Basement Project - 150 days late and 90% over budget - and still not done
We hired Empire Basements in January 2021 to remodel our basement. Work began on March 2, 2021, and our contract stated it would be completed in 90 days. (please note that I am writing this review on October 27 and my basement is not complete). The crew that began the job consisted of labourers, trades and a foreman. Work began and progressed well until the beginning of May. The foreman was fired by Empire Basements, and another member of the crew was put in charge to complete the basement. The crew stopped showing up mid-May, and we couldn't get a hold of him - he quit and we never heard from him again. After weeks of silence, I called Empires emergency line and received a call back from someone else who was going to manage our job to completion. This was the third week of June. No work was done until mid-July, when Empire hired another contractor to come in and complete the work. Some of the work had to be redone- tile in the bathroom was not all laid in the same direction, and the drywall had to be remedied, sanded, primed and painted again as it was done so poorly. The flooring on the stairs had not been installed correctly, so it had to be removed. We were told that the replacement flooring for the stairs would arrive around August 24, and the subcontractor picked it up and arrived to install. However, Empire ordered the wrong material. It is still sitting in my garage. We have since done some research and it seems that they cannot get matching nosing for the stairs. The project is not complete, nor does it seem it ever will be. We have spent countless hours emailing them, asking for answers as to when this will be completed - no help. The original estimate was $46,000, and we are now closer to $80,000. I feel like we've been completely taken advantage of.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $75,000.00