Tom Fair Construction

We deeply regret our decision to hire Tom Fair Construction of Guelph, Ontario.

An acquaintance recommended using Tom Fair Construction to renovate two bathrooms. My parents met with Tom and were impressed by his polished look and his smart talk. All of his work was completed many months ago. Despite being very disappointed with the finished product and much of the experience, my parents were exhausted, discouraged and unwilling to share their observations with Tom, choosing instead to leave one washroom unfinished and to concede that no funds would be returned. I recently shared this with Tom and provided him with a list of deficiencies. Our list is growing as more issues slowly manifest themselves. The list includes the following:

- washroom door hung crooked, not closing properly and floor gap is uneven
- door trims are too long, crooked, too short, separating from wall and mitre joints not attaching
- new paint not covering many spots on the walls, only one thin coat of paint applied
- considerable debris and crumbs from renovation painted into walls, surfaces not sanded or prepared for painting
- wall patching done poorly and visible through paint
- paint splattered onto receptacles and new cupboards
- most of the top shower tiles are crooked
- tile installers were unwilling to install/drill a curtain rod
- bathtub installed incorrectly, significant squeaking, not level
- most caulking separating from walls (trim, counter top, molding, baseboard)
- crown molding separating from wall and sagging significantly

We paid Tom Fair $30,000 to renovate two bathrooms. The finishes we chose were standard, conservative and not costly, with the exception of the quiet-closing cabinet doors. The renovations were largely cosmetic in nature. The above list of concerns was shared with Tom during a meeting at our house. During the conversation he directly called into question our knowledge and understanding of contracting and renovating, instead of addressing the concerns we raised. We found it troubling that he sub-contracted most of the work. During our meeting he insisted he was not responsible for the work of his sub-contractors, which included family members.

We felt uneasy about his young son completing some of the work, including the crooked door, molding and incorrectly measuring and installing a towel bar. His brother-in-law was responsible for the painting and Tom seemed very quick to defend the quality of his work, despite seeing the deficiencies. One of his friends came from a carpeting store during his lunch hour and installed two metal strips on the floor under the doors. For that quick visit we were charged $100 dollars. We insisted we wanted a curtain rod installed for the shower, just as we had prior to the renovation, but the tile contractors were very reluctant to drill into their own work. We were told that installing one shower rod would cost $100 dollars. Instead, we purchased our own for $11 and installed it ourselves without any issues.

When I shared the list of concerns with Tom he said he would respond shortly. One week passed and we had not heard back, so I called him. He seemed agitated and said he was very busy. He told me that running a company is very expensive and he has many bills to pay. I requested to know when I should expect a response to our list. He assured us that he would call in one week and that he had customers that he needed to keep happy and that he could not speak and needed to end the conversation. I felt utterly insulted, deceived and used.

It has now been over two weeks and he has not responded in the time that he promised. We no longer want him or his associated in our home as they have caused more harm and aggravation than good. The tile company consisted of one young man and his brother who appeared to be even younger. It was our impression that the youngest was very new to the trade. They were also responsible for dirtying our dining room ceiling with their construction tarps and leaving it for us to discover. It has not been fixed.

We now see no other choice but to turn to the Better Business Bureau, The Guelph Chamber of Commerce and to explore legal recourse. Based on our experience, we strongly recommend you do not choose Tom Fair Construction or hope that you have much better luck than we did.