Reliable Independent Living Services

General Contractors
Toronto ON M5T
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Iozzo Family from Toronto
Iozzo Family from Toronto
1 review North York, ON
2/10

Bathroom renovation

In Feb 2014 my sister and I hired Reliable living to make our main bathroom accessible for our 80 year old mother. Daniel was very accommodating, sounded confident, assured us that the work could be done well and at a reasonable price. He was 1 of 4 contractors that we met for the job and Reliable living was around the medium price range. He also spoke highly of all the work that they had done for the March of Dimes and we thought he would be the perfect person to do the renovation. The first couple of days of the project went really well and we were so impressed with regards to cleanliness of their work as well. After that the job turned into a nightmare. There were so many issues that I will list them in point form;
- a job that was promised to be completed in 3 weeks took 2 months
- we moved my Mom to the spare bedroom during the renos as she need to be near a working bathroom but they still dragged out the reno even after telling them that we would like my Mom not to be displaced for too long
- during the whole reno we had to rearrange our schedule to accommodate the tradesmen. We would change doctors appointments, leave work early and on a number of occasions no one showed up. There were even times where they asked if they could come do work at 8-9pm
- the tile work was horrendous- tiles had to be fixed 6 times and I don't mean one tile here and there but numerous tiles and sometimes the same tiles more than once. What frustrated us the most is that they kept bringing the same tile person back over and over again. Also the contractor did not take control, he said we need to wait to see what the tile guy will do and when he can find time to do it- what?!? The owner of the tile installation company came once to inspect the work and was not pleasant and turned to me and asked me in the most condensing tone " what would you like ME to do about it?".
- the grout job was disgusting- patches of grout missing, cracks in the grout, two different colors used, messy work.
- my sister and I visited Reliable living showroom a month before the renovations and went through everything we wanted in the bathroom with Daniel with regards to tiles and accessories. Daniel reassured us we would have everything we picked out but during the renos they were no where to be found. We settled for cheap Home Depot tiles bar and toilet paper holder and we had to remind him that we agreed on two soap dish grab bars but for some reason he didn't order them and we had to wait for them to be the last things installed- three months after our visit to the showroom
- the toilet paper holder is impossible for my Mom to replace the toilet paper because it is difficult to use with her arthritis, we even have difficulty replacing the roll. Again this was a last minute Home Depot buy-not made for anyone who has special needs and no thought
was put in it
- no attention to detail as they installed brushed nickel grab bars, chrome soap dishes, chrome shower fixture- a mish mash of accessories
- only two screws use on the light switch plate that required 4 screws
- no silicone seal used around the bathtub- no seal used at all
- shower leaked after the second day of use- the plumber fixed it but left plumbers tape exposed and also damaged the shower head when he fixed the leak
- the hallway wall on the outside of the bathroom has a large crack in it which was not there before the renovations
- the president of the company Ronny paid one visit to our home after the first few problems surfaced and he said to us all of these issues are just cosmetic and can be fixed easily. He also said if we put a little bit of elbow grease in to cleaning most of these issues will go away. He spoke down to us during his entire visit
- we are 3 women living in this house and we believe after that comment about cleaning that we were not being taken seriously by anyone and our concerns were not being heard so we ask my nephew to set in on our behalf. It's a very sad in this day and age that we had to ask a man to step in to have our voice heard
- after the cleaning comment we hired Molly maid to come in to do a professional cleaning of the bathroom that cost us $95. Needless to say the problems were not solved by cleaning and repairs had to be done and that was money wasted. This is also the first time I have heard that the contractor expects the home owner to clean up after the work they did.
- we noticed marks along the edge of the ceiling and asked if they will paint the ceiling and we were told no because they didn't do any work to the ceiling. Did I mention that they tore down the drywall and all tiles were removed from the floor and walls but they felt no need to repaint the ceiling but only to do touch up to the edges after the walls were painted
- Ronny promised us he would do a final inspection after all the work but he has yet to visit the house and we are now in May
- after all the issues not one penny was deducted from the bill

In conclusion, all the problems were fixed but after 8 visits and 2 months, threatening e- mails back and forth. Everyone who has seen the renovations from other contractors to my 80 year old mother agrees it is shoddy work that was done by inexperienced workers and we should have not paid the bill in full. On the surface this company put the face out there that they reliable and out to help seniors and the disabled with their u tube videos, contributions to a weekly radio program, etc but all that doesn't matter when the workmanship in below acceptable. They promise a one year warranty on their work which I have no confidence in and I believe that we will need to do a second renovation to the same bathroom very soon after the year warranty has expired.
In good conscious I could not recommend Reliable living for any home renovations. Ronny will come on here all defensive about his company's work but he also admitted the job turned into a dog' breakfast and they were just in the early stages of getting the company running again, which might explain no reviews on here past 2011.
I leave you with this last thought, Reliable living left this house 3 weeks after the renovations started and said to us the bathroom is complete- after we looked at the so called completed work they returned more than eight times to fix issues. If my 80 year old mother lived alone and trusted Daniel and Ronny and Reliable Living to renovate her bathroom they would of walked away from the job the first time leaving all the problems behind- thankfully my Mom had us to stick up for her. So I ask you what is happening to the seniors and disabled peoples that live alone and don't have anyone to help them in situations like this.
If you are interested in seeing pictures of the problems we had with our renovations feel free to e-mail me at imaginerita@hotmail.com.

Approximate cost of services:
$13,000.00
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Company Response

Dear Iozzo Family,

I am very sorry that you had such a negative experience in working with our team.

With all respect, I wish not defend your comments. But simply to express that we did satisfy your concerns raised. If anything was missed or if you have any outstanding issues, please do not hesitate to respond. We will honour our warranty and try our best to make you feel good about hiring us.

I also feel that it's important for me to reply to your views regarding our "communications". Our core experience and purpose is in helping people, not harming them. I'd like to reassure you that it was never our intension to make you feel the way that you express and that I wish to give you my apology for any misunderstanding in communication that seems very obvious to have happened.

Kind regards,

Ronny