House Calls Renovation Advisors

My house underwent a major renovation 8 years ago. Following the completion of the job, I was widowed. There are a number of house concerns that have developed over the last few years. Feeling insecure about how to proceed and not particularly savvy around house repairs, I was referred to House Calls Renovation Advisors. We did a thorough walk through both in and around the house. I felt totally comfortable when speaking of my various concerns! Jay asked thoughtful, appropriate questions. The issues were assessed and recommendations to appropriate tradespeople were provided. Jay quickly provided a written review of what had transpired and also contacted the recommended trades. He was extremely respectful, knowledgeable and an overall good guy!

In theory, the services Jay provides would be extremely valuable. Finding and working with a contractor is time consuming and miscommunication is the leading cause of projects going off the rails. The idea of employing an experienced 'project manager' is a great one, and clearly other users on Homestars have had very positive experiences.
I did not. While it was helpful to have a consultation with Jay, the end result was a failure. He recommended 5 contractors, which resulted in the following: 2 viewed the project and never supplied quotes; 2 viewed the project and provided quotes that were wildly expensive and well above market rates. 1 cancelled a site visit, then never followed up.
While this clearly reflects the contractors behaviour and professionalism first and foremost, I was left with the impression that Jay simply didn't care. He provided a rationale that basically suggested my project was too small ($50,000) for a contractor to care about, and that being blown off was to be expected in the busy season. He never once suggested another approach, offer to connect me to another contractor, or even ask if he could help in any way. He just wished me luck and sent me the bill.
From my point of view, these referrals had Jay's stamp of approval, and a 40% response rate with little follow through just leaves me wondering where the value was in using House Calls. If I was charging someone for a service that involved referrals, I would take some ownership over the situation and ensure the client was satisfied before billing them.
Ultimately, I found there to be very little value in House Calls, and nothing that couldn't be provided through some due diligence on potential contractors using Homestars.

I've consulted Jay at House Calls twice. Once was for a deteriorating garage door lintel, and I wasn't sure if it indicated a bigger hidden problem. Jay's advice was that it likely wasn't a big problem; that I should drill some extra drainage holes in the stucco caulking, and watch it over the next season. He identified that the lintel problem was likely just paint over unprimed wood, and that I could just sand, prime and repaint it.

The second consult was over a leaking skylight. He identified where the most likely source of the leak was - a deteriorated seal, and suggested that I try caulking around the glass pane with silicone sealant - something well within my very limited DIY skills. I did this and the leak has stopped.

I really appreciate that Jay did not suggest expensive repairs in either case, but common sense advice to try easy solutions first. Based on the questions he asks about the problem areas, he clearly knows what he's talking about, and gathers information carefully before giving an opinion.

I recommend him highly.

Cracks appeared this winter where a small breakfast area had been added to the original house. The addition was well built and over 20 years old. There was a basement underneath with a foundation. When the cracks appeared this winter I was really concerned and called Jay. He came over right away, inspected the whole area, took pictures and talked with me. He confirmed that the room had settled and had pulled away from the house. He put the problem In perspective and calmed my fears. He then put 3 contractors who he had worked with and knew in touch with me to recommend a course of action. All of the contractors were courteous and helpful and gave me a range of options with different financial implications. I called Jay to discuss the options and he was very helpful at outlining the implications of each. I was ready to move in with a long term partner and planned to rent my house. After discussing the options with Jay I decided to sell instead realizing that I did not want to be a landlord and have to deal with these types of issues.
Jay was instrumental in helping me assess the situation, consider all the options and make a decision. He didn't try to convince me that one option was better than other, rather he helped me determine the best choice for my situation.

When we bought our house last year, we knew we wanted/needed to make changes, but were dreading the prospect of renovations. Enter Jay Charendoff, whose donation of a 2-hour consultation we were fortunate to win at a charity auction. Jay walked through our 5-story townhouse from top to bottom and patiently answered a barrage of questions, demonstrating deep knowledge of building technology, architecture and construction. The next day we received his detailed notes with specific suggestions and advice for our project, and we’ve had several follow-up conversations with Jay since. Now 6 months later, we’re working with the contractor he recommended – who's every bit as good as Jay promised - and watching the transformation we dreamed of unfold before our eyes. The process has been straightforward and practically hassle-free. Knowing we had Jay to rely on gave us confidence to move forward. For anybody uncertain about how to begin a home renovation, Jay Charendofff should be your first call.

