We bought a house in 2008 which required significant work, as it had been neglected for years. Specifically, we needed a new roof, a new bathroom, new kitchen, and replace a solarium. Beyond that, there was water damage in the house, leaking skylights, damaged flooring (tiles and hardwood). After much research, we contacted Bill from Bravehart Building who attended the premise and gave us some great ideas, suggestions and advice. Bill later presented us with an estimate for the work we requested. I must say I found Bill to be honest and forthright, and he even talked us out of some of the work we had wanted done, and showed us the shortfalls of what we had considered. We also met Laura, who gave us a lot of free advice on the design of the renovation work. We were initially questioning some of her ideas, as we couldn’t envision what she was suggesting. I must say we were very happy with her suggestions once the work was done, and we could see the final results. We were fortunate to have an overlap period when we took possession of our new home, and still lived at our old house. That gave us some time that the renovation could take place while the new house was vacant. I went by the work site daily, and Bill always had workers there, on time and during the hours that he said they would be there. Bill would often be on-site as well, supervising the work and jumping in to help. All the workers were courteous and polite, and many would take the time to explain the work to me when I asked. We ran into several unexpected issues, including a roof joist that had rotted away from water damage, roof sheeting that needed replacing, and more. Bill always took these issues in stride, even when we were panicking. It helped a great deal to have someone who remained calm and offered solutions. The one thing I really appreciate was that Bill always called when something out of the ordinary was encountered, and showed me the issues on-site. We also continually made changes to our plans, which Bill accommodated without complaint. Bill always informed us of the potential extra costs when we wanted changes made, so there were never any surprises. All in all, the entire renovation was completed pretty much on time (I think we went over by a week or so, not bad for a 3-month job), on budget after adjusting for all the changes we made after the initial quote was given, and the work exceeded our expectations. Beyond the renovation, we have called Bravehart several times since for some emergency work. Bill always showed up at the earliest opportunity, which is a great relief when you have leaking roof because of ice damming, burst pipe from being frozen in extreme cold, etc. Although the damage, or the cause of the damage had nothing to do with Bravehart’s work on our house, Bill had always shown up and provided the assistance required. It really reflects Bill’s approach to developing a relationship with his clients, rather than viewing his work as just a one-time reno job. For this reason, we have continued to employ Bravehart Building, and will keep doing so. We are going to renovate a bathroom this year, and retrofit part of our basement which is the cause of the frozen pipes. Bravehart Building will be our contractor for these jobs. I find Bravehart Building not to be the cheapest of contractors out there, but they certainly are not the most expensive. Having seen some of our friends go through renovation nightmares, I think Bravehart provides excellent value for money. I know the work is done right when Bill and his crew are doing it, and when you are looking at a $100,000+ renovation, I would much rather have the job done right, than to save a few thousand dollars but have to worry about the safety of my house.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $100,000.00