Paul Morra Projects Inc.

When it was time to renovate my ensuite bathroom and replace my flooring, I didn't hesitate to contact Paul Morra Projects.

Ten years ago, Paul's company completed a top-to-bottom renovation of my parent's home. They refurbished the kitchen and 2 1/2 baths, installed new exterior windows and upgraded the flooring -- consisting of 24"x24" travertine tiles and hardwood throughout. The workmanship was top notch and the classic styling remains modern and up-to-date. My parents still get positive comments about their home.

Paul and his team guided me through the design process. They presented 3D concept drawings and provided material samples to help me visualize the new space.

In my ensuite bath, the underused tub was removed which allowed for an extra large shower. The walls and floor are covered with white, marble-look porcelain tiles. There is in-floor heating. The walnut vanity is finished in a satin clear coat and completed with a cream coloured Caesarstone countertop and backsplash. The plumbing fixtures are by Hansgrohe and Toto.

The carpeting on the entire second floor was replaced with 4 1/2" wide, 3/4" thick maple planks in a dark satin finish. The installers also took the time to adjust the lower plate of the stair railings to match the thicker wood flooring.

I'm very happy with the style, utility and workmanship of the renovation and I highly recommend Paul Morra Projects.

Our project involved the design and renovation of a 2,800 square foot space in our office that needed a complete overhaul. Paul Morra Projects provided full conceptual and construction drawings, package-ready for permit approval. We had a short time frame to work with and the firm was able to work with this from the drawing process to wrap up of construction. During the building process, the team worked consistently with no downtime and made sure to coordinate and work efficiently with the stringent rules enforced by building management.

The site was kept in orderly and clean condition at all times. The team was courteous and professional, and Paul responds quickly to any questions or concerns and dealt with issues professionally. Any changes made during the renovation were addressed immediately and approval was always sought beforehand. The entire process ran smoothly from beginning to end and required very little oversight despite a tight deadline. The end result was a modern and contemporary design and the staff is pleased with the final product.

From the work I’ve seen on other floors and in other offices throughout the entire building, Paul’s quality of design, workmanship and even quality of product and supplies is superior to the rest. We have further work that we want done to our main reception area and boardrooms and we are lining up Paul to do the work for us again.

We highly recommend Paul Morra Projects Inc. Our experience with Paul has been excellent and we look forward to working with him in the future.

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Background

We own a 100 year old home that needed a lot of work.

We had previously had the entire house rewired which resulted in a significant amount of damage to the plaster throughout the entire house.

After taking possession of the house and having a closer look at the kitchen we realized that it was in terrible shape and ripped out the cabinets right away. This left us using a second kitchen in the basement for an extended period of time.

Our principal bathroom had a nice old look to it but the mechanics of it were poor with the plumbing leaking through to the dining room ceiling below and very worn fixtures.

We had been working off and on for a long period with architects and while we had grand plans involving a back addition what we really needed was for someone to fix all of the existing problems so that we could start to unpack and really start living in our house.

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Scope of work

• Full kitchen renovation

• Bathroom - gut, reclaim adjoining closets, full renovation

• Major plaster repairs throughout the house

• Remove and replace the majority of ceilings

• Paint the entire house

• Insulate

• Fireplace mantle and surround

• Some structural repairs

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The search

Armed with our list of projects we contacted six contractors, four of whom we found on homestars and had promising reviews and high ratings.

Each of the six contractors came to our home to review the work and develop a quote.

Paul immediately stood out with his quick understanding of the scope of our work. Paul also stood out as his quote arrived within a few days and was very thorough.

Paul quoted both on our major addition project as well as an a la carte price for each of the kitchen, bathroom, plaster repairs and painting. His quote identified the price for each section of our work and described in good detail what the work would entail, the materials to be used and the quality of the finish.

This was generally not the experience we had with the other contractors.

Paul was very accommodating in providing numerous revisions to his quote as we went through budget and made some changes to the scope of work.

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The three key reasons I would recommend Paul to my friends are:

• Excellent communication skills
• Paul gets the job done
• Amazing crew

Excellent communication skills

We communicated a lot by email, often by phone and occasionally in person. I never had to wait long for a response from Paul with emails coming at most any time of day or night.

I would like to stress the importance of having a contractor who will return your calls or emails quickly. It makes such a difference in your decision making process and comfort level.

