Kerr Construction and Design

I had my main bathroom renovated by Kerr Construction and designed by Kerr Design. I had originally thought I wanted an all white bathroom, but ended up going with a much bolder design presented by Kerr. Our project manager, Brian, was excellent and was there when things did not go smoothly with the glass shower door. Kerr ensured that a proper glass door was eventually received and installed to their standards and fixed a condensation problem that was not originally identified. Though the project ended up taking longer then anticipated due to these issues, the renovation was still within budget and Kerr ensured that the quality of the renovation did not suffer. It is often when things go wrong that having a reputable contractor makes all the difference. I love my new bathroom and make sure to show everyone the drastic transformation.

Post-reno followup review: absolutely fantastic service! We had a small issue due to wear & tear, 3 1/2 years after reno was finished - I called Kerr, they had it FIXED within a day. Wonderful.

We recently hired Kerr Construction to renovate the kitchen in our townhome. We couldn't be happier with our choice and the outcome of the renovation. From the first meeting with John, the Project Consultant, we knew we were in good hands with Kerr. The steps in their process from start to finish were very clear and transparent.
Senior Designer, Zaineb, was amazing to work with. She quickly understood our vision and the functionality we needed. Zaineb came up with an design and layout for our small space, vastly improving the flow and function. Including tripling (or more) the storage space. The 3-D rendering was very helpful in allowing us to see what the finalized project would look like. We never could have envisioned the plan Zaineb created for us. She thoughtfully guided us along the way, providing options and suggestions for all the finishes that would bring it to life.
The construction phase was equally as professional. From the project manager, Mark, who stayed on top of the project, to the various sub contractors on site. But specifically thanks to the site manager, Nelson.
Nelson kept everything on track. He informed us at each step where we were in the process, and what would be happening on site each day. Any issues that arose Nelson dealt with them immediately and came up with solutions. When we added additional work during the project, he made sure the changes were submitted and implemented as approved. Overall we were very impressed with Nelson's communication, commitment to our project, and attention to detail.
Our custom-built kitchen island, drawers and cabinets came out beautifully thanks to Wes and the team at Urban Vista Cabinets. They went above and beyond to make sure we were 100% satisfied, and came back to make minor adjustments.
It's a true pleasure to use our new extremely functional and beautiful kitchen. We thank the Kerr team for their hard work and high standards. We would absolutely hire Kerr for future projects.

Kerr saved my new construction build. They took over from a poorly experienced builder who was incapable of building the architecture that was being executed on. Elton showed up and became my partner on this problem, a problem that was consuming me entirely - I found a partner. A half built home, we needed to finish and it was go time! The Kerr team jumped in, helped me understand what we needed to correct and what we needed to do in order to finish and realize the space I had been working so hard to create for many years. This review is focused on the Kerr leadership mostly - because days end, no matter what went right or wrong, they stood there with confidence, the ability and the capacity to get the job done. They superseded all the sub contractors, many who did great work, many who.that didn't matter - Elton made sure that no matter the dollar spent, it would be a good dollar spent days end. I am thankful for Elton and Kerr, they are why I live in a great space!

We recently hired Kerr Construction to renovate our kitchen, master ensuite and reading room, and we are very happy with the final result.
The project took about 9 weeks from tear out to completion, a very manageable timeline. Kerr had a good selection of suppliers and subcontractors that helped everything go smoothly. Communication was always prompt and efficient. Our project manager, Eric, kept on top of everything and was always available with great input. He dealt immediately with any issues that came up and was always able to find the right solution.
Nisha and the design team offered good décor/design options and choices from various vendors which really helped in the selection process.
The quality of the craftsmanship was excellent. Our kitchen cabinets, bookcase and ensuite vanity were custom made and turned out beautifully. All of the workers/tradespeople were very respectful of our home. At the end of every working day, the house was swept and tools were put away.
We are really enjoying our renovated spaces and have Kerr to thank for making it happen. We have had many compliments on the changes to our home. We would recommend them for future work.

The team at Kerr were great! They helped us design and build a great apartment! They had excellent service and knowledge.

