Sonoma Contracting

Mike and his crew are simply awesome. They have transformed our old nasty basement into an amazing place to spend time. He has some of the best trades I've ever dealt with. They were all skilled, professional and could problem solve on the fly, something that most trades that I've dealt with can't do. Mike's quote was fair, his attention to detail was impressive. The scope of work was a full basement renovation which included an office, living room, laundry, bathroom and storage areas. Best part...heated floors....do it, totally worth it. I would use Sonoma again and would recommend Mike and his crew to anyone.

Mike and his team finished our basement and made it into one of our favorite places in the house. The work included a bathroom, gym, cool-room/wine storage, games room and a multimedia area. Even though we started the project with a ready plan and a pretty good idea of what we wanted done, Mike’s experience in projects of this nature showed & he helped us to crystalize our ideas & avoid a number of pitfalls. While there are always small challenges along the way in projects of this size, the way Mike & his team handled them was superb & made a huge difference. It is also important to mention Mike’s good nature and up-beat personality which made it easy to establish a good relationship that helped us work well together. In case of our reno, Mike had to coordinate with 2 other companies (1 for fireplace work & 1 for bar installation) and did so without any issues or concerns from us. The work was completed in approximately 3 months (as per schedule) and the quality is excellent.

It’s important to mention that Mike’s success is based on top notch professionals he selects to do the work. Folks like Marco (electrician), Paul (HVAC) and Tony (framing, trim-work) etc. all of whom not only complete the work but are passionate about the quality and make excellent recommendations as the project unfolds.

We would recommend Mike & his team without hesitation to anyone who wants to reno their basement space.

Mike and his crew were truly an outstanding team. I recommend them without hesitation. They came in and demolished the existing horror story that we called a basement. They framed, built a bathroom (where there was none), insulated, drywalled, painted and put beautiful flooring. Not only were there no shortcuts taken, they went the extra mile. Everything was on budget and done in a timely manner. Most important to me (as the pseudo professional designer) is that Mike communicated with me. He ALWAYS returned calls and followed my sometimes convoluted instructions. After having interviewed many contractors and engaged in many projects, I can truly say that Mike and his crew are true diamonds.

The guys from Sonoma were very professional. They came and did the job quickly without any hassle as promised. My basement looks exactly the way I asked. Everything was done promptly and neatly. Thank you!

Mike is a good guy, has fair prices, and ensures quality work is done. Ill be using his services again. We had him demo a wall with some structural work, remove old drywall and replace it, and a fair amount of electrical in the house.

Thanks Mike.
Jay

Mike and his team created a very nice basement space for our family complete with rec. room, bathroom (vanity, toilet, and shower), laundryroom (sink, counter, and retractable hanging line), storage cupboard under the stairs, and office room with enclosed furnace area with sliding doors. We especially liked the tiling and glass shower wall in the bathroom! The washer and dryer doors swing open and clear the wall too!Mike dealt with us in a very professional manner. He was punctual and courteous. Mike always responded quickly and was attentive to our needs and many questions. He kept within our budget and was honest and upfront about all items that were additional costs. I was impressed with the framing (Tony works hard and is a perfectionist). I liked how the replacement plumbing created more space in the laundry room. The 2 wooden window frames were a nice touch. Thank you for rerouting the air conditioning lines and vents to keep the ceiling high in the office. Mike purchased and worked with all the materials and colours we had selected accommodating our wishes. His pricing was reasonable and you can really see the attention to the details in their workmanship. We would recommend Sonoma Contracting to our friends and family and will call on Mike for any future projects.

Mike was an absolute pleasure to deal with on this project. He managed the trades very well and the work was completed on time and to a very high standard. He explained the process very well and was incredibly thorough and diligent every step of the way.
Mike and his team are not interested in cutting corners - they make sure that the job is done right the first time, a unique and invaluable quality! Considering the scope of work to be completed, the price was very fair. All line items on the quote were clear and accounted for.
Mike was always reachable through every step of the process - it also helps that aside from being very personable, Mike is a great guy and excellent at what he does.
I would not hesitate for a second in recommending Mike and Sonoma Contracting.

Sonoma

Mike finished our basement this summer and I would absolutely recommend them for future projects. The workmanship was superb and Mike (the owner) was a pleasure to deal with.

The project came in very close to budget (within 5%), and high quality.
I would recommend Sonoma for any future projects.