Paul’s communications are clear and informative.

Getting the job done

If Paul said that something was going to be done on a certain day, it was. I never had to chase Paul to find out why something was not done.

It may seem like a simple thing but after interacting with a number of other contractors and trades over the years meeting someone who stands by what he says is rare.

Paul always made us feel confident that our house would turn into a home and that he would get it done.

Crew

Paul’s crew is superb. His foreman Joe is a truly amazing individual and is an asset to any jobsite. It is rare to meet someone so effective yet so relaxed.

We never saw or heard Joe or any of the crew complain, especially after we decided to change something they had just done.

The crew was always polite to us, they kept the jobsite clean, and were always willing to take the time to go over progress with us. As we were living in the basement throughout the renovations they were very respectful of our space.

Their pace of work was fantastic. After coming home from work it was a lot of fun to walk through the house and see how much had changed since I left for work in the morning.

Joe took it upon himself to do some additional work for us that was not part of the original scope of work and really left us impressed with how much they care that our home is the best home that it can be for us.

Paul’s trades were also very good and special kudos to his master plasterer, Everton, a very skilled craftsman as well as a charmer.

Other Strengths

Design

Paul comes from a design background (OCAD) which is a strong plus as he is able to provide focused advice both on the practicality and the aesthetics of options that we were considering, whether it be layout or materials.

Paul has a very strong sense of colour and his feedback and guidance were critical in editing our choices of paint colours for the house.

Paul provided a number of drawings for our kitchen and bathroom millwork and our kitchen sink. He was very tireless in redoing them a number of times after the numerous changes we requested.

Flexibility

A lot of our decisions went through numerous design versions and while we made a strong effort to know and adhere to Paul’s deadlines we often left decisions to the last minute and Paul was always gracious in accepting our changes.

We are a pretty demanding couple, who had been waiting a long time to truly enjoy our house and therefore it was imperative that everything be perfect. Paul was very accommodating when we changed decisions mid stream but he was also firm in letting us know his opinions on those changes. Through this collaboration we were able to come to much better decisions.

Approach

Paul has a very nice, professional, can do approach to his work. Knowing that we were by no means the only clients he was working with at the same time we were amazed at how much time and effort he was willing to devote to us.

Paul and his crew want the job to be done right and will take it upon themselves to ensure that the work is excellent.

Paul is tireless and seems to be working from early morning to late at night every day.

Whenever requested Paul made himself available for site meetings which were very effective at finalizing decisions.

Pricing

We found Paul’s pricing to be very fair.

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Conclusion

We are very happy with Paul and the wonderful work he and his crew did for us on our house. He has transformed a weary old house into a great home and we are forever grateful to Paul for this.

Once again I would strongly recommend Paul Morra Projects Inc to anyone.

This was a lengthy project encompassing fall and winter, and through it all we found Paul and his team to be reliable, friendly, and hard-working. The quality of Paul's designs and advice are matched by that of his crew's construction abilities. I would definitely hire Paul Morra Projects again.

I am very happy to write this review for Paul Morra Projects Inc. Paul has done a great job on our house, giving us a lovely addition. We are recent immigrants to this country and knew that the construction process here is very different and we also heard of some construction nightmares people experience so we were extremely apprehensive about embarking on this project. We spoke with several contractors, however, right at the first meeting we instinctively knew that Paul was the person for the job. Not only did he understand very clearly our vision, but he is very knowledgeable and experienced in his line of work. He has a unique advantage of being a designer as well and was able to provide us with invaluable advice.
We made a lot of revisions and had a tight budget but Paul was able to work through these and give us an excellent end product for which we are very thankful. With him, the communication lines were always open and he is willing to explain things in detail never tiring of the endless questions. Right from the start, Paul went over and above his commitment to the project by taking care of so many other things like getting our property survey done, dealing with the city and even with our disgruntled neighbor.
Paul and his crew are very professional and respectful. They arrive on time at work, are hardworking, responsible and at the end of each day they leave the site area very clean. They were very mindful of our needs knowing that we were living in the house while the work was going on. Joe, Paul's foreman and Darcy as well as the others are very trustworthy and dependable. They kept our home safe through the months they were there and that was so important for us. At the end, we felt like they were part of our family.
Paul was always at our home making sure that the work done was up to his high standards. He pays attention to every little detail. His work has drawn many positive comments from our neighbours as well as visitors to our home. People have remarked positively on the high quality of his work, the neatness, the design as well as the superior quality of material used. Paul is very passionate about his work. He puts his whole heart into the project from start to finish. He is honest and sincere ... what more could anyone want when it comes to your own home. We are very fortunate to be his client. THANK YOU, Paul ... You're the best!!!

