The Pine Nuts Woodworking And Renovations Ltd.

It's been 2 years since the renovation so we've had time to think about the work that was done. First the good parts:
1. Was accommodating to our needs
2. Mostly quality work
3. Decent communication
4. Followed design closely

The bad parts:
1. The job took almost 4 months
2. Towards the end, communication broke down
3. Towards the end, details left unaddressed to the degree that they walked away from a few thousand dollars

Overall, we enjoy our kitchen and it looks amazing. As another poster stated, if you get the right Colin, then the results will be great. If not, you may get less than you expected.

We got quotes from multiple contractors to renovate our kitchen which included new cupboards, backsplash, replacing an island, sink, etc. Colin was not the cheapest but he was down to earth and didn’t try to upsell so we chose him. The reviews for PineNuts on Homestars were great so we thought we wouldn’t have any problems since there were other satisfied customers.
The reno started out okay but we soon came to the expected completion date and there was still quite a bit of work to be completed. We were seeing less and less of Colin at this point and we were having to follow up with him every few days to make sure he was coming back to work on things. We were now a month over schedule with a half-finished kitchen and Colin was less and less responsive. We started having to leave concerned voicemails/emails because regular messages weren’t getting returned. He would eventually get back to us with an apology and that he was going through some things personally. We felt bad so we gave him more time, but he would just go absent again. We started to worry that he was going to disappear but luckily we hadn’t made the final payment, just the deposit and mid payments.
Colin eventually installed the custom built cupboard doors which were the last stage, and we paid him the final payment. But we quickly noticed about half of the doors had imperfections where you could see cracking, bubbling and drips in the paint. These were our main cupboard doors at eye level so the imperfections were not ignorable. He came by and looked at the issue and agreed it was not acceptable and he would refinish or replace those doors. But he asked that we wait a month or two to see if any of the other doors started to show the same imperfections so that he could do them all at once. He then asked if we would leave him a positive review on Homestars and reminded us that he would personally warranty any of this work for 2 years. It was almost like he was saying if you give me a positive review I’ll fix the issues but if you don’t I won’t. I didn’t like how he was handling things and had a bad feeling that if I left a positive review we would never see him again, not to mention after the last 2 months of chasing him my review was not going to be great. Well I was partially correct because I told him we would leave a review once the work was done and we still never saw him again. We have left him multiple voicemails and emails over the last year to get him to come and fix the cupboard issues he agreed to fix. We have given up any hope of him ever fixing the issues and judging by the other most recent review on Homestars it appears we aren’t the only home owners he screwed over. We paid quite a bit of money to get a high quality kitchen installed and are now left with cupboard doors with very large cracks on almost all of them which are getting worse and will eventually have to be refinished/replaced on our dime once again. Not to mention some of the cabinet hardware was installed crooked, some cupboards are now sagging and the paint color he used on the cabinet doors does not match the paint he used on cabinet molding. Our new kitchen looks sloppy and like it’s been beat up for about 10 years. Absolutely poor quality work that looks like it was done in a hurry. I’m sure Colin will close down this company and reopen under another name to avoid dealing with the customers he screwed over. I’m not sure what personal issues he had going on in his life but there is no excuse to completely disappear and not finish the work you were paid to do.
I would highly warn against using the Pine Nuts or Colin. Don’t be fooled by all the old positive reviews like we were, because the owner is clearly in a different place where he doesn’t care at all about customer service or his clients anymore. Based on the recent bad reviews on Home Stars it sounds like he was still taking jobs while still not returning our calls or finishing the work we paid him for. Stay away!

I have used Colin at the Pine Nuts several times in the past, and have had an overall decent experience. Communication was always slow and you quite often had to hound him to get an answer or update on the status of the project, but his work was well done, and he was pleasant to work with. That was for my first two projects. On my third project, Colin got half way through and just disappeared. I have sent repeated texts, emails, calls etc., but got no response at all. I threatened legal action and got a little response and then he disappeared into the woodwork (no pun intended) and wouldn't respond in any way. Be cautious if you choose, if you get good Colin, you will be happy, but if you get the other one, you will regret your decision.

