Penguin Condos

Overall, we are really happy with our basement renovation. Having the extra space for our family of 5 has made a big difference. Penguin took a very old and dirty unfinished basement, and transformed it into a beautiful space. We were really impressed with the staff and Dan especially. We were a little disappointed in having the renovation go over the timeframe by 10 weeks given how far into COVID we are at this point, however Penguin made sure to have an open and honest conversation with us and we truly appreciated it.

We were drawn to Penguin given their DIY basement reno option, which includes framing, drywall (mudding, taping sanding), electrical, and in our case the installation of a walk out door from the basement and rough in for an eventual bathroom.

Overall we were very happy with Penguin, from the design stage all the way to completion. In particular Ezra was AMAZING to work with, and ensured that any hiccups or issues that came up were dealt with. The quality of his work was also fantastic and was super friendly to deal with.

I would definitely recommend Penguin to anyone looking for a DIY basement reno option!

We used Penguin Basements for our basement finishing project and have been extremely happy. Everything was very well organized, communication was great, and quality of work exceptional. Our project manager Ryan has been amazing. Very responsive when issues came up. We could tell he takes pride in his work as well - he would point out defects to be corrected before we even noticed them. Would highly recommend Penguin Basements.

Were very happy with this project. The pricing has been fair, the quality of the materials is excellent, and the craftsmanship has been really great! Our general contractor, Ryan, has been a pleasure to work with. Its been a great experience overall.

We live in Ottawa and we were hit with massive power outages just prior to our project star date. This caused some communication issues at the start but our project manager - Ryan - was amazing- answering all our questions quickly!

They did their best to stay on schedule, even though the power outages had put everyone behind schedule.

The project from then on went smoothly - all the workers (framers, drywallers, electricians, etc) were extremely friendly and respectful.

One issue we had involved the doors to our storage area. However, they owned up to it and are going above and beyond to make things right. We are very excited for the new doors!

This was our first time doing a major renovation project on our home and had heard horror stories of being ripped off. Penguin Basements have put to rest any of those concerns.

So here is our experience working with Penguin, and you can judge things on you own. Hired the team for the kitchen and 2 bathrooms renovation, Guy, the owner, walked through the process and all very professional. The project got a bit delayed during pandemic but at the end they have completed the work. Now one year after, we discovered one of the bathroom grouts all got chip away, and clearly a design flaw. Especially the biggest selling point for us to hire them was because they told us they will waterproof the entire bathroom. So we reached out for warranty.

April
Contact the team on April 6th to get one of their team member to assist the damage. Sent over more than 10 emails finally they told us someone would come visit on April 21th, confirmed the date within hours of the emails. On the 21th, waited all day, no one showed up. Got a bit upset and emailed again finally able to get one of team members on 25th. The Penguin employee showed up on the 25th asked us to replace the bathroom fan and they would take care rest of the damages.

May
Used the contact they referred to us, and it took the fan guy almost one month plus $1000 to get the fan replaced. Contacted Penguin again since we fulfilled their request. Then we got completely ghosted by the project manager. Weve sent a daily email to follow up but he basically just ignored us at this point. Had to emailed to owner, and finally got a response after almost 2 weeks. Got a call and told us that he will be coming Friday, June 10th, to get the job done.

June
Forward to June 10th, again waited all day with no show, no email, nor call. Messaged the person at the end of the day got no response, messaged him again on Monday June 13th with no response.

So this is what weve experienced, and it just felt chaotic and unprofessional at this point. We are very disappointed at the outcome from this. When you work on any expensive home project, trust is always the number one things you look from a team. After weve been deceived so many times, it will be impossible at this point to trust this team anymore for us.

6 weeks jobs turned into 9 months and still not finished
1) kitchen cabinets and pantry not done
2) closet doors not done
3) there should be 3 days cleaning in job schedule but owner Guy Solomon denied it
4) purposed to earn Air Miles but never honour it
5) Our condo is going to stop this project because it lasts for so long but penquin just ignore it
6) we were living in hotels for these months, accommodation and meals cost us more than 40k

Guy was so wonderful! When Penguin responded to my call, Guy was the one who helped me. He genuinely cared about my predicament and asked me really relevant questions about my situation that no other company had. I has spoken with a number of other companies before Penguin but this was the company that was most prepared. They already knew the square footage of my residence because they had researched my MLS listing before speaking to me. They used 3D scanning technology to prepare their quotes and also offered extremely reasonable prices for their work! Guy even offered to talk to my property manager when I was going through a difficult situations! It was overall a really great experience!

We were apprehensive about the prospect of a complete condo renovation. The first step was finding a contractor that we felt could deliver a good product on time at a fair price. Penguin best met our expectations. Condominium renovations take time. First there is the need to obtain permission from the Condominium Corporation Board. That takes a few weeks. The project did not start until the cabinetry arrived, about 6 weeks later. Construction was limited to Monday through Friday from 9-5. There was always competion for the elevator and onsite parking was often a problem. We were told that the project would take 5-6 weeks from the start of demolition. Penguin delivered and the project was completed in 42 days. Vince was the site project manager. He earns a 10/10. We expected the renovations to be stressful. They were not, thanks to Vince. He was patient with us. He took us through the process. He reassured us. Often. Every once in awhile a change was requested or required. No problem. We were in daily contact by phone, text, e-mail and most days on site. Vince was always receptive.
The team that worked with Vince were all professional and respected the job site. Particular mention goes to Andrew and his team of electricians.
Communication through Buildertrend was not ideal. Some staff were comfortable with that platform. Others were not. The tried and true method of text, talk, e-mail worked better for communication. On the other hand this platform was excellent for sharing documents and for invoicing.
There was no upselling by the company. We knew the costs up front. Any additional costs were due to change orders such as additional painting and plumbing that we requested after the contract was signed.
The quality of the products was determined by our choices.
In summary we are delighted with the finished product and look forward to the move into our renovated condominium. If you hire Penguin ask for
Vince.

At the beginning we were struggling to have them to start working on our condo and we were having serious doubts on their abilities to handle our project.
When Penguin basements started our project and since day 1, we were totally reassured. Vince (our project manager) handled this project as if it was his condo. He coordinated trades perfectly and he was everyday on site to ensure that work was well done.
We were also very impressed about the time spent in execution. They basically spent 3 weeks and 2 days to renovate a full kitchen, full bathroom, remove and install new floor in the apartment, painting, and some electrical changes.
I have to say BRAVO and thank you.