Anyone will tell you the truth about home renovations: it always takes longer and costs more than you expected. If you go into it thinking you’ll stay on schedule and on budget, you’ll ultimately be disappointed.
That’s why I carefully chose my contractor after meeting with a few different ones. I had seen this contractor execute several projects in my neighborhood (NDG Montreal) over the years, and after a few meetings and going through a long list of questions, I signed a contract with J. Collins Construction Inc. Big mistake.
After endless months we fired him, and I explain why in the review below. Later on I learned that several clients had fired J. Collins Construction within the last year.
J Collins Construction Review
My home remodeling was pretty extensive including structural work and required structural engineering to open walls and adding cantilevered sections to new and existing decks. While I’ve managed renovations before, I figured this time I needed a contractor.
The project included creating an open concept kitchen/dining, kitchen remodel, addition of a powder room, replacing some siding, extending the deck and adding a second floor balcony.
We were provided with a clear budget and were assured that the project would remain on budget, unless there were any unforeseeable surprises (there always are), in which case we would sign a change order to account for any added costs and time.
Dust, Debris & Damages
Just like a chef, you will always hear that a good worker is a clean worker. In all my past experiences, workers take a few moments to clean the site at the end of the workday. This was NEVER the case with J. Collins Construction. The site was always littered with debris, even the stairs and the basement leading to our laundry room and temporary kitchen. At one time I actually stepped on a piece of wood and punched a nail through my foot. Luckily it did not reach my foot.
It felt like our yard was a landfill. All the debris would get tossed in our yard and spend days, even weeks sitting there. Animals would be seen going in and out to get the leftover food thrown into the pile by the workers. Our neighbors would complain, and eventually started avoiding us when we crossed paths in the street.
Then there was the dust. We were assured that we could continue to live onsite, upstairs away from the construction. The construction zone would be sealed off and the dust contained. Plastic sheets were installed in doorways, but this did little to contain the dust. In fact, the air quality monitor that we have upstairs in my home office regularly detected extreme levels of air pollutants telling me I needed to leave the house immediately.
Tip: your contractor should create a negative pressure work zone by installing a large box fan in a window, sucking the air outside.
What did they break today? I would ask myself every night as I looked around, regularly discovering broken personal items, damages to doors and windows, trees, fences, walkways, walls, and of course to the brand new finishes that had just been installed. It became so stressful that I began to break down emotionally.
Timelines? What timelines?
When we signed the contract, the estimated timeline to complete the work was 9 weeks. Suddenly, just as the work was about to begin, the timeline jumped to 13 weeks. We didn’t contest; we figured better to have an accurate estimate than wishful thinking from the get go.
Within the first few weeks, we were already way behind schedule for no apparent reason. We would have touch-points with our contractor, and things would pick up for a little while, but then started to slip again. The schedule was constantly extended. At first I was frustrated and angry, but eventually worn down and exasperated. 2 months turned into 3, then 3 months turned into 4. After 4 months there was still no end in sight.
Way Over Budget
Think about it. If the budget calls for 2 carpenters, one at $60/hour and one at $40/hour, for 9 weeks, 40 hours a week, that’s $36,000. If instead of the planned 9 weeks, construction is still going on after 19 weeks, well, you do the math. Not to mention that every single week they somehow managed to bill several overtime hours.
Then there were the sub-trades. Every single one of them ending up costing way more than what had been budgeted for. And of course, “that’s not my fault” he would say. He wouldn’t hesitate to maintain his 15% service fee on all invoices however.
Tip: Always ask to see the detailed invoices for materials and sub-trades and pay close attention. We found multiple duplicate charges for materials, and hours billed on days when no workers were at the site.
Poor Craftsmanship
Ever seen that triangle: good, fast, cheap? Usually you can get 2 out of 3 if you’re willing to sacrifice on the third. So if you want the work to be good and fast, it won’t be cheap. In our case, the work was extremely slow and very expensive, so you would think the quality would be good, right? Wrong.
I was disappointed by the level of quality produced by so-called experienced carpenters. Walls are wavy, not plumb. Doors are crooked. There are gaps in the baseboards. And don’t even get me started on the windows and doors. No one will notice they say. Really? Is that the best you’ve got?
Why We Fired Our Contractor
Bottom line, after 4 months in, we found ourselves tens of thousands of dollars over budget and more than twice the estimated timelines, with still weeks of work left to be completed.
Customer, J. Collins Construction Inc.
When you’re this deep into it, it’s hard to walk away. You feel like you are a hostage in your own home. The work is half started and you know there’s crazy demand right now so all the workers are busy and probably booked up for months. So you tell yourself to just bite the bullet and just get through it. But at one point enough is enough.
We had yet another conversation with our contractor about budget and timelines and got nowhere. Always excuses; never once showing a hint of accountability. We asked if we could get more workers to get the job finished faster. It wouldn’t save us money, but we figured at least we’ll be done.
The answer was no, he couldn’t provide more guys. He didn’t have the workers. Meanwhile he was using his crew to carry out work on his own personal properties.
Now What?
We sent a written notice to our contractor to advise him that we wanted to terminate the contract. The workers collected their tools and scaffolding, and that was that.
To finish the job, I looked up trades online using Google, Kijiji, Craigslist, forums, etc. I met with a bunch of them and asked a lot of questions. It’s crazy how much expertise and budget can vary from one to another!
I weighed out expertise, budget, availability, and just my gut feeling to boil down my choices. To my great relief, I was ultimately able to book all the trades I needed within the following month to get the job done.
It was a nerve racking decision, but I have absolutely no regrets. We were able to get the work done faster by competent trades people who did high quality work at a reasonable cost.
