Penguin Basements

We contracted Penguin for our legal basement second suite. They handled all the permitting for us, and communication was excellent throughout the job. No reno goes 100% according to schedule (especially during COVID!) , but they were responsive and handled all the hurdles throughout the process. The finished space was gorgeous, and we got a great rate on our rental.

Very happy with the job done by Penguin. Workers were polite and diligent. Work was all done in two weeks.
Highly recommend this company!!!

We had been thinking of completing our basement for the last couple of years and went through several quotes from various people and companies. We are quite meticulous in addition to being cautious due to past negative experiences with tradesmen and wanted to ensure we do it right.

My husband found Penguin basement on Google, went through their website in great detail and read their reviews. We felt comfortable enough to call them at the beginning of March and speak with Ryan who directed us to Matthew.

From speaking with Matthew to Guy over Zoom, the whole project was explained to us step by step. Everything was finalized online through Zoom meetings, phone calls and emails and we didn't have to go anywhere.

Initially, the project was to start in the middle of June as they were extremely busy. I requested them to see if it could be done sooner as we didn't want to be stuck with renovations in the middle of summer after such a lengthy lockdown. Guy said that he would do his best to see if things could be moved a bit earlier.

It was quite surprising to receive a call from them within a couple of weeks, informing us that they could start the project in May and we can start planning the basement with Rodrigo and Stephanie. Everything was finalized in April and they even started the work a week ahead of schedule.

From then on it was like a revolving door! Different tradesmen came in, completed their work professionally and left quietly. All of them were extremely polite, well mannered and tried to keep the dust and dirt track to as minimum as they could. The project went smoothly and here we are, in the middle of June with a fully completed basement.

Once the cleanup was done, leaving the place spotlessly clean, Jon came in for the inspection & corrections and did an absolutely amazing job with the final touch ups. The project ended up with a Zoom call with Lisa to ensure everything was satisfactory from our perspective.

Of course, when there are so many different trades involved, there are bound to be some glitches but ours were miniscule and not worth mentioning here. Needless to say, these small issues were dealt with immediately.

We appreciate the work done by everyone at Penguin Basements and would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to get work done at such a professional level.

Wishing the company all the best in their future endeavors!

Sonita & Kulvir

I'm a beginner real estate investor, with no prior experience in legal basements process and construction. Not sure what to expect from the contractors these days, particularly with horrible stories floating around. I had interviewed around 20 contractors before I turn into Penguin, and I still think that's the best decision I have made.

Penguin Basements came up top from the recommendations from fellow investors.

Hired Penguin Basements at the beginning of the year, received permits (mid-March), and the major part of the work was completed (mid-May) unbelievable, I haven't heard of this kind of timeline to complete the project, especially with issues around the world, Covid, supply chain issues, inflation, etc. During the initial meeting when Guy gave this timeline, I was skeptical and thought maybe it will be extended a few more months. But now I have a tenant moving in 2 weeks, very impressive work and timelines.
Penguin is super capable of handling the project, workflow was smooth, great company culture, any enquires are responded timely (email responses/updates were received in a matter of few hours depending on the seriousness of the query).
From beginning to end of the project, Penguin team demonstrated a high level of professionalism, knowledge, customer-first, attentive, fast-paced work, and central command post-project management style (North York). The overall project took 2 months from permits to finish. Considering number of trades, inspections, material supply chain issues, and so many moving bits and pieces in a project of this size, if I had to use one word to describe Penguin that would be BRILLIANT.
Builder trend App is handy and easy to message, schedule, and upload pics, and videos.
I follow the project very closely, had communicated with different team members on the daily basis. To mention a few notables: Ryan (phone calls), Guy (quotes, design & a great visionary), Stephanie (material selections), Iva (accounts), Rodrigo (drawings, design, and initial stages), Michael (Permits), Valerie (Intermediate stages), Roberto (Final finishing stages), Victor (electrical), Jorge (Plumbing), Oscar (Painter), Edgar (Inspections), Felipe (services) and Lisa (super-friendly, customer service, made sure all my concerns are addressed). Several other supporting team members that I had not interacted with directly (tradesperson, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, framers, drywallers, painters, finishers, 3D matterport team, etc). Loved it, keep it up!!!

Would I use Penguin again for my future project? Absolutely YES!
Kudos and wish you the best for the whole penguin team to your success.

FYI: Penguin is not a basement-only builder anymore; recently they expanded to build GARDEN SUITES too. Give a call to Guy (see pic attached)

If you have any basement/garden suite projects in mind, I strongly encourage you to give a call to Penguin and see if your timelines and budget aligns. You won't be disappointed.

We wanted to do our basement in this house where we have been for almost 4 years. We had previously used Guy and his crew at a previous house and i think was their 246th basement, now years later we were around the 2000th basement. The company has grown into a well oiled machine. From the meetings with Guy and Stephanie all through to the end (which was very fast) we had great people helping along the way. The basement is stunning and now we have a perfect space downstairs to fill our needs. Thank you to Guy, Stephanie, Roberto, Victor, Fabio, Ryan, Lisa, Santi, Claudio and Josh, plus all the amazing trades, the framers, drywallers, painters, electricians and plumbers. They were all so professional and such experts at what they do. Would i go back for a third time, absolutely. Definitely would recommend you going to Penguin Basements for your space. Check out the photos of my new oasis.

