We hired Ariel to finish our basement and based on the reviews we read and pictures we saw expected a much better outcome. Unfortunately, what we have now is a basement that is finished with obviously poor workmanship and very sloppy finishing. Were embarrassed as to how bad it is. We also have mold just one year after the project is completed which is insane. Bottom line is that I would not hire Ariel again for anything. He is very sloppy, cuts corners when its not necessary and his finishing is very bad as you'll see in my photos. He does not know what he is doing and lacks the experience to do a good job.
The good:
-Ariel was nice in the first meeting, gave us some recommendations for the design and we liked his approach of letting us pick our own finishes. We had other contractors provide quotes, some didn't even come to our home and some were not keen (especially those that claim to do the project in 3-4 weeks) once I mentioned I wanted it to be a permitted basement.
-His subs were respectful and did their best to keep the place clean. This project was done Nov-Dec 2021 at a time when people were still sensitive about people in their homes and COVID etc.
-His price was very reasonable so from day one I told him Id pay him more to make sure we use good materials (sub-floor, insulation in the ceiling etc.). I planned on using on a rental property so I was positive at the beginning.
The bad
-Getting a proper reference was difficult and probably the first red flag. Ariel provided the email addresses for some people who could have been anyone. He did not provide any phone numbers. I overlooked that since most of the reviews were positive.
-Ariel had the drywall delivered and left on my driveway overnight in November. Before he left for the night he ripped the plastic wrap and of course it rained and wet the drywall. The next day I confronted him and told him I didn't want any wet dry wall in my basement but he insisted that it was only the top sheet and the others that were wet on the side just needed to dry. When I got home I saw that he had moved all the drywall into my basement (all on camera) even the wet ones and the next morning I told him again that I didn't want any wet drywall on my property. I have young children and cannot afford to have any mold or rotted drywall in the house. I couldn't believe he was going to use the wet and rotted drywall in my house and insisted it would dry when he could have just ordered another skid for a few hundred dollars.
-There is poor workmanship throughout the project. The tile work was very amateur, tiles are not level, bad cuts everywhere filled with caulk and mortar. The stairs were sloppy and all the stair caps still lean when you walk on them. Some of the molding looks like he used a chisel instead of a saw. Doors were cut from the top and one of them doesn't close properly. The pocket door (which was a disaster) fell off and there are bumps all over the drywall because how poorly the sanding was. Even the toilet isn't level on the floor and there's gap big enough to fit your finger which he filled with clear silicone. He insisted that the bottom of the toilet wasn't level (seriously! I've installed of these toilets which weren't cheap with no problem).I pointed out all these things while he was on site but he did very little to fix any of it. Anytime I would show him issues he would just shrug his shoulders, say that this is what he always does and act like he didn't understand English some of the times.
-He did not frame the windows. When I asked him about it he just shrugged his shoulders. Recently he said that I cant expect to go to LCBO and get whiskey for the price of beer. (He sent this in a voice note) He said it wasn't in the budget. How much does it cost to frame windows?? I clearly told him several times in project that I would pay for good work. I paid for expensive tiles, thicker vinyl floors, insulation in the ceiling, permits etc. I also paid to have one of my own contacts install the glass for the shower when his contact couldn't deliver. To me these are just excuses from a very lazy, inexperienced and sloppy contractor with no pride in his work.
-He failed one of the inspections because he connected the hot water the wrong way and we did not have hot water in the bathroom. Thank goodness for the inspector. The inspector also caught other issues including an issue with the framing which causes a tapping sound throughout the HVAC system. The inspector told him how to fix it and YES, 6 months later the sound is there in the middle of the night. He also missed the final inspection which I had to be there for myself if not the project would have been failed right before the holidays. The inspector asked for a fire alarm equipped with CO and strobe to be installed. The person he had on site did not know how to connect it and the inspector basically did it himself so he wouldn't have to come back. This guy is a joke.
The Ugly
-In June 2022 (6 months after the project was done) I saw a leak in the shower coming from the mixing valve. I contacted Ariel and asked him to come look at it. I contacted him several times and he finally came in September without his plumbing kit so he basically did nothing. After following up several times he came in December and found that it was a bad leak. His delay meant that I couldn't use the shower from June to December. When he finally he came in December he rushed to fix the leak and said problem solved. He cut two small holes to get access to the mixing valve and insisted that it just needed to dry. The shower shares the wall with an electric outlet which he didn't even bother to check. He insisted that we just leave it to dry and everything would be fine. After he left I opened up the wall and found MOLD. I sent him a picture and he suggested just cleaning it with bleach and water which is not a solution. He didn't even check for mold even though he knew the leak was bad and the drywall was wet. In less than a year there's a leak and his solution is to let it dry. To make matters worse he used regular drywall for the entire shower! No concrete board or other backer board which means that the back of the drywall got wet and started to mold. I have decided to pull out the entire shower based on the fact that the drywall is brittle, the back has mold and two of the three walls are actually affected.
If you value your time and money, do not hire Ariel at Green Maple Renovations for your project especially if there is a bathroom. He does not know what he's doing and you WILL have a leak. Based on everything especially the mold I've told him that he is no longer welcome to come back to fix anything. It's just more of the same sloppy work. I had a licensed plumber look at the shower who said the connections used were wrong. I know that inspector did not comment on the connections but I think in the end we were all just tired of Ariel and his sloppy work. Find someone else for your project.
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