We worked with Dave and his team at Kerr Design and Construction to remodel the main floor of our split level bungalow. What we liked about Kerr is that they were very responsive to our questions (Dave checked in with us regularity with schedule updates), proactive when dealing with the recent global supply chain challenges (both our flooring and cabinet tops were back ordered but Leo sourced excellent replacements to keep our schedule), and attentive to detail (our on-site supervisor Cory was excellent ensuring the finishing was top quality even having his crew re-do items). We have done 4 renovations over the years and this was the best experience to date. Highly recommend Kerr.

This is a second project Kerr Construction and Design has completed in my home with excellent results. It was discussions with Mark Austin, the project manager, who shared his thoughts on replacing my basement ceiling tiles to visually improve the old ceiling which had many missing tiles or gaps from workers gaining access to wires or pipes during renovation work. His vision of what could be done, cost, and length of time reflects Mark's expertise and knowledge in all aspects of construction. He had a wonderful team of carpenters and electrician who carried out the project.
Eric Teng, a young skilled carpenter, communicated his progress made each day. He often drew out the plans so that I could visualize what to expect. Another carpenter, Nelson, joined Eric for a few days. Nelson worked well with Eric as a team. The electrician had wired the ceiling for pot lights and rewarded me a bright basement.
All in all, the new T Bar ceiling with new ceiling tiles and wood to cover unsightly pipes is perfect. Thanks to Mark and his team with Kerr Construction, I have a new ceiling which is pleasing to look at.

Expensive and poor quality renovations, project delivery way beyond schedule. I don't recommend it for many reasons!

Kerr Construction renovated our bathroom for us. It turned out beautifully and they did it on time and in budget. The best part was that the workers well all a pleasure to deal with. They were prompt, polite and friendly. They cleaned up each day before they left. I would not hesitate to recommend Kerr Construction to anyone.

We don't normally take the time to write reviews. However after the amazing care and personal attention that Kerr Construction gave to us we thought it only right to let others know. The Kerr team came to our rescue at out estate home and helped us realize the final product. Everyone from the team on site to the team in the office were nothing but exemplary. Products were top notch and the work ethic equal to how I would have done it if it were me. Thank you again to the Kerr team. We wish you nothing but good wishes for 2020 and beyond.

Our house developed a leak in to the finished garage. It was discovered to be through a seal between the sundeck and an exterior wall of the house. This was causing on going damage to the drywall and some studding structure. I shopped around for quotes and receive pricing that seemed way out of line. I did some investigating and found Kerr Construction has a great reputation.

I received a quote from Kerr construction which was through and very competitive. The Kerr team showed up when they said the would and had the material with them to get started. The project whet without a hitch. I was like they had ex ray vision on discovering what the damage was when they looked at it on the first visit. The job was completed as Planned and ON Budget. I have not seen any further problem with the area that was leaking or and other area. It was a great result. Thanks very much to the great team at Kerr Construction.
Gerry Baldwin
Owner

Kerr 's crew were terrific, everything was done with care and quality, and the kitchen design was perfect, even better than we expected

Had a great discussion with Sean Getty (representative from Kerr Construction). He was very knowledgeable with respect to Vancouver Building and Zoning Bylaws (specifically Laneway houses) and would recommend anyone interested in pursuing a laneway to talk to Sean.

I have been living in my one bedroom self contained suite for a year now and I am very happy. Richmond did not allow Lane houses to be built in my community of Burkeville. So with Kerr's help we designed an addition to my existing house which would allow a multi-generational situation to house my son-in-law, daughter, young granddaughter and myself to live in harmony. The project has worked well for us. We choose Kerr Construction after interviewing two other contractors because their process was so professional and transparent. We had a fixed price contract, which given our budget and need to know 'how much', was the most desirable. The entire process from design to construction schedule was laid out and in the end we moved in only one week late. Any additional work we wanted was quoted and signed off on, for example we had flooring put in the original house which was outside the scope of the fixed price contract and we paid accordingly. I can't say enough about the people who worked on our project, they were professional, highly skilled, and quite wonderful people. There was an issue with the window height in my bedroom, the framing had been done and it wasn't right for me. So after discussion with Nick it was changed to reflect my wishes. No argument, just yes we can change that. I was so relieved and impressed with his responsiveness to my thoughts and wishes. We lived in the main house during the process and whenever we were impacted by construction we were given a 'heads up' and they minimized that event to the very best of their abilities. There is an housing affordability crisis in Greater Vancouver and together with Kerr, we solved it for us.

