Penguin Basements Renovations (Basement Contractors)

Reached out to a few different companies inquiring for a quote, and Penguin Basements was the first to get back to me which I appreciate.

Got a lot of sound advice from the owner and I felt they were very honest in their opinion. Would recommend

I used penguin basement to renovate my basement unit as a legal secondary suite. It cost me a lot of money and time working with this company. The project took over a year to complete. The property lay idle for a total of 3 months. Communication from the project manager was poor during the renovation. I would rarely receive a return call back after emailing and calling the office to get an update on the progress of the renovation. Insulation was not properly installed. The dryer duct from the basement to the outside of the house was removed during the renovation. However, the space was not sealed or closed shut. The area was just blocked off with a piece of wood which allowed cold air to come into the basement and freeze the pipes during winter. The flooring was installed on an unleveled floor causing the vinyl flooring joints to pop out. The whole flooring had to get redone in the basement because of this issue which was very costly. A lot of my issues with Penguin were that they overlooked a lot of the work that needed to be done properly, the communication between the client and company was poor and the overall cost of the project was expensive for what was provided. I hope the company will take these considerations in mind and move forward to provide better work for their future clients.

From the opening call with Guy, to the sales process with Matt, to the build with Rodrigo, we had a great experience. We had a few obstacles along the way as you would expect with any renovation project, however they were very responsive and worked closely with me to resolve any issues. My project stayed on time and on budget and the quality of work was great!
If you are looking to renovate your basement, I would recommend working with Penguin.

Penguin basements genuinely delivered as promised the secondary legal unit in the basement from getting the permit, architecture, building and inspections. My secondary unit registration was completed within 3 months from the start of the building of the basement. I am very happy with the quality and outcome of the product. Penguin basement follow the building code and their 2 year warranty program keeps your stress away. However, I would like to give one feedback that frequent site visits can reduce the rework and hence save the time and efforts. I would like to recognize Rodrigo, Steph, Jon, Drew, Bruno for their constant touch with owners and keeping them assured. Ofcourse, the Owner of the Penguin Guy should be appreciated for having such a transparent working model. Penguin basement keeps track of the schedule and co-ordinate all the activities with sub contractors and City.

We recently went through the process of getting a quote with Penguin Basements and I wanted to share our experiences. In full transparency, we did decide not to proceed with the renovation as we felt it was no longer in our best interest to take on the additional financial burden at this time. We were able to speak with Guy, who is the General Manager, who was more than willing to go above and beyond in making time for us to discuss the process at length and address any questions or concerns we may have had. He was supportive, transparent, and took the time to ensure we had all of the information to make an informed decision while supporting us wholeheartedly in the decision to push our renovation to the future. We were able to see first hand how Penguin Basements operates and we feel comfortable returning to them, when the time is right, to have our basement completed.

I was immensely pleased with the service Guy and his crew at Penguin Basements offered to me in January. They had quick response times, were able to come out on short notice, and were thorough in discussing our project and calming our worries before we made any decisions. I would absolutely suggest them and hope to work with them again in the future!

We are so happy with the basement renovation that Penguin Basements Renovations did for us. They were professional, knowledgeable, and took the time to listen to our needs and ideas. The team worked efficiently and completed the project on time and within budget. The end result is a beautiful and functional space that we can now use for entertaining and hosting guests. We would definitely recommend Penguin Basements Renovations for any basement renovation needs.

Penguin Basements did an outstanding job renovating our basement. They transformed our old, outdated and unfinished basement into a beautiful and modern living space. The team was professional, courteous and provided expert advice on the design and layout of the space. We are extremely happy with the end result and would highly recommend Penguin Basements for any basement renovation needs.

I recently contacted Penguin Basements to turn my basement into a bar area. The contractors were great to work with and did an amazing job. I'm so impressed with the outcome and would highly recommend them for any basement upgrades.

I hired Penguin Basements to turn my basement into a family game room. They did an incredible job! From the tiling to the lighting, they made sure everything was perfect. I'm so happy with the way it turned out, and would recommend them to anyone looking to upgrade their basement.

I hired Penguin Basements to upgrade my basement, and I couldn't be happier with the results. The contractors were friendly and professional, and did an amazing job. I'm so pleased with the way my basement turned out, and I would definitely recommend them!

I was looking to upgrade my basement and was referred to Penguin Basements. From start to finish, the job went perfectly. The contractors were professional and worked around my schedule. I'm very pleased with the results, and would definitely recommend their services!

