Penguin Basements

We were looking at doing our basement for over a year until we ran into Guy at the HomeShow. We looked at very inexpensive options, where one guy would come to your house and do all the work, and we also explored large companies like Penguin. We selected Penguin after our experience at the Homeshow and the in home consultation.

The inhome consultation was a little long, but it added value because it validated our concerns with the inexpensive option we were looking at. We have lived in other homes and found a guy to come in and put lipstick on our home so that it could be sold, but because this is our “forever home” we were willing to put the investment in to make sure we have a mold free basement.

After signing the contract, we were set up with some dates to do the measurements and drawings for the permits. No issue with that part of the process, it was smooth and painless. We then had to go to the Penguin office to meet up with Gemma to select finishes and explore options of a wet bar. Gemma was great, and provided some great ideas and helped facilitate colour pallets that we are happy with. What we liked about this part of the process was that there was no high-pressure sales tactics for us to buy the upgrades.

After a few weeks, contact was made and we had a date to start the project with a completion timeframes of 3 weeks. I was very skeptical because we had work done at other homes and previous contractors and designers could never stay on schedule.

The start of the project was delayed by 1 day based on the web-based schedule on homebuilders, so we were expecting a rocky road ahead but Penguin recovered. Communication could have been better at the start.
We had a little hiccup with the trash bin delivered on the wrong side. It would have been nice if the delivery person knocked on our door so we could move cars and tell them what side to put it on. But one quick call and 1 hour later, it was resolved.

The material delivery was the first stage. The team that delivered were not very friendly and dinged up some walls, but it was minor. We didn’t have a lot of interactions with Juliano (our PM) but when we did have questions he answered all of them and answer emails quickly.
First day was doing the chalk lines and framing. That team was efficient and were quickly done in one day. The next day was the drywall team. They were a young team and listened to loud music for most of the day. We lived through the whole renovation and I work from home, so at times I had to move upstairs to buffer the noise. The team that did the drywall left a huge mess. Future trades people that came in complained about the state of the job site. The plumbing and electrical team were great. Viktor was very nice in discussing options of pot light placement and options for the room. We decided on just a utility sink in one of the storage rooms, so the plumbing requirements was very simple but the team that did the plumbing work was great.

Tap and sanding was next. The team was quiet and listened to music at a more respectable level. They were a little slow, and took many long breaks but left a huge mess. The flooring team came in to install the floor and were shocked to see the mess. They cleaned up a bit and installed the floors. The contractors that installed the floor were great. The painters were next and that team was great. They were very late on the first day…but did the work in 3 hours. They were very quiet and at times we couldn’t even tell they were in the house. Trim and doors were next and that team was fast and efficient. We were excited to start seeing the basement coming together.

We were then introduced to Marlon Garganta (Finishing Project Manager) who help supported the last few stages. Marlon was great in terms of addressing the deficiencies. (missed access valve, patching drywall, paint, missing trim and additional dings on the drywall on our main entryway). The final team cleaned up the extra material and then the cleaning staff came in to clean up the basement.

The basement has only been completed for a few days, but so far, we are very happy with the space. Penguin delivered on all promises, was on budget (except for the extra’s that we asked for) and for the most part all the contractors used were very good. Lets see how they handle any warranty issues. I believe we paid a fair price for what we wanted, and the most important fact is we are not worried about what is behind the walls. We know the work was done correctly with really good trades people. We would highly recommend anyone who is looking at doing basement renovations to explore Penguin basement.

We had an excellent experience with all the staff at Penguin Basements from our first meeting with Bruce right through to the end of the project with Marlon. All the contractors we met throughout the project who worked on the basement were professional and did an amazing job. We can't wait to use our additional living space to entertain our family and friends!

I will like to give the highest rating to the finishing done to our basement.

Claudio and Penguin basement has gone above and beyond our expectations with their team of professionals. From beginning to end.

Communication was always great.
when we had any questions or concerns We were always contacted promptly or visited right away to address any of our needs.

We are exited to enjoy our basement and we want to Thank Claudio again for surpassing everything on his scope and giving us the right expectations.

Our experience with Penguin basement have been fantastic. Great people to work with, very clean, professional and courteous.

We would definitely recommend
Penguin basement to do your basement Reno in a control environment where you the home owners have the assurance of what is been done to your home with high quality.

This is a company that stands for what they promise.

Thank you Claudio and Penguin basement for giving us back our basement and a more enjoyable place to see our children play and grow.

