B&B Affordable Renovations Inc.

Bill and his team did a full renovation of an attached 2 car garage to a kids playroom and gym that came out great. The team did quality work and at a very good price.

Bill is currently replacing our existing garage and breezeway with a much larger garage with a second floor that is open to the main house. He was able to easily fulfill our requests, such as a thicker slab for car work and using a steel beam to avoid needing any support columns in the garage. Once the permit was approved, work started quickly, with the old garage torn down within a week, the foundation laid a week later, and the walls going up about a week and a half after that. Small changes to the design, like adding windows or swapping the location of a door and a closet, were easily accommodated without hassle. Communication is clear and he's generally easy to get in touch with. We're very happy with the work so far, and will definitely be hiring B&B again for future projects.

We officially hired B&B Renovations in early February 2016 to complete some remodeling on our newly purchased home. Concurrently, we were also in the process of selling our house with a closing date of mid-April. B&B was chosen after interviewing several contractors in January; the decision to hire this company was principally made on the basis of this timeline AND with a verbal assurance by B&B that the completion of work was very much achievable in this 6-8 week time frame, barring any unforeseeable delays due to materials. The owner also assured us that his company was available to commence immediately upon obtaining the necessary building permits. For full disclosure, however, the contract that was signed did stipulate a completion date of May 31. Upon request, a third substantial payment was made on March 7th prior to actual completion of any electrical work or rough inspections. B&B again personally assured us upon receipt of check that the work would proceed on schedule. The electrician attempted to complete rough wiring work in the kitchen but was running into challenges due to the fact that the walls were not gutted. This attempt led to several large holes in the walls exposing the obvious fact that the kitchen walls were not insulated. The rough electrical inspection occurred on April 19th; rough plumbing inspection occurred on March 29th. Cabinet delivery was scheduled by B&B for April 6th. In the approximately 7 intervening weeks between initiation of work and our moving in mid-April, B&B’s subcontractors did refinish the existing floors. The painting was not 100% completed prior to our moving in our household belongings, however. To our surprise, the stair bannisters and balusters were painted white along with rest of the trim. We discovered this oversight in early March and was told that the paint would be stripped immediately to avoid difficulties in doing so at a later date. This paint stripping did not occur until August. The painters also painted the glass window panes, including the one on the front door. They splashed paint on the brick work in front of the fireplace, on the downstairs bathroom floor and on the sink faucets. They painted over radiators and walls without cleaning them first. They splashed paint on our antique bookcase. Most disturbingly, they also painted shut the windows and the ropes used to open the windows. Finally, they dumped the paint down the bathroom sink. I had to hire a plumber to snake the sink and unclog it. Moreover, none of the cabinet fixtures were put back in place. The painting supplies and other materials are still being stored in our basement. We moved in on April 22. No kitchen, no bathroom. Painting unfinished. In the meantime, we resolved to shower at the local YMCA and eat out of a microwave set up in our dining room. This would go on until early September. In early May, I reminded B&B of the pending May 31 deadline. At this time, the owner also asked for additional payment. In further good faith, we provided him with the next installment (now totaling now 90% of payment!). At this point, the kitchen walls were partially exposed, especially on the lower half, several active electrical/junction boxes were noted, the floor was still incomplete, and no plans for replumbing and relocating the radiator had been made. No insulation in bathroom or kitchen. B&B sent their subcontractor out to resume work on the kitchen and parts of the bathroom. We came home on day to find to our shock the upper cabinets installed over holes in the walls and over pre-existing junction boxes. Moreover, the cabinets were installed with carpenter’s nails and grey drywall screws. No insulation was placed in the walls. In the bathroom, the bathroom tiles quickly went up in less than a day; we were very much worried about their workmanship. The cement board subflooring was laid down without what I believed to be the improper use of adhesive and adequate number of screws as per the manufacturer’s instructions. I had no other choice but to officially enumerate my concerns in writing (as requested in the contract) and request a temporary cessation of all work. The building inspector was brought in to re-inspect the work. He informed B&B of several building code violations and improper practices, including failure to insulate the kitchen walls, obstruction of electrical boxes, improper use of blueboard in the bathroom, and need to install firestop in the floor of the exposed walls. The building inspector insisted that the cabinets come down, walls properly insulated, sealed up correctly. B&B’s subcontractor hurriedly stuffed insulation up the walls on the same day prior to the third inspection but did not include all of the upper sections, prompting a return of the building inspector. In an attempt to circumvent the electrical box issue, B&B sent their electrical subcontractor out to move the electrical box (rather than simply deactivating it). This attempt only led to a hole being punched in the adjoining dining room wall. I ended up hiring my own electrical contractor to decommission the original electrical boxes (all while still having B&B as my principal contractor). It took 4 visits from the building inspector between May and mid-June to finally get compliance. In the process of putting up the cabinets, B&B’s subcontractor incorrectly cut an opening in the back for the electrical outlet. The rough inspection finally passed and further work resumed at the end of the June. B&B finally brought what we later understood to be their “regular” workers to complete the work. The work in the kitchen was mostly completed in August (nearly 6 months after work was initiated). The tiling of the bathroom tub and floor was installed. The tiler (subcontracted) ended up replacing the floor because he could not accept the work done by his predecessor. The original electrical work was not straightforward and required some rectification. The electrical outlets in the kitchen were installed too close to the countertops and had to be relocated, necessitating a third round of plastering and painting in the kitchen (with some of my own out of pocket-expense to hire a separate plasterer). The electrical wiring for the bathroom vanity light was too low and likewise needed to be relocated for a third time. The ceiling fan was installed in September after much delay and it turns out to be of inadequate velocity to remove the moisture. This fact has led to streaking of the bathroom walls. In spite of all of this, and after some very persistent demands from the owner of B&B for additional payments, I did pay him the balance of the original contract in early September in hopes of getting to the final inspection after more than seven months. Unfortunately, the final inspection which finally took place in October (!) did not pass for reasons that B&B never installed heat in the kitchen or completed additional work stipulated in contract (e.g., installing attic railing). Following this disappointment, I met with the owner of B&B to terminate their work at our home. I have hired additional contractors to complete final work. We still do not have many windows that can be opened. We hired a separate plumber to install heat in the kitchen. Further damage to our stairs in a late attempt to strip off the paint. The electrical switches for the kitchen continue to trip and need to be manually reset. We are hiring a separate carpenter to finish the work in the attic. Building materials still remain in my basement at the time of this writing. All in all, several thousand dollars in additional expenses have been incurred since this time to rectify all of the defects or incomplete work.