Our firm hired Paul Morra Projects to design and build a new corporate headquarters. The project involved a complete gut and rebuild to 3000sf of office space at Yonge and Bloor.
From concept to completion we are very happy with the degree of service, design innovation and construction quality.
Paul has an excellent team and everyone worked hard to meet a difficult timeline.
The team had no problems dealing with the logistics of an office tower at Yonge and Bloor and they worked very well with building management.
Paul is very easy to deal with and always reachable and “connected”. No matter our questions Paul and team were always patient and dealt with any issues, no matter how small, in a quick and precise fashion.
Paul Morra truly cares about the creative outcome of the project. His team worked very hard to deliver an original project that is nothing short of impressive.
The Paul Morra Projects team is courteous and professional. The entire team was always on time and very dedicated to the outcome and the site is kept clean and organized throughout the duration of the project.
We have worked with Paul Morra Projects in the past and will continue to do so in the future. We are very pleased with his level of dedicated service and his endless striving for the best possible outcome.

Paul Morra Projects works like a fine Swiss watch. Paul offers many valuable project management attributes but to mention a few: a highly developed sense of fine design, meticulous attention to detail, a very positive and supportive attitude about problem-solving, demanding on himself and his polite and likeable crew...all of which maintains a very high standard of workmanship and excellent results. We did a four-floor whole-house reno including kitchen and three baths, over 3000' and were delighted with both the process and the outcomes. Paul respects his crew and they respect him, for good reason. His OCAD educational background meant he fully appreciated our design concerns and was able to offer time and money savings by providing timely and sophisticated design input especially re kitchen design and function. He is constantly available and responds immediately to any and all concerns. He and his crew went out of their way to minimise the stress of renvovation. Paul approaches the project with care and concern. Top-notch experience... delighted with our decision to work with Paul and I can only imagine you will be too.

We moved into new corporate space of 25,000 square feet a couple of years ago that Paul built. There were many issues that were created by the short notice at our end, and poor planning by our architect. Paul stepped in and made sure that the project happened on time and on budget. My previous experiences with construction have been rife with extras, workmanship issues, and missed deadlines. Paul did not fall prey to any of that. He did great work at a reasonable price and delivered against seemingly impossible deadlines. The finishes varied from simple to complex and from basic to high end. All areas were well done.

I can't say the process was pleasant, because there were so many issues created by others. However Paul was an oasis of calm and professionalism that made the experience as good as it could have been given the time constraints and architectural issues. Paul solved the issues rather than create them. Paul also made a number of design related suggestions that ended up looking great and costing less than originally planned. It was apparent that he was associated with a good core of trades that allowed this to happen.

The best recommendation I can give is that we just used Paul again! We recently built out more space – again almost 25,000 square feet. Paul has been the prime designer of the space and has supervised the entire process for us. It is a complex assignment with many participants (landlord, parent company, contractors, sub trades etc.) with an extremely short time line. Once again, it would not have been possible to complete on time and with the result we required without Paul having been engaged to design and manage the general contractor and his trades.

I would certainly highly recommend Paul. It sounds like the recommendation is unusually good – but Paul has “saved” the projects that he has been involved in – both began by being led by other parties and Paul made it work!

We hired Paul Morra Projects Inc. to perform a series of repairs and renovations to our home. They are a highly skilled team and very details oriented. Paul Morra does an excellent job leading his team and has a very good sense of client needs and concerns.
He is a very good communicator and always reachable. Any of our concerns were addressed in a patient manner and Paul Morra truly cares that the project outcome is the best it can be.
The project ran very smoothly despite our requests for some changes. All change orders were agreed in writing and priced very reasonable.
The entire team are very friendly and courteous. Paul Morra's design input is very well informed and practical.
The job site was clean at end of day and the men were always on time for 8am work start.
The work performed was extensive and varied, and all of it was performed with the same degree of construction quality and concern for aesthetic detailing.
We would definitely work with Paul Morra Projects again and look forward to our next chance to do so.