovation. I wanted too confirm this, but could not.
Almost towards the very end of this project, Nathan and his wife decided to end the work, and we parted ways. As with all our jobs, we requested to inspect the project but Nathan refused. In an email I asked if all the work was completed to his satisfaction and he confirmed that yes it was.
Again, I cannot comment on wiring again that we are not allowed to see. However, I am surprised as our contract involved work only on the main floor and the basement level. In this instance, Nathan is concerned about wiring on the 2nd floor. An area we did not work in through the course of the renovation.
At Ashton Renovations, we are committed to customer satisfaction. We are a licensed contractor, certified designers, insured, and covered under WSIB. We are proud of our many positive reviews we have received over the years on Homestars, and are very grateful Homestars chose us over other contractors on their site to participate in their Bathrooms 101 video last year.
Mark Ashton, AKBD, B.A., B.A.S.