We had original kitchen from 1980`s which looked tired and clapped out appliances. Colin and crew renovated the whole kitchen area except the flooring which we had done a couple of years before. They also replaced some original bookshelves in the adjoining area.
It was a good job, great guys to deal with and we really enjoy our kitchen.
The project was completed within the time and budget we agreed with Colin.
Only one area that was a bit frustrating at times was communications, which could have been a bit better at times, to respond a bit faster to emails or texts, though we appreciated that there were changes going onto the business at the time. We have done a lot of renovations and this is common to many other contractors we have dealt with.
Overall Colin and Mark were great to deal with and did a good job for us, which we were pleased with and are still pleased with.

The Pine Nuts built our company an insulated outdoor shed to house a water system we installed for a client on an acreage outside of Calgary. The shed was built precisely to our specifications, and delivered and installed within the timeline laid out. The quoted price was the invoiced price. The Pine Nuts was easy to do business with!

Over one year ago Colin and the crew completed our kitchen renovation and hands down this is the best renovation work we have EVER had done. Colin provided clear and prompt communication from start to finish; the completed work was amazing; the work crews were great to deal with and the quality of the work excellent. May be most importantly - when the dust is settled, the bills paid and kitchen has been used for a year we still think Colin and the Pine Nuts crew are worth a 10/10 rating.

2nd time using Colin and The Pine Nuts. Had an unexpected main floor water leak that required a full floor replacement. After talking with Colin and our previous discussions, we ended up doing a full main floor reno - entire floor replacement, removed an office, and replaced countertops in the kitchen.

As with before, work was great and completed on time and on budget. My biggest issue with contractors is getting "surprises" at the end - this didn't happen.

We're already looking at phase 3 and we'll be calling Pine Nuts to get the work done.

If you’re looking for a trustworthy, down to earth and general up and up kinda guys, then Pine Nuts is your team. We first got to know about Pine Nuts through the HomeStars website and had engaged them to provide a competitive quote on a massive renovation that we were considering for our older home. Pine Nuts came through with the most competitive quote and of course Colin’s demeanour made the choice really easy. However, we abandoned the project when we saw our current home in the market. We asked for Colin’s help again, but this time it was to update our kitchen and re-design some areas of the house for better functionality. Both Colin and Mark worked on our home. They were flexible with their schedules in order to meet our work and family needs, especially since both my husband and I work from home and have three active boys. We wanted to maintain the style of our kitchen yet have it updated with a more contemporary look and functionality. Colin came through with a design that was just stellar. Colin and Mark put forward some really innovative suggestions and throughout the process ensured that we were engaged with every important decision. They were also really flexible to help us out on some other unexpected issues with our bathrooms, suggesting some really good solutions and then helping us to resolve. Since completion, we’ve had nothing but compliments about the updates we’ve done to the home. We are so pleased with our new home, and to top it off have widen our circle of close friends to include the Pine Nut gang.

My wife and I grew tired of our basic builder grade mud room as it lacked function and appeal. As our second child had just arrived this really amplified the problem for us. We needed the room to be much more functional and more efficient use of the limited space. We met with numerous contractors after getting an idea of what we wanted to do with the space. Colin was real a step above all the rest when it came to design detail and feedback, his prices were very much in line with others we met with. Couple that with his great home star reviews and it was a no brainer to give him the business.

Throughout the whole process Colin was very receptive to our ideas and worked closely with us through various iterations on the design. When the product finally arrived we were very impressed with the craftsmanship, attention to detail and the finished product. I would highly recommend Colin and the Pine Nuts to anyone who is thinking of a wood or cabinetry project. Can only assume the attention to detail would flow through to larger renovation projects as well.

The owner, Colin, was fantastic to work with and has true pride of workmanship. We got 3 quotes for the job - Pinenuts was competitively priced and his work is all in-house customed constructed using quality materials! Colin listened to what my vision was and designed it, then delivered it to a T. There was a small flaw in the paint spraying discovered on install day and Colin immediately corrected it without hesitation, which I really appreciated. Colin is honest, hard working, really personable and I happily recommend Pinenuts to all my friends and coworkers.