You are disappointed that we stated honestly how things went or how you conducted your business? All of events have happened or how you were planning on leaving them, I'm not sure how it's relevant you are still! Working on one defective countertop. You were given a chance to do your best and we are extremely disappointed with how it went overall for the price.
I will reiterate what my husband said below, communication was extremely poor and cost unbelievably high (for example to design a kitchen, and two bathrooms, some small other things) cost $45000? And there were still mistakes with clashing colours and doors swinging into each other. Construction costs so high and what really got to us was in a closed contract you kept coming and wanting more money!
Somehow we had to be there all the time to do quality control as the fireplace was originally put in a poor location, all of our dimmers were removed and there was not one put back (I assume because they are cheaper), the finish on the wood counter top was defective from the beginning (which we were told to just rub some oil on it) after the first two days of it being installed and already staining. We paid you to remove the brick chimney but yet you were ready to leave all the venting in place which would have made a cabinet too small and removing the chimney pointless. I can go on and on but it almost seems unreal.
If you are so disappointed than you should be much more transparent, honest and not cut so many corners on construction while charging a premium price.

I was referred to Kerr Construction through an associate of mine to renovate my kitchen and from the start Sean Getty came over and explained everything that needed to get done and was very upfront on the costs. I was looking to update my 100yr old house and in the end when I listed my property for sale it sold well over my expectations. If you want the best, you pay for the best and that was my experience with them. I will def use them again on my next projects.

In March 2017 we began to work with Kerr Construction and Design to undertake a major renovation to our 3 bedroom 1940 Vancouver bungalow. We added roughly 1800 sqft of additional living space which included an upper bedroom floor with 2 master bedrooms complete with en-suites, larger main floor kitchen and dining area and a home theatre to our basement. The remainder of the basement contains a mechanical room, washroom and additional storage. A legal one bedroom basement suite was also created. A roof-top deck with mountain view was also provided. At the rear of the house we built a large two-car garage complete with washroom. This was a project to allow us to enjoy our home as we age. We call our home the "upscale cottage" with a focus on traditional finishes. Our core motivation was to increase the functional living space, comfort, and accessibility. To improve accessibility, a residential elevator was incorporated to allow access to all 4 levels.

A significant amount of our budget was used to work with the design team in creating the function and finish of our home. Several layout options were provided and we worked with Nisha and her design team at Kerr to create the living spaces that worked well for us and our family. Regular meetings with Nisha were held before any construction commenced. The entire design process, before "shovels in the ground", including finishing decisions and obtaining city permits from the COV took one year. Many design decisions were required for a project of this scale. Nisha and her wizard Ellen were wonderful to work with. Always willing to adapt to some on the spot requests, Nisha would amend the design and even provide detailed renderings to show us what our ideas would look like. This was extremely helpful. Nisha would gently guide us and remind us of our design vision when we would start to play designer ourselves. Her day would not end at 5 pm as their were many e-mail exchanges after regular work hours. Once construction commenced there were some snags incorporating some mechanical components with our original design. Nisha came to the construction site and suggested some solutions. The trade off was we lost some valuable in home storage. As the project progressed there were some additional construction constraints that caused a review of the basement suite kitchen design. Nisha provided a prompt re-design for us to review. She also cleared up some issues with the COV in record time in order to minimize the delay in construction. For a couple doing their first (and final) home renovation we feel the money spent on design was well worth it. We feel fortunate to have Nisha as our lead designer as she was fun, friendly, organized and effective. For those who are reading this review, may we suggest setting aside some of your design decisions and budget to allow you to to address any additional wants and needs during the construction phase. If undertaking a large project like this, be prepared that alterations to your original design may be required. In our case, some of the products were discontinued during the time-frame from planning to installation. All in all the money and time spent on design was well worth it. It can be overwhelming and exhausting to customize your home. Working with a designer is a must, and working with an experienced designer like Nisha from Kerr Construction and Design is an invaluable asset.