Highlights:
Quality of work: Outstanding. All finishes are very nice, good craftsmanship. Mike picks his trades carefully, knows exactly what they can do and their quality of work.
Very close to budget: I expected more deviation from the budget, given some of the changes that were made and extras that were needed (we had a leak in a wall that was impossible to find and turned out to be an appliance leaking), the floor needed more leveling than expected. Mike was forthright that these were extras but needed to be addressed.
Reliable: If Mike said he was coming by, he would come by and he makes sure his people come by. I've had nightmare experiences where people would tell you they would be there at 8 am, and they would arrive at 2pm, and treat you as if you were wrong. This is not the case with Mike. There were a few occasions that the time was not exact, but its to be expected with a project of this nature.
Communication: Fantastic. Mike was very good about letting us know when workman were would be here and which days someone would be in.
Flexibility: Mike would accomodate what ever changes or timing that was needed. I travel a lot for work, and Mike could always accomodate my schedule and the dates I would be away, to make sure decisions were made ahead of time to keep things moving, or to make sure I was available to verify each step.
Very fair: We had an issue with our vanity, that the supplier shipped a wrong piece and the installer tried to modify it to work. We weren't happy with the result, and Mike was more than happy to split to repair cost with the supplier to make sure we were satsified.

Things I would have done differently
Any extra work, I would treat as a separate project and evaluate each of the personnel doing those projects independently. Mike's trades are exactly what he needs to do the job he has set forth, if there are any extra jobs or items, Mike puts you in touch with the trade and tell you to negotiate on your own. Given the timing I just used the people suggested. (some worked out great, and others didn't)
we had some extra HVAC work, and Mike put us in contact with his HVAC person. They were fantastic.. one of the best experiences I've had. I would absolutely use them again.
We wanted some home theater wiring, so again we made contact with his Home Theater guy. Unfortunately, I didn't do my due diligence and I didn't have a clear idea of competitive pricing or the nature or cost of the job. The job ended up being significantly more than I expected, and didn't deliver exactly what I wanted. This is not Mike's or his trades fault, as I should have sat down, given my expectations, and gotten quotes on the pricing from a few services. This may have been a very good competitive price.. but I didn't feel I had the value for what was spent.
Planning, planning planning. I would definitely had a very detailed well defined plan up front. (possibly even hired someone to make the plan for me), Mike was great for delivering what you wanted, but unfortunately, there were times that a decision needed to be made quickly that I had not anticipated. For example, where do the light switches go, where do you want each electrical plug? Mike has great ideas and advice, but normally, when he is asking, there is an urgency for an immediate decision, and I normally want alot more time to evaluate. This again isn't Mike's fault, you are paying him to make the project happen.. so if you want time to think through all the possibilities, its during the planning stage.
I would have gotten a better breakdown of the cost estimate. Mike was great about keeping on budget, but it may have relieved some of the concern about costs, if we had a better idea of what some of the 'extra's we were asking for were going to cost. For example, Mike has a budget set aside for the bathroom, but we sourced the vanity separately and paid for it separately. During the final payments this was taken into consideration, but we didn't really know how much was originally budgeted.. similar for choosing tiles, flooring etc. We didn't know the price point that was budgeted, so we didn't know if we were very far off and it would be a significant cost or not. As it turns out, it was pretty close to budget, but for peace of mind, a better upfront breakdown would have been better.
Things to be aware of.

Timelines: Because Mike hand picks his trades, there are often gaps when people are working on your project. This may also extend timelines. But for our purposes, quality of work and maintaining costs were more important than timing, so we had no issues with this.

In summary, I would definitely use Sonoma in the future and would highly recommend Mike.

This past summer we contacted Mike to finish our basement. Our basement has very intrusive duct work, which made the project challenging. We wanted to create a play area for our toddler, as well as an area for a home theatre, and for a large 9 piece drum kit. We wanted to use 525 Quiet rock and Roxul to cut down on the sound from the home theatre and drum set.

Mike and all the trades did a terrific job. They were all a pleasure to work with and were very courteous. Work was always started and finished on time and on budget. They also were meticulous in clean up at every stage. Tony the framer was great to work with too, very skilled, fast and meticulous.

Mike supported us in our decision to use another carpet company that he didn't regularly deal with since we wanted an upgraded carpet that his regular supplier was unable to get at our price point. Mike was always very easy to deal with and made the renovation a pleasant experience. Any questions, issues or concerns were dealt with immediately.

If you are looking for a contractor that proves accurate estimates, quality work, and great trades and craftsmen, our experience is that you need not look any further than Sonoma. We will be referring Sonoma to our friends and will be using Mike and the boys again.

We can now enjoy our basement home theatre and play area, yes drum kit included in the reference to "play area". Thanks again Mike, keep up the great work!

We just recently had our basement finished by Mike and his crew and we are thrilled with the end result! Mike is extremely professional, easy to work and very accommodating. He gave us great ideas to maximize the space, decrease the amount of bulkheads and so much more while remaining on budget and completing the project in the timeframe he originally gave. You can tell that Mike, along with his crew, take great pride in their work and because of that our basement looks absolutely amazing! We have already referred him to a couple people and would definitely use him again. Thanks Mike!