Allard Custom Homes

Last year, my wife and I embarked on an ambitious journey to rejuvenate our charming but outdated 1958 house. Our dream was to not only renovate it but to add a whole new dimension with a second floor, tailoring every inch to our personal tastes. This dream led us to discover Dom from Allard Homes through his YouTube channel, a great resource of clear, comprehensive, and engaging videos on home renovations and additions.
What really set Dom apart was his website - a transparent, user-friendly platform offering detailed information on costs and timelines. His reasonable pricing was the cherry on top. When I reached out to Dom, his patience and expertise shone through. He meticulously answered all our queries, and upon meeting him, his profound knowledge and vast experience were unmistakably evident.
I had consultations with three other builders, but Dom stood out for his honesty and his willingness to actively involve me in the renovation process. Choosing Allard Homes turned out to be the wisest decision we made. In an industry rife with horror stories of incomplete projects and subpar quality, Dom was an example of reliability and excellence. He meticulously crafted our dream house, balancing cost-effectiveness with uncompromised quality.
If you're contemplating a major remodel or constructing a custom home, I wholeheartedly recommend Dom. His commitment to quality, fair pricing, and trustworthiness is exceptional. A special shout-out to Carlos, the foreman, and the entire team for their expertise, ensuring everything was perfectly executed on time.
For anyone planning a significant renovation or custom home build, Dom from Allard Homes is your go-to expert. He's earned my complete trust, and I am confident he will exceed your expectations as well.

Had an unpleasant and costly experience with Allard Custom Homes. At first, we found him to be refreshing compared to other contractors. He seemed to grasp everything about our project quickly, was very detailed and he was was able to provide a competitive quote, which we paid him $400+HST to prepare for us. Unfortunately, he became quite difficult to work with just before our start date.

He ended up dropping us as clients 2 weeks before we were scheduled to start the work and move out to a rental, leaving us high and dry without a contractor to start work, and a pricey rental lease signed.

Before signing the rental lease, I had confirmed that he was 100% able to start on the date agreed upon. He had also advised us to order the new windows ourselves, as needed to start the project on time. All before sending us a contract to sign or asking for any deposit (which should have been a red flag for us). Now here we are, with new windows on the way, a rental lease signed, but no contractor.

After having his contract professionally reviewed, he didnt handle contract negotiations well, along with not taking recommendations and feedback well. He initially said he would make some requested changes to the contract, then his defences went up really fast, as soon as he saw the requested changes (which were always phrased as requests and up for discussion). He then emailed us saying he wouldnt be making any changes to the contract, and seemed quite unreasonable and inflexible - not great qualities in a contractor. This was the first glimpse of his character we saw. On the phone, he was becoming quite defensive and irritable. If he was that unreasonable in the beginning of a project, we can only imagine how communication would be handled throughout the project.

He also said he would be in the middle of 4 jobs when starting ours, so it would seem to me he perhaps bit off more than he could handle. At times, his unreasonableness even seemed like he was looking for an out and didnt really want to take on the project. He ended up saying that his Spidey senses told him that we are not a good fit as his clients. Very mature.

Based on my experience, I would advise anyone to use caution when considering using his services. Call several references. He only provided us with 2 references of people who were still living in his projects. But ask for more references. Maybe others can speak to his actual project management, which I cant. But based on his character coming out in the last few weeks we were working together, I would speak to several others before considering him. His communication style isnt for everyone - he said we seemed like we were looking for a yes man, and he would never be that yes man for us. But we were simply looking for someone who could communicate and negotiate the contract in a mature and reasonable manner. And we certainly didnt get that from him.

I am surprised to be the first reviewer. He is a big believer in word of mouth business and I concur. Nothing better than a satisfied customer.
He has just finished my project and apart from some minor hiccups, mainly because of revision of project plan, I found him to be honest / professional / good value and above all knowledgeable about various trades involved in this line of work.
He is also hands on compared to other contractors. Interestingly, I also chose him because of his language skills (needed to help us understand) many nuances of renovations not to mention his ability to present numbers in a logical and professional manner.
He is genuinely a good guy and definitely recommend him.