Royal Home Improvements

So, we had Royal Home Improvements (RHI) renovate our kitchen in two parts: the first in the Autumn of 2017 and the second in the Spring of 2018. We were so pleased with the results that we decided to hire them for other projects, too, and thus, our next story begins... Paul visited our home, as he had done before, reviewed the areas of concern, provided several options we could choose and worked with us on our budget with patience, understanding and good humour. As with our kitchen renovation, we felt our needs and concerns were considered. Paul listens. It shouldn't be extraordinary, but it is rare to find someone, especially the person in charge of the company, who personally consults with the clients, responds to emails and texts, and is so attentive. Pluses all the way. Things we wanted addressed this time included a better fence across our driveway, for privacy and for keeping our two dogs from running into the street, heedless of traffic and unable to find their was back home. Claudio, who worked tirelessly on our project, built a taller and sturdier fence with a lovely gate before he took down the old fence, thus ensuring the dogs could still safely go into the back garden to do their business. Then he focused on our basement windows. When we purchased our home, we noticed the two windows that had been added at the side, just above driveway level, had some issues. They were older and narrow and obviously not part of the original specs. Some cement-saw-wielding DIY-er had created the holes and stuck the windows in without using proper exterior materials, like nails and trim (the nails were interior, inferior and rusty and the trim was suitable for framing a photo... maybe), and without installing lintels. The old windows didn't open well, one of the panes was badly cracked and they didn't allow much light to enter. We want to utilize this lowest level of our home and making it less like a dungeon seemed prudent. Claudio excavated the area beside the wall all the way to the front corner, not just under where the new windows would go, and properly water-proofed and so on. You know, the sort of thing you see on 'Holmes Makes It Right' when a basement has been flooded because the exterior wall hadn't been properly done with a protective layer and gravel and all that. We have this protection now. The windows are deeper and they crank open vertically and lock securely. There are window wells now, too. And the amount of light we have now... It doesn't feel like we're in a basement at all! The next item was the fence between our neighbours and ourselves. Our driveways run beside one another and the section of fence here was leaning. Our driveway was cracking and eventually there would be the remnants of a fence, dirt and our crumbling driveway on our neighbour's property. Not a joyous scenario. Our driveway was higher than our neighbour's and there was no retaining wall to prevent the inevitable. Claudio removed that section of fence, excavated to the correct depth, poured cement, installed thick posts and built a solid retaining wall before building a new section of fence of the same design as the one he constructed across our driveway: taller and much sturdier. That fence isn't going anywhere. Ev-er. Throughout, Claudio was professional, accommodating and understanding (especially of my slightly confused mother, the dogs and clearing the digging equipment so the trick-or-treaters could safely reach our front door) and tidied and hauled away the mess when he was done. We are very, very pleased. Thank you, Paul, and thank you, Claudio. When we're ready to tackle another project, we'll give you a call. Cheers! Amanda & Peter in Mississauga (who apologize for being so bloody late with this review. Mea culpa.)

My greatest pleasure was in meeting Lupo. He is a professional who was prompt and stood by his word right from the beginning. I was comfortable with him which was very important. He helped me through every step of my bathroom renovation. He was kind and patient willing to assist me with whatever I needed help with. His crew were also wonderful and I would not hesitate for one moment to recommend Lupo . When the time comes for my home to have further work completed I will definitely contact Royal Home Improvements specifically requesting Lupo.

My wife and I had our kitchen and bath completely renovated by Royal Home. The Project Manager Lupo Cinco made the experience a positive one. He was fair and attentive to any issues that arose during construction. My wife and I are very satisfied with the end result.

Royal is nothing more than a booking agent, they only hire sub-contractors. They advertise that they have a project manager on each job This is not the case. The bathroom renovation I had done should have taken 5 days at most but took almost 3 months with a lot of wasted time and frustration along the way. The finished job done by Cinco Home Improvements was acceptable but dealing with Royal was a disaster. Make sure you are dealing with a contractor directly and not a "booking agent" all they are interested in is payment of the bills.

Watch for deliberate low-balling on the estimate. I had signed the contract and the prestart inspection indicated no concern. No show on day 1 and day 2 without advising. Then after inquiring I am told they are reviewing "unanticipated costs". There was no further explanation, no apology, and no accepting of responsibility given. Totally unprofessional and I feel a deliberate attempt to raise the price. Having prepared for the construction to begin and wanting to get on with the project they expect the client to acquiesce having already rejected other contractor quotes I fired them before they started.