Jay's help was invaluable. He led us through the process of deciding what work we wanted done, and created a detailed scope of work and floor drawings for tendering. As a trained architect, he was able to provide many suggestions relating to structure, as well things we wouldn't have thought about such as traffic flow and the best use of natural light. He also recommended contractors who he has used in the past, and the contractor we chose has been absolutely terrific. The whole process has been stress-free and as close to being pleasant as a major renovation can be. I can't recommend Jay highly enough.

We hired a contractor for a complete house renovation top to bottom. 1.5 years later we found our house in shambles, no one showing up for work, our contractor overpaid and suddenly asking for over a hundred thousand dollars of additional money upfront to complete, we were basically hostages on our own property. We then hired Jay Charendoff of House Calls at this critical point in the project. He agreed to take us on and prepared an initial architect’s assessment, and comprehensive documentation on the initial state of the house. He discovered multiple foundation and construction deficiencies. He facilitated legal counsel to end our contract and found us a reputable contractor that was willing to step in and remediate and complete our project.

Jay organized the remediation together with our contractor and was the liaison and communicator between our new contractor and us for the initial phases of the remediation. His construction knowledge and building code understanding reassured us that we were not getting into another problem. Our trust was solely on Jay to deliver and you can imagine it was at first a leap of faith out of desperation but very quickly (after our first meetings I think) we realized there was a way out and Jay would get us there. Jay also quickly organized a system for recording issues and took video and digital photographs to create a legal documentation trail that we are presently relying on to try to recoup our losses. He also found us a great kitchen supplier and was able to facilitate our release from the kitchen we initially had booked as they were connected with the first contractor and were also trying to deceive us.
Jay’s fees were clearly laid out. The scope was fairly widespread as we were in remediation and we did not know what was going to come our way. We have found that Jay’s role has evolved throughout the project. From triage engineering consultant to finishing /build consultant to legal communications consultant. We are pretty dependent on Jay and his commitment to helping us to completion.

Jay has a very good understanding of building construction, building codes and proper design. He has a keen eye for small details and this was significant and valuable to us in our situation. He knows a lot of suppliers in the home / commercial construction business and his previous experience in (worldwide) consulting has given us a wide network of resources to choose from.

Our new House Calls referred contractor has an above code standard and delivered a contract and good clear pricing, first on a time and materials basis and then for finishing we broke each section into a separate contract and they kept to it . Jay has a systematic approach to listing and controlling financials that you can easily incorporate and rely on.

We would recommend Jay Charendoff and House Calls in a heartbeat. We would not renovate or build another home without hiring Jay as our project consultant at the onset to avoid the losses we have incurred in this project. For busy people, it is not so much a luxury as a best practice to save money and peace of mind. Our home is complete now 9 months later and Jay has a standing invitation for lunch for life. :)

Purchased a house with an unfinished basement that we had no idea how to renovate. Found Jay and the service he has provided has been invaluable. He came up with a plan/design that we wouldn't have thought of that utilizes the space perfectly. He then recommended contractors for the reno job and it came down to a choice between his recommendations even though we met with others. He was always on time for site visits and follows up regularly to see how things are progressing. We are about to start the actual renovation and he has offered to follow up with site visits at no cost to us as he is interested to see how "his" projects progress. Thank you for everything Jay!

We hired Jay to advise us on some renovations we plan to do in the future. He also did some research on zoning laws and building costs for us. He was punctual for site visits and his followup emails and calls were always timely.

Having someone knowledgeable in the industry to bounce questions and ideas off of definitely helped us feel more comfortable with the process and less uncertain about our next steps.

Jay - Thanks again for your assistance. Your involvement helped us refine our thinking and plans - and gave us confidence for moving forward on our major home renovation. You were able to put our thoughts into usable plans and your input was very helpful. Royal Home Improvements, as one of your general contractor recommendations, has worked out very well. We highly recommend your service for anyone starting a renovation project.