Extremely Expensive for the product and service you receive. This company wrote the book on how to extract the most money for doing the least amount of work! We had a fixed contract to do a straight forward job and they just kept coming for more and more and more money. The hid our budget from us for almost the entire reno and would not show us our cash allowances all while they rang up the bill. The only time we saw the project manager was when he was there to promptly collect cheques, otherwise there was almost no communication. They did not keep the renovation in line with the heritage home style. We had a lovely wood door frame that was just covered in cheap aluminum. Cut out the widow sills to jam in a mantle that obviously had not even been measured before being built. They used our heritage front porch as a dumping ground of tools, garbage and supplies and when it was damaged, they argued about repainting it. The overall design is flawed in so many areas, glass doors that open into each other and they had all the room in the world to build a regular size shower but instead decided to make one of the world's smallest showers, and then refused to move the wall to make it bigger. The job was supposed to be finished in 25 weeks but we are still waiting for a wood counter top that has cracked and we are at week 60. We had a leak in the roofing that they worked on. They found a patch of rotten wood on the outside of my deck and didn't say anything, just painted over it, compromising the integrity of the deck as water was then getting in. Do not use and if you do take a lawyer and designer to look over the contracts and designs.

My friend Carol wanted a new kitchen.she was happily living in the same house she had grown up in, and now she was ready to put her stamp on it.

A red stove.she had seen it online.she wanted it. With a very generous budget.plenty for a complete kitchen update.she and her husband researched companies through the Better Business Bureau, deciding on Kerr Construction to make their fantasy kitchen a reality.

The Consultant who came 'to help' her develop the plan, proceeded to upsell her to include removing a wall, refinishing all floors, replacing almost all her windows, a new roof, paint inside and out, fully update two bathrooms.plus a new outdoor patio complete with an outdoor kitchen.and the budget.now close to seven times the original target. But it all sounded so lovely.the last work she would ever need to do. So she agreed.

Right from the start there were problems.she had tried to delay the project for a few months due to out of town visitors.they couldn't do that. They rushed her out of the house.sent in movers who packed Pods badly.she quickly moved into a rental property.then six weeks later their crew.of one.started work.

The next seven months were very difficult.starting with a massive robbery due to a security failure, followed by so many changes. Carol and John had to continually fight for what they wanted. They were promised competent work but so much was left poorly finished.far too much to detail here.the whole renovation has been a nightmare. Even the head of Kerr admitted that the final result was not to their usual standard. And the red stove.no where to be seen. The designed had refused to incorporate it.

Now.a year on. Carol and John are living with renovation regret. They had to completely redo one bathroom, the new floors are poorly laid, lots of little things still need attending to, fixing or finishing off. Everyday they are reminded of the disastrous past couple of years, and many hundreds of thousands of wasted dollars, this reno has cost them.

I offered to write this for Carol in hopes it will help her move on. She spends much of everyday fretting and agonising over the state of her home, the wasted opportunity to have it just as she wanted it, and the incredible amount of money spent on the poor workmanship done. She has approached the Better Business Bureau about Kerr Construction's rating. They were not helpful and Kerr remains an A+ rated company. Having recently read a similar story from another Kerr customer, she had wanted to post a review herself. There seems to be no other recourse than to tell her story and advise others, who want a major renovation done in Vancouver, to think long and hard before signing any renovation contract.

Right from the get-go I felt we were in good hands with Kerr. The initial design meetings were challenging but Kerr made extra efforts to provide us with what we wanted AND stay within the budget we had set for ourselves. Once the work was underway, the process was fairly smooth and the quality of workmanship and attention to detail was top-notch. Once again, Kerr did their very best to accommodate our needs as the renovation was extensive and required that we be out of our home for a number of months. There were times when we did live in our house while construction was occurring and all the trades people were very respectful and professional. Sean, our lead builder, and his assistant Brian were terrific - always cheerful, on task, and took pride in the quality of their work. It was a pleasure to have these people on our job!

I would (and have) recommended Kerr to any friends who are considering taking on a renovation of their own.