I never do online reviews, but my experience with this company was so awful I had to comment. I wish I could give them zero stars, but that doesn't seem to be an option on this site. A two month reno took a year due to their mistakes. My three kids and I lived in a hotel for two weeks because of their delays. They told me at 7 pm Sunday night that the condo wasn't ready for the 9 am move scheduled the next morning! This is after working for 1 1/2 months - I think they could have given me more notice that they weren't going to meet the schedule. Their shower installation caused a flood for my downstairs neighbour. They forgot to remove the transport bolts when installing my clothes washer, causing it to shake uncontrollably and requiring emergency shut off. They mis-measured and installed the wrong kitchen (it didn't fit and wasn't to code, and was the wrong colour). So my three kids and I lived without a kitchen for over 6 months. There were still a ton of problems with the kitchen when it was finally installed. On top of everything, they left a water pipe dripping, almost causing an apartment flood. They didn't provide me with designer services, as per my contract. When I complained and asked for a rebate, they offered me only $350 off my $100,000 contract (only a 0.35% refund!), although the lack of designer cost me days of work trying to source and design things myself. They scratched my marble floor by dragging the toilet out, and ruined two sets of silk drapes by tying them back with electrical tape. They let me live for a month without a toilet seat because they installed the bolts wrong and didn't manage to get back to fix it. They convinced me to spend an extra $1000 on bathroom vanities because they were in-stock and could be delivered immediately (since we were living without any vanities), and then once I had agreed to pay for them, they told me they were back-ordered and would be delayed a month. Extra $1000 down the drain. They didn't follow condo board rules on noise (using a hammer drill on weekends) or mess (not putting down drop cloths), causing me to get in trouble with my new condo board. They even spray painted my apartment, getting spray paint all over my brand new hardwood floors and windows. I'm still dealing with Royal to try to get them to fix my hardwood floor because they didn't prepare the subfloor properly. So now the hardwood visibly moves (to the point where furniture moves that is placed on it) and squeaks. And believe it or not, this isn't the full list of problems - just the most egregious ones. I had to be on them constantly to make sure the project progressed at all, and to get them to address deficiencies. The only thing I didn't have to get on them for was payment - they were ridiculously prompt with asking for money. They were rude, unresponsive, and tried to overcharge me because they had erred in their contract. They even charged my credit card without authorization. I thought that the problem might have been the project manager, but he quit (because he was probably going to be fired) halfway through the project. The new project manager (Alex) was no better. Neither was his boss, Marco. My experience with this company is that Paul (the owner) is a smooth talker, who comes and does the sales pitch and says they will take care of everything. And then once the contract is signed, all of the service disappears and it becomes an exercise in "do the minimum, charge the maximum." Save yourself the torture and stay away from this company. And if, for some reason, you do use them, don't sign their contract without some key edits. Their payment schedule is based on when they start steps (i.e., 10% on the start of electrical, 10% on the start of plumbing). Well, this meant that I ended up paying for most of the work (because they had started), and then no progress was made. There was only 10% held for completion. I would recommend editing the contract to say 10% on COMPLETION of electrical, 10% on completion of plumbing etc....

Kitchen and Bathroom reno. Paying a premium to have a project manager coordinate was not worth it. Poor communication and not in touch with the customer. I feel fortunate that some of the trades were experienced such as the tiler since that was a major part of the project. What I didn't appreciate is that one tradesman broke my brand new $4,000 stove by pulling it away from the wall by the oven door and used the stove top as a work bench without even covering the glass top to protect it!!! Statute of limitations is long over so no recourse now.

I hired Royal Home Improvements to carry out a $60,000 renovation of my basement and laundry area. Unfortunately I cannot recommend the company. The project was several months overdue mostly due to shoddy workmanship which had to be redone. The workmen appeared sporadically. The project was finally completed and there were no overruns in the budget -certainly a plus.

To RHI Team, My property management team, GPM Property Management team, hired Royal Home Improvements to help us restore our lobby area as well as our condominium hallways. This included, doors, baseboards and carpeting. The job was not only done on time and on budget, but it was done cleanly and with care. From first contact to the project management, the RHI employees were great to work with. They were available anytime I called and when I had a question about the renovations that were being done, they were solved in a heartbeat and with attention to detail. RHI has my full trust in the fact that they can complete any home/condominium renovation job that arises. We’ve also had great comments come from our tenants/owners in regards to the noise-level during the process from beginning to end. I’d quickly recommend them for other condominium locations my property team might have in the case when restorations/renovations are needed. Thanks a ton, B. Dice

Dear Mr. Napolitano: I have just had my kitchen renovated and wanted to let you know how much I appreciated my project manager, Alban Matrushi. Alban was a pleasure to work with and certainly went above and beyond his duty, including driving me to pick out tiles and once just dropping me off when I was going shopping. It is this sort of "extra care" that will have me recommending Royal Home Improvements to friends and neighbours. Please thank Alban once again on my behalf and I would like to congratulate you on having such a wonderful person on your staff, representing you and your company. Merry Christmas to you and your staff and best wishes for 2013. Yours sincerely, J. McDonnell

Your team have finished the repairs to our bathroom. Your site manager kept in contact with me during the period to make sure all was well and called after the work to make sure it went as planned. Your contractor was excellent. He addressed all of our problems and picked up on a couple of other things as well and fixed them. Many thanks, Jim B

This is my fourth time hiring Royal Home Improvements and I must say, as in the past I haven't been disappointed. The work that was done was professional and detailed. It was important to the contractors that I was totally happy with the renovations and should there be a problem they were more than happy to rectify the situation. I had a set plan for the construction on my front walkway, but it was reassuring to get advice from my project manager on a better way on handling the renovation. In the end, I'm glad we went with Royal Home Improvements suggestion. Not only did it save me money, it looks far better. I'm at a stage now of saving up more money to contact them for more renos (I haven't told my husband yet). Many thanks to the team at Royal Home Improvements