Bedrooms and Garage Reno - Excellent Work
THE COMPANY
From first contact to project completion, it was a pleasure doing business with this McLaren Custom Homes.
When we first met Jon, we knew that he was going to be the right person for the job and that we would get along great. Within a week, Jon provided a clear and well-thought out estimate along with a detailed, realistic schedule.
We had a handful of companies quote on our job and although Jon was not the lowest bid, he was certainly not the most expensive one either. Nevertheless, Mclaren Custom Homes was the clear winner due to the great communications and customer service Jon demonstrated in taking the time to understand our detailed project requirements, carefully go through our follow-up questions, and demonstrate flexibility on the pricing by agreeing to do part of the job as fixed price and some as time and materials.
As skilled as Jon is at carpentry, he is an even better project manager and communicator. Throughout the project, which spanned 5+ months, I was regularly in touch with Jon and always felt that I knew the current status and plans for the near future and had confidence that Jon's team could successfully resolve all day-to-day issues that are encountered during any renovation.
Jon only hires people he can trust to be as meticulous and skilled as he is himself, resulting in a strong team, able to work well together and problem-solve as necessary. The work that Jon subcontracted (insulation, taping, and electrical) was also completed on time with high quality results.
THE WORK
We hired Mclaren Custom Homes to renovate 3 bedrooms and the garage, and to fix up shoddy/incomplete work from a contractor who had renovated the main floor and basement a couple years ago.
The bedroom work involved opening up the current closets side-to-side and at the top to prepare for built-in cabinets. In addition, the existing flooring was removed and sub-floor replaced. Walls were skim-coated and new base-board and trim were installed. A heating duct was eliminated in the master bedroom and all bedroom light fixtures were replaced.
In the garage, the ceiling was removed and insulated using spray foam. There was very little lighting in the garage so 4 more LED fixtures were added and existing messy wiring runs were cleaned up and hidden in the ceiling as much as possible. The ceiling and back wall of the garage were framed and drywalled.
Remedying the previous renovation deficiencies involved replacing all bedroom handle sets, fixing the basement bathroom pocket door trim, and replacing a warped cold room door with a custom weather-stripped steel door.
During the project, we extended the scope to include building a couple platforms to better level the floor, installing several NewAge Pro Series 3 cabinets, and about 25' of Pro-slat walls. We also added on the installation of live edge rail doors for the master bedroom closet.
Jon's team showed up on time, worked full days, and kept on schedule throughout the project. We are very pleased with the results - the garage now looks like a place you would want to lounge in and the bedrooms are modernized, more functional, and have gained a lot of storage.
Jon and his team proved to be reliable, talented, and took great pride in their excellent work. Mclaren Custom Homes delivered everything within scope and calmly handled any scope change requests.
THE CUSTOMER SERVICE
Any time we had questions about why something was done in a certain way during the project, Jon was quick to respond with answers that made sense - he always had a plan. On the rare occasions where something was not done satisfactorily, Jon took immediate ownership and worked with his team and subcontractors to make it right. McLaren Custom Homes stands behind their work and deserves an A+ for customer service.
We always felt that our best interests and best value for our money were taken into account throughout the project. Jon was very helpful with selection and recommendations on lighting, finishings, and other products but he never sought to make a profit at our expense. The company earned its money on the work and in several instances, even picked up products for us without a mark-up or delivery charge. Over the course of the project, Jon, Ross, Chris, and Will treated our house like it was theirs and became part of our extended family.
We are so pleased with McLaren Custom Homes that we have recommended their services to neighbours who have now booked them for phase 1 of a 4,000 sf home renovation. There are another half dozen friends who will also be contacting McLaren Custom Homes for their next renovation work.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $30,000.00
- Company Response
We cannot thank you enough for the kind words and we could not be happier that you enjoyed the experience of working with our company as much you did. There is so much to comment on this review about how our company operates, our integrity, our delivery on the end result; but there is one thing that stands more than any of that. We are most proud of the fact that you feel like we were part of the extended family. We give a lot of time and try to be strategic when hiring for our in-house team of employees - as well as our extended sub-trades - because we don't just want people who do the job well. We also try our best to create a culture where homeowners feel at home with the people that are working on their home. We strive to only employ people that have integrity, are friendly, are hardworking, are trustworthy, and above all treat the homes we work on like they are their own homes.
It was really fantastic working with you and really do hope to again in the future.
At the very least we'll stop over in the new year when we're working down the road!