Ottawa General Contractors reviews (191)

Thank you for your kind review. We really enjoyed working with you from starting the design in November to the finish line in January. Your patience and understanding of the hiccups early on in the project is appreciated, you were a pleasure to serve. Looking forward to getting started on your main bathroom!

Hi Patrick, Thank you for providing your feedback. We use this feedback to further enhance our process and systems to ensure we can meet a high level of service. We have tried many attempts the last few weeks to discuss your concerns over the phone and/or in person but you have declined our offer to speak with you. Since you choose to avoid any meetings with us I will address your comments right here: Quality We stand by our workmanship and have sent you a few emails the past few weeks encouraging you to submit a warranty claim if you feel like the work is not adequate, yet you declined. If your claims are accurate then you should let us come in and inspect. Our last communication with your wife on January 11 2019, she signed a work completion form stating that she agrees all of the work has been completed to her satisfaction and all, if any deficiencies have been repaired. Furthermore, during our "punch list" phase, your wife built a list for us of items she needed addressed. One week after she provided us with the list we rectified all her concerns and she provided us with a signed off punch list stating that all work has been completed. Budget If you can reference the Project Proposal that was emailed to you July 26 2019 it states a project budget range of $26,000 - $38,000 is to be expected. This is the budget that we have set for your project before you agreed to work with us. The contract you signed was for $25,498 which did not include materials. On your client supply sheet we had estimated that materials would cost between $3,000 - $8600. Therefore expected project cost should be around $28,500 - $34,000 (pre-tax).Your final account statement with us inclusive of all change orders and materials was $30,786. This is right within the budget that we have set for you on your Project Proposal. We create many check points within our process to ensure customer satisfaction and a high level of quality. These checkpoints are outlined below: Client Portal 1. We have set up a client portal that everyone in our staff has access to. My operations manager, customer service manager, general manager and myself scan this portal daily. The goal is to catch any issues that arise as soon as possible and act in a timely manner to rectify those issues. We understand complications will arise, and although we want to minimize them, our goal is focused on rectifying them as fast as possible. As I study the posts made on your client portal it's hard to pick up on "red flags". Towards the end of the project you actually thanked the foreman for his attention to certain items on your project. Punch List 2. Each foreman is instructed to receive a list of outstanding items from the client that need to be rectified before the project is completed. I see that this list was posted on the client portal on Dec 19 and then an updated one Jan 2. The goal of this list is to ensure that everyone is on the same page. We hold our foreman accountable based on rectifying the issues listed on this document in a timely manner. During our weekly meetings, we review the list with our foreman and ensure that we have a game plan to tackle items on this list. On January 10 we received the punch list back signed by Krista Malka (Your Wife) indicating that all items on the list have been addressed. Work Completion Form 3. The final step of closing out a project is receiving a work completion form from our client. We understand that issues can arise along the way, even after completing a punch list, so this is our way of ensuring everything has been completed to the clients satisfaction. The work completion form states " I agree that all works are up to my satisfaction and that all deficiencies have been addressed" . We received this document signed by Krista Malka on Jan 11. Building Permits 4. At OGC we do not take on projects without getting a building permit. Despite it being a bylaw, many contractors try to advise clients against it, but we have made it mandatory to only take on projects with full permits. The benefit to us and our clients is that all of the work gets inspected by city inspectors. Having this 3rd party ensure that the work is safe and compliant with bylaw is very important to us. The only downfall to this is that building code can have grey areas and/or it is very intricate, so what happens is that extra work is needed that was not accounted for. The building code book is thousands of pages long, although our staff have their Building Code Identification Number (BCIN) which make them experts in building code, sometimes inspectors require extra work that is not accounted for. But the good outweighs the bad, and we as a company will sleep well at night knowing that city inspectors are overlooking our work and ensuring it is safe and satisfactory. Our process has been improving over the years as the result of the feedback from our amazing customers.

A common challenge in the construction and renovation industry is managing the stress of having substantive work completed in your home over a number of months. Some clients find this process more difficult than others. As a professional renovation company with over 12 years of experience and over a thousand completed projects, we invest time and resources in pre-construction planning, setting up the site and talking with clients about what they will experience. Right from our first site meeting, we are honest and transparent with respect to time lines and expectations of living through construction. Working in older areas, such as the Glebe, and on homes that were previously rental properties can hold a number of surprises that impact the time required to complete a project as well as the budget. The need for contingencies is also discussed with our clients to ensure everyone is financially prepared for the unexpected. Despite the advice, guidance and documentation we offer as part of our services a very small percentage of clients maintain an unrealistic expectation that can never be met. They assume no surprises, an impossible time line and zero challenges. A professional and reputable company that encounters challenges and makes a mistake, stands by the client and their project to ensure a quality end product. Lesser companies often walk away from such challenges instead of sticking with a client. Unfortunately, the recent CBC article gives a one sided and narrow view of the process and conclusion to the project. One of the main allegations is that OGC was withholding money from the client. The $1000 was a good will credit that OGC was offering to the client. In doing so, we requested that they sign an agreement to not publicly slander and/or write an exaggerated review about OGC, focusing only on the negatives and not the many positives to bring a project to 100% completion. Protecting our reputation is what motivates us to go above and beyond by providing "freebies" and "cash rebates" as part of the inconvenience that is expected in renovations, in turn we ask the clients to not paint us with a negative brush as there are also many areas of a renovation where we pride in going above and beyond when construction challenges do arise. The client can always choose or deny the offer and there is certainly no extortion as the client implied. We always seek to end projects on a positive note and that reflects on our commitment to customer service. At the end of the day, we delivered a beautiful kitchen and bathroom for a difficult client, as well as critical electrical updates required to bring the home up to code and ensure the safety of their family. We also corrected the error with the sink at no additional cost to the client. When such errors occur, we always look back at how to improve our business processes to minimize mistakes. Every employee at OGC is committed to our clients' projects, from financial administration to framing. Our passion for our projects and industry experience, skills and service is what defines us. A one sided article from one client does not define what we do and who we are. We will always pursue beautiful designs and positive relationships with trades, clients and suppliers throughout Ottawa.