We had a basement that we wanted to convert into an art studio. After contacting Penguin Basements, the company brought their very best effort for amazing results. We’re very satisfied with the quality of our new art space, all thanks to Penguin Basements.

We recently bought a house with an unfinished basement. For this reason, we decided to remodel the basement into something useful. A consultant from Penguin Basements recommended an excellent option for us: designing a home cinema. We couldn’t be happier with the result! Now, we have a new weekend tradition: visiting our new home cinema to enjoy our favourite movies as a family.

My neighbours have been complaining that we often make too much noise in the evening - luckily, we found a solution by contacting Penguin Basements. The company helped us remodel our basement and set up our very own entertainment room. We were very pleased with the end result: now, we don't annoy our neighbours anymore, and have another amazing room in the house.

Basement Horror, starring Penguin Basement. Signed a.contract with the above named company. They were in charged of getting the various permits. This was a full basement with a walkout that they were contracted to do. They lied to me that the permits were secured while I was away and started cutting the basement wall without any permit. Once I came back and found there was no permit I immediately stopped them. They damaged my property, had call in city to give them an order to comply. They damaged the integrity of house after their own Engineer did an inspection. Their Engineer ordered them remedy their immediately along with the city. Their plumbing, Hvac and framing was not up to code. Buyers beware the owner will try manipulate you, narcissistic behaviour to say the least He will tell you his company is worth fifty million and he is doing Garden Homes and that he has access to 100 million. He might even try to tell convince to invest in his basement company. He will try friend you, if he thinks you have money, run away. These are red flags. This is exactly what he did to me. Beware of this company

I had Penguin do my basement a few years ago. They did a thorough true “turn key” job. My only beef was the quality of the finishes, base quality for “bar” which is more like a kitchenette. It’s only when I got a different reno company for my first floor that I now realize how great Penguin was. No hesitation to recommend. 10/5 for basic basement finishing but 4/5 if you’re looking for “fancier” upgrades.

Complete disaster - unresponsive, sub contractors are asking home owners questions that have already been sorted during planning. Brutal - for such a big investment you would expect a little professionalism. None at all.

Spoke to Guy just now at Penguin. He is very thorough and unrushed during the phone call. Lots of attention to detail and answers questions with great clarity. Lots of great reviews on homestars for this company. Really like that he took the time to give us an honest quote and realistic price on what a basement reno would likely cost.

I had a great intro call with this company. I have a very unique situation with my residence and they were able to provide me with honest feedback and knowledge I haven't received from any other contractor. I appreciated everything I was told during my free evaluation - a real 5 star service.

I would like to start off by saying how thoroughly impressed and appreciative I am of all the superior craftsmanship and professional demeanor of the staff at Penguin and its tradespeople. The team has been extremely helpful, understanding and have provided us with helpful advice and suggestions based on their extensive knowledge, expertise and experience.

Additionally, I would like to give special recognition to Guy, the General Manager, as it is clearly evident that he takes a hands-on approach to ensuring the quality of the workmanship, level of service and overall customer satisfaction is met.

In this regard, I must note that we encountered an issue with the design element in our kitchen which had the ancillary effect of also effecting the electrical plans. I was expecting a long, tedious and confrontational discussion with the team, however, this was far from what happened. After discussing the issue, we were able to come to a resolution to the matter that was 100% what I was hoping for.

Ultimately, I will undoubtedly be recommending to all my friends, family and colleagues to use Penguin as the preferred choice for home renovations because they are, quick, the industry-leading experts, kind, reasonably and fair-minded persons, customer-centric and all around good people. If any company deserves a 5-star rating it is definitely Penguin.

Finally after 40 years, we decided to renovate our basement, so we chose Penguin Basements to complete the huge assignment. The cold and dark space we would try to avoid, transformed into a bright, fresh, and brand new living space that we can enjoy, and can’t get enough of. The various contractors who came in and out of our home have been absolutely friendly, professional, and very efficient.

Special thanks to the contractors: Bruno, Enrique, Chris, Nelson, Ezra, Julio, Ming, and Josh for an outstanding job. You and your teams all were a great pleasure to deal with.

To the all star office staff: Matt, Ryan, Guy, Stephanie, Rodrigo, Eduardo, Roberto, Val, and Lisa. Thank you is not enough for your kindness and patience you showed to our family. We know your job isn’t easy, but you do it professionally, and always with a smile on your faces. We highly recommend Penguin for your basement renovation. Happy customers here!

We had been thinking of completing our basement for the last couple of years and went through several quotes from various people and companies. We are quite meticulous in addition to being cautious due to past negative experiences with tradesmen and wanted to ensure we do it right.