We highly recommend Penguin Basements as they delivered the job we expected. We wanted a contractor that will get proper permits for the basement reno project to ensure work is done to code and no corners are cut. Secondly, we wanted quality sourcing of materials but at fair affordable pricing. Last but not least, we wanted the project to be completed within reasonable timeline and proper communication throughout the process. Penguin Basement delivered on all three criterias that are important to us!

I would recommend Penguin to anyone considering renovating or finishing their basements. Our project was large and appeared daunting just thinking about it - however the team at Penguin did an incredible job of making the process seamless in execution, completed in a timely manner and executing our vision and taste. The workers were respectful and diligent in their jobs and we were overall very impressed with our final product. We did not think it could be accomplished as quickly as it was! Our family is very happy with our basement.

OVERVIEW:
We all have the dream of being financially free and the true time-tested venture is without any doubt REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT.
I started my road to FINANCIAL FREEDOM in 2014 and armed with the knowledge gained by following a few financial gurus, I decided to do a few house flip to better POSITION myself and my family for the VISION and JOURNEY ahead.
Fast forward to 2020, with my first legal secondary suite basement apartment for my rental property in Wasaga Beach I decided to research and hire a company that can take my project from start to finish with minimal interruption or involvement from myself. After narrowing down the list, I decided to hire Penguin Basements.
The owner and his dedicated team members delivered on their promises and honored our contractual agreement without sacrificing quality or workmanship. The finished basement surpassed our expectations even though there were challenges on constraints during the Covid pandemic and my high expectations.
INITIAL QUOTE PROCESS/CONTRACT: The owner provided us with a well thought suggestions and ideas for our basement renovation as well as any drawbacks to ideas we had. His expertise and honesty were indeed a breath of fresh air after hearing about some renos gone bad with other friends and family. He provided us with a quote and also mentioned areas that may potentially increase the cost. He sat down with us and went through the detailed pricing and contract with us and answered all our questions. Having this pricing contract with all the related costs of services was useful as a reference guide as my wife and I used it to determine whether additional work would be within our budget or not.
DESIGN/MEASUREMENTS/ MATERIAL SELECTION: A Penguin team member visited us at our property to map out our basement dimensions and layout. Few days after we met with the design and selection team at Penguin Basements office in Toronto. The team have s great eyes and the ability to articulate design, colors and materials to fit our budget and appeal. Their suggestions were spot on and the teams professionalism was very much appreciated.
SEPARATE ENTRANCE: The concrete team came to the site and have the entrance cut out and a beautiful double entry door was installed with the sump pump as required per code.
PLUMBING WORK: George and his team came to the site to start the plumbing rough-ins for our washroom and kitchen. What a pleasure to have this plumbing expert work on our basement. His workmanship was impeccable and you could tell he completed the work as if it were his own home. They were even flexible and accommodating as I had decided to do some extra work on the upstairs. Of course, it came with an associated cost but I was thankful for the quality of workmanship.

ELECTRICAL- I met with the electrician and he took us through step by step the electrical components and work to be completed. However, like any project hiccups are unforeseen and with this project, it was a misunderstanding about separate meter/electrical panel. However, a meeting was held for clarifications with Penguin Basement team, the electrician, Wasaga Distribution and ESA to sort out everything. It was well handled and taken care of as I always wanted a hands-off approach to the project.
FRAMING & DRYWALL TEAM: The framing supervisor and his crew were amazing! The amount of work they completed and the quality were unbelievable. You honestly could tell these professionals took pride in their work and it showed. They were very respectful of our property and conducted themselves in that manner.
TAPING DRYWALL: The professionals who taped and sanded our drywall did an amazing job. I feel as though a major component of a good quality basement is the type of taping work done on the drywall. This team did not disappoint!
FINISHING TEAM: A review was done with myself and the project manager, who took pride and ensured any of my concerns were addressed. (I am a very picky client for sure lol). The finishing supervisor and his team exceeded every expectation that impressed us with their skills, workmanship and work ethic.
We were thoroughly pleased with Penguins Basements once our basement was completed. If you are looking for promises to be kept, a consistent work ethic, professionalism, skill level across all work teams and a quality finished basement, you need look no further than Penguin Basements!!!!

After an overdue 42 years, we finally convinced our mother to do a basement renovation. We choose Penguin Basements based on my sisters recommendation as she was very impressed with their work. Penguin completely transformed our dark cold dungeon into a bright, new, and updated living space we can enjoy as a family. Thank you to all the friendly and professional office staff for working and guiding us throughout this new project which was completely foreign to us. A very special thanks to all the contractors for their exceptional work they have done our basement. It was amazing to see our basement changing throughout each phase. The experienced contractors worked diligently on their specific jobs with smiles on their faces. We cant thank you enough, and throughly appreciate everything you all have done for us. We love our new basement!

D & M

basement!

We hired Penguin to finish our basement. Overall it was a very good experience. They completed the project in a very timely manner (1.5 months) and used quality materials throughout the build. The buildertrend app is very convenient and does a great job of keeping everything in one central place. The entire build was done with all the proper permits and inspections so I have peace of mind knowing everything was done right and in the future if I want to sell my house there will be no problems.

Overall, the entire experience was very smooth with any hiccups being quickly sorted out by Lisa and the penguin team. I would recommend Penguin to anyone who is looking to have quality work done at a competitive price.