Ecolux Contracting

Jiyan’s work overall is quite excellent and looks beautiful! Him and his team work quite quickly and met the predicted timelines for the most part. Some delays and miscommunications occurred, but it was quickly resolved.
I think the only downside is that every little thing comes with a price tag, and those variable costs end up adding up quite quickly. Jiyan does great work, and it does come with a cost. I would say the costs were worth it overall, but it would largely depend on your budget.

The initial quote we received for this job was about $60,000 + $12,000 for windows + a kitchen cost that was tbd (but estimated to be $10,000). However, after getting the final kitchen cabinet cost for about $20,000, and additional costs as the projects went on, the total cost came up to $100,000.

The overall renovations I got were:
1. Kitchen renovation
2. Basement renovation + kitchen
3. Structural wall removal for open space living/dining/kitchen area with new pot lights
4. All new flooring
5. All windows replaced
6. Piping changes
7. Many ad hoc additions
Note: for any of the downsides mentioned, they were considered a bit more minor compared to the great work that was done. However, they were the bumps I experienced along the way and I believe it’s important to keep them in mind so you can manage your expectations on the job.

1. Kitchen renovation
The kitchen turned out really beautiful from the cabinet maker Jiyan works with. I was able to go to their showroom to see their selection in person and he was quite helpful! The countertops we had done separately from Jiyan though.
The cost of the wiring and lighting for the kitchen was supposedly a separate cost from all the cabinetry and original quote that mentioned the kitchen, but Jiyan threw it in for “free”. I honestly think it should have and would have been covered by the cost included in the quote though.
The hole/louve for the wall mounted hood was not included in the quote, which I thought was sort of strange because when we say “we want to do the kitchen” and you don’t include the WHOLE kitchen, it’s a bit frustrating because a lot of these costs tend to add up. As a first time renovator, it’s not really like I know every single item that needs to be put into the kitchen/house to be included in the quote, I would have expected my contractor to have all those aspect addressed from the beginning, rather than adding every light switch and vent as an additional cost while building. The louve that was cut the first time was also too low to accommodate the hood that Jiyan recommended I get because he uses it so often. They needed to cut a second hole through the roof instead, and I had to pay for both costs of the holes in my wall and quartz, even though the first one was just plain wrong with the hood that he should be quite familiar with.
Luckily it all sort of worked out so I’m not mad, but it’s a bit frustrating when these things happen and you need to pay the cost for it anyways.

2. Basement renovation + kitchen
A smaller kitchen was installed in the basement that worked quite nicely. Jiyan kindly redid some of the very old wall and ceiling portions with drywall at just the cost of the drywall! The old portions were really ugly and I’m glad it was done.

3. Structural wall removal for open space living/dining/kitchen area with new pot lights
The carpenters that Jiyan invited were very professional and got a huge beam into the ceiling to hold up the structural wall. It’s supposedly strong enough to support a second floor being built on top as well.
The pot lights were measured out and walked through with the electrician and he explained their thought processes in where the lights would be placed. However, the actual placement did differ from what we had discussed. It may have been some miscommunication, and would have helped if we had sketched it out. The pot lights were placed in spots that misaligned with the existing hole for a the chandelier, which is what we wanted to avoid. If we wanted to move the chandelier hole, it would have cost us an additional price, which we didn’t want to do (especially if this could be avoided by placing the pot lights where we planned initially). In the end, it’s not terribly noticeable that the chandelier is misaligned, so it’s okay I guess.

4. All new flooring
We go new flooring for the whole main floor and basement. Jiyan’s team worked quickly and very extensively to get the floors in, and it all looks beautiful! Very expertly installed and finished with trim. However, none of the nails and gaps were caulked, as it was apparently not part of the job (considered part of the “painting job” we didn’t do).
The flooring we chose for the basement was actually the incorrect colour, but it was a similar colour. The flooring was already almost completely installed when I realized the colour name on the box (which was a similar name to what I had chosen) and the look wasn’t quite right. However, because it was the basement, I didn’t actually particularly mind the colour that wasn’t the one I chose (it would be my second choice). So I didn’t mind this, and I didn’t mention it to Jiyan because of that, but it’s something to keep in mind when you are choosing your flooring—double check the colour name!

5. All windows replaced
The window guy that Jiyan put us in touch with was super professional! Eric walked us through all the window types, how the windows would be installed, finishes, etc. and made sure we understood every aspect. He went through the sizes and positions of all the windows and made sure the final plans were completely accurate and we understood them. Eric was an absolute delight to work with, and was very easily reachable when we needed him. Could not be happier with his team’s work and the price!

6. Piping changes
We got our pipes expanded from 1” to 1.5” sizes to accommodate a better water flow. There were some additions and issues we found when we opened up the ground to the pipes, which Jiyan was able to address for a reasonable cost.
The plumbing workers were all very kind and explained all the changes they were making and the changes they’ve already made.
Overall, I’m very happy with having a good water pressure compared to the “only one faucet on at a time” before.

7. Many ad hoc additions
There were many additional costs that crept up with this project, which really was outside of our expectations. Some items were material costs only for things that I wanted to add, others were additional work that was done.