J. H. Construction Company

I cannot speak highly enough of our experience working with Jay and his crew. From our first meeting to our final farewell, their reliability, competence, and collaborative, positive attitude were constants.

Our job was not large, but it wasn't particularly simple either - it involved swapping the locations of a too-small bedroom and a too-large (and very outdated) bathroom as well as a variety of improvements in a third room. It involved plumbing, electrical, ventilation, penetrations to the exterior, etc. I'm an architect, and both my wife and I were quite particular about how we wanted all of the details and finishes to look in the end.

Jay picked up very quickly on what we were hoping to accomplish at our first meeting, taking notes, asking all the right questions, and even making suggestions right away about the best ways to tackle certain challenges. He provided a detailed and comprehensive quote that was quite reasonable, and importantly, he put realistic cost placeholders for all of the fixtures and finishes. We of course were able to select more expensive showerheads and floor tiles and the cost went up accordingly, but having those placeholders gave us a much more complete sense of the potential project costs. Every other contractor we talked to gave us quotes just for labour and pre-finish materials, leaving it as a matter of guesswork as to what the final bottom line would look like.

Once we agreed on a contract and a start date, Jay told us that it would take his team two weeks assuming we had selected/purchased all of the fixtures and tiles by that time. We thought, based on prior experience with contractors, "Two weeks? I guess we'll plan for four to six." Pessimism that in this case was entirely unwarranted.

We got everything in order for their arrival, and on the planned start date, Jay showed up with a team of six at 9:00 on the dot. Every day they worked diligently from 9:00am to 7:30pm. They completed the demolition in a single day (including removing 1.5 tons (!) of old tile and cement). They completed the plumbing and electrical in two days. They added in a full attic reinsulation and building of a new access hatch at a very reasonable additional cost and no schedule impact. They kept the house relatively tidy - setting up plastic sheeting, removing construction waste every day, and vacuuming the halls and stairs before leaving every evening. They were friendly and open to input, making small adjustments and corrections without a hint of complaint.

All in all, they completed their work in 8 calendar days. The efficiency was remarkable, but the quality didn't suffer. We were pleased with virtually every aspect of the finishing, and where we found small deficiencies, Jay and his team came back in a timely fashion to fix them. Other than the attic insulation scope (which we added of our own accord) there was not a dollar of additional cost. We were happy with every aspect of the process, and we're delighted with the result - a beautiful new bathroom and two much improved bedrooms for our kids.

I would recommend this crew without hesitation. In fact, I've already done so to half my friends! The experience was so positive that my wife and I are looking to take on other home improvements sooner than we'd originally planned, and there's no one we'd rather work with than Jay.