Ben in Ottawa

Our experience with Penguin started out positive, we were excited to be increasing the usable area in our home and fix our previously completely uninsulated basement. However, it was frustrating when we had calls scheduled with Penguin and they would no-show with no warning. Same when I would cancel plans to be home for material delivery on a weekend that never occurred. Construction started in May of 2022 but stopped after a day. The framers informed us that the design Penguin had provided wouldnt meet code since the entryway to the utility room was too narrow (the measurements in some of the drawings were off by FEET!). They proposed some unsatisfactory alternatives and pressured us to accept them so their work could continue on schedule but we ultimately sent the workers away while we took time to consider some other alternatives. Once we agreed on a new design, Penguin refused to revisit the contract so even though our finished area would now be smaller, we still had to pay the original contract price. Instead they added change orders as new problems came up. Penguins work failed in our first inspection by the City of Ottawa, but Penguin still cashed the cheque counting the milestone as completed. The drywaller they sent took 6 weeks to deliver a bumpy mess which still took a couple days for a second drywaller to fix. The tiler poured thinset down our laundry sink leaving us without working laundry for nearly a week until their plumber could come to clear out the lines. Penguin said they can complete a basement in 2 weeks, our project took over 16 weeks to complete. Penguin said their quotes are within 2-3% of the final project cost, ours was over by approximately $10,000 or around 20%. Penguin said they dont use subcontractors and have all their own employees. All trades who visited us except for the framers were subcontractors who needed us home and to explain the project to them. Hiring Penguin didnt save us any time or money and was ultimately a huge mistake.