We hired Penguin Basements after seeing one of their neighborhood showcase homes and after meeting with Dan (Sales rep), great guy he really helped us understand the complete process. From the first day we knew this company really had the resources to get the job done properly and on time. You will be amazed at how punctual and the size of some of the trades crews. The online app Buildertrend is a great perk with this company, it keeps everything organized and flowing smoothly. A big thank you to Claudio 10++(finishing phase rep), he really came through for us and made sure we loved the final product. We have been getting so many compliments and we are looking forward to enjoying our new basement.

We are pleased with the workmanship and overall project completion. However, lack of coherent schedule planning, inconsistent use of Buildertrend, and miscommunication frustrated us. With 4 different project mangers, agreed-upon arrangements got mishandled or dropped and major mistakes ensued that cost us time. As our salesman had promised accurate, timely and responsive scheduling and communication, we were disappointed that the reality did not live up to the pitch. Josh Diamond rescued the project, with his full commitment to listen to our concerns, keep us informed, and solve problems. His get-it-done-right attitude resulted in a renewed confidence in the company.

Now the project is finally finished! We are waiting for the approval of the city's final inspection.

We like to say that our previous review to Penguin Basement was based on the customer experience we were going through during construction stage. As we said it before it wasn't a pleasant one.

However, this 10 +++ rating goes to an amazing and rewarding experience during the finishing stage where the company's name and our trust was regained thanks to their Finishing Supervisor Claudio who has shown dedication as well as personal interest in giving us what we feel is fair and the company's values stand for.

Claudio and Penguin Basement has shown us how valuable we are by going beyond our requests and our expectation utilizing their resources in a positive way to our best interests, making our investment and our home much more valuable than we anticipated.

THANK YOU CLAUDIO and Penguin Basement for a job well done and for the excellent final results.

My recommendation to the company:
Make sure communications and things are done right in the first place before and during the build, rather than to wait until the finishing stage to rectify the issues! That will certainly save time, money and headache for your customers and your company!

We chose Penguin after going to one of their showcases in our neighborhood. We have not quite finished the project but so far our experience has been great! Great options in the design centre for us to choose the finishes, etc.
Marlon (Finishing Project Mgr) has been amazing to deal with. He has kept us up to date on progress, very responsive, professional and the quality of his workmanship is great. Marlon has definitely gone above and beyond making the renovation painless for us. We are looking forward to finished product in the coming days.

We recently had a basement completely renovated by Penguin Basements and are really pleased with the final results.

We share the feedback as some others in that the initial quote/consultation appointment is quite long and much of the content feels unnecessary. Our sales rep designed a floorplan that we liked but at that point we felt high pressure to make a decision on the spot. We almost didn’t go with Penguin Basements because of this. Ultimately, we were able to put that aside because we believed that the price was competitive compared to other companies that we had quote the project.

We also experienced some communication challenges that were predominantly prior to the start of our project. We had difficulty receiving an indication of when our job was going to begin, and reached out numerous times without response. Finally, we did receive a response and it was explained that the delay was a result of our representative being on vacation at the time.

The online tool (Buildertrend) that is used to help manage the project was fine but it was never updated to reflect any changes in the schedule of work. We couldn’t rely on it to get an indication of when we would have someone working in our home. We did use it to message our customer service rep and our project manager which worked as expected.

The trades that worked on our project were professional and personable. There were some misses during the project that were of small concern. On a couple occasions some of the basement windows without screens were left open in addition to trades letting themselves in with the lock box key when we were at home (a courtesy knock would have sufficed). In the end, all produced a high quality of work and as a result there were few issues.

Our project manager Seth made the project go very smoothly. He was very professional, accessible, and client focused. He took care of things in the background so we didn’t have to worry about anything. He was quick to respond to any concerns or questions that we had.
He also offered great advice and practical solutions to any issues that arose and even was proactive in identifying most of those issues. If we weren’t happy he made it right. It was really a pleasure working with Seth.

Overall the project had its challenges (to be expected with all custom renovations) but the basement looks fantastic, we absolutely love it and we are going to enjoy the space for many, many years to come!

We have wanted our basement renovated for over 5 years and we love the job Penguin Basements have done. Everyone we have met has been professional and polite. The web based platform they use has helped the process although a little more communication would not go a miss. The timeline has been fast and we have an awesome basement in just over 3 weeks. Marlon has gone above and beyond and he has listened to all my requests. The standard of his work does Penguin proud.

Penguin basement has exceeded our expectations with their team of professionals finishing our basement ahead of schedule by two days. From start to finish communication was always great. We were always aware of who was coming as well as when.
We are extremely exited to enjoy our basement and we want to Thank Claudio who had everything coordinated to a fantastic finish product. Great people to work with. Clean, professional and courteous.
We definatelly recommend basement Canada to home owners that want assuarance of quality and professional performance on their investment.
This is a company who delivers what they promise.
Thank you basement Canada