In late January to early February, we decided that our basement was ready for a renovation. The previous owner had attempted to make it into a liveable space with little success. With all the home renovation shows on television and their tales of renovation disasters, we were very apprehensive - what if we got the wrong contractor and we were swindled, or our house turned into a disaster? But, after meeting with Lowell, and reading his reviews on HomeStars, we decided to take a chance and go with him and his crew. We made the right choice.
From our first meeting, Lowell put us at ease. He immediately saw what had to happen in our basement, was upfront about the cost, and went to work making a floor plan. Over the next few meetings, Lowell gave us an estimate for cost and an estimated start date and timeframe. Lowell never exceeded the estimate, and the work started and ended within one week of the anticipated time.
Work began, and Lowell's crew was top-notch, friendly, and informative. Ivars and Gerald (the two main guys on the job) were on time every single day, and left around the dinner hour every day. If they had to stay late or come on a weekend, they let us know ahead of time. I had to work at home a few times, and they were never loud or profane; just a great couple of guys to have around. I fully trusted my daughter to come home from school when they were there.
Sammy and Kevin, the plumber and electrician, Leslie, the acoustics guy, and the drwywallers, painters, carpeters, HVAC techs, they were all top-drawer people and *fast*. Nobody cut corners, and they even went out of their way to offer suggestions that would make things easier for future renos (like hot tub installation, kitchen reno, etc).
Along the way, we were delighted by some changes to the plan. For instance, we got an extra large laundry room without eating into the living area just by having the HVAC tech move the water heater back about a foot and flipping the furnace filter box. Sammy fixed mistakes in the plumbing caused by the homebuilder. Too many little things to mention, but they all added up to make for an awesome reno.
Brady, Lowell's custom cabinetmaker and carpenter, made us the most beautiful bar. We had to wait a little extra for it, given that Brady's work is in high demand, but in the end, he built us a custom bar based on a few designs we gave him, and a custom daybed that fit under the stairs. Once again, topnotch work.
The final product was better than we expected. Our liveable area was increased, we got a custom bar, all home theatre and network wiring, a huge laundry room, a two-piece bathroom, foam spray insulation, lighting, a brand new electrical panel upgraded to 200amp service, new outdoor water faucets in useable places, a panel in my garage, and a gas line for future kitchen renos.
Even though we paid Lowell for his work, I still feel like we owe him our gratitude for such quality work. We have already decided that Lowell will renovate our kitchen, master bathroom, and mainfloor bathroom over the next few years.
Hire Lowell, you won't regret it.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $45,000.00