My husband found Penguin basement on Google, went through their website in great detail and read their reviews. We felt comfortable enough to call them at the beginning of March and speak with Ryan who directed us to Matthew.

From then on it was a breeze! From speaking with Matthew to Guy over Zoom, the whole project was explained to us step by step. Everything was finalized online through Zoom meetings, phone calls and emails and we didn't have to go anywhere.

Initially, the project was to start in the middle of June as they were extremely busy. I requested them to see if it could be done sooner as we didn't want to be stuck with renovations in the middle of summer after such a lengthy lockdown. Guy said that he would do his best to see if things could be moved a bit earlier.

It was quite surprising to receive a call from them within a couple of weeks, informing us that they could start the project in May and we can start planning the basement with Rodrigo and Stephanie. Everything was finalized in April and they even started the work a week ahead of schedule.

From then on it was like a revolving door! Different tradesmen came in, completed their work professionally and left quietly. All of them were extremely polite, well mannered and tried to keep the dust and dirt track to as minimum as they could. The project went smoothly and here we are, in the middle of June with a fully completed basement.

Once the cleanup was done, leaving the place spotlessly clean, Jon came in for inspection & corrections and did an absolutely amazing job with the final touch ups. The project ended up with a Zoom call with Lisa to ensure everything was satisfactory from our perspective.

Of course, when there are so many different trades involved, there are bound to be some glitches but ours were miniscule and not worth mentioning here. Needless to say, these small issues were dealt with immediately.

We appreciate the work done by everyone at Penguin Basements and would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to get work done at such a professional level.

Wishing the company all the best in their future endeavors!

I would recommend Penguin to anyone considering renovating or finishing their basements. Our project was large and appeared daunting just thinking about it - however the team at Penguin did an incredible job of making the process seamless in execution, completed in a timely manner and executing our vision and taste. The workers were respectful and diligent in their jobs and we were overall very impressed with our final product. We did not think it could be accomplished as quickly as it was! Our family is very happy with our basement.

We had already called and had made appointments with 3
basement renovators before booking a consultation with Penguin
Basements but after hearing their service representatives and
looking at the attention to detail they have in regard to
basements, I went with them and they certainly didn’t disappoint.
My wife and I love it, the living room, movie theatre and play
room are perfect for the kids!

Living in an older Toronto home, built in 1973, and having a nearly 40-year old basement made the whole project more difficult so this year when renovating the whole home, we chose Penguin Basements for our basement. We knew that there would be a lot of issues they’d have to face but our project manager Vince went above and beyond accommodating to our basement to help us make the most use out of what we had. Now instead of the creaky floors, cracked tiles and visible rusty pipes we have beautiful hardwood, sleek tiles and marble. Big thanks to Chris as well in the office for helping us out with our questions whenever they came up and with financing! Love the new basement!

Our service rep Alan was great at keeping the project on schedule and bringing us what was promised. The stone tiled walls, the beautiful hardwood flooring and sleek walls look great. All of the installation crew came in on time and were very dedicated and meticulous in what they were doing, I also love the authentic craftsmanship. Thanks for the quick service and beautiful basement!

Very nice to talk to and respectful staff that always clean up after themselves. They managed to keep the project on time (3 weeks) while still making it look 10/10 beautiful. Great work, thanks to Josh and the install team for making it happen. Jamie Lopes

Our cluttered unfinished basement got transformed in the
span of a month and a half to a paradise. The kitchen, living
room, bedroom and even a sauna was all in reach. Want to give a
big shoutout to the installation team as well as Fabio for going
through all the planning and design beforehand to make sure we
were getting exactly what we wanted and he could give his
recommendations.

Spotted these “professionals” driving 30km under speed limit, swerving lanes in barrie yesterday. Don’t text and drive.

Really happy with our new basement! Thanks to Dan, Sergei,
Walter and more for the amazing work! They did a great job
making it as spacious and comfortable as possible for our family.
Big, expansive rooms, soft and smooth flooring and a wonderful
closed off movie room with sound-proof walls to have Friday
movie nights together! Also great aesthetic and design for resale
and/or renting it out in the future. Loving it!

Intuitive design process, Penguin Basements made it easy with the designer's expertise and advice helping us through choosing the best flooring, wall, ceiling and lighting for the basement. We ended up separating it into a main room and a movie theatre. The installation was delayed but after 3 months, the result of it all is totally worth it!

Huge thanks to Matt for taking us in after a horror story basement renovation we had with another basement reno company. He reassured us that our basement can be made new and beautiful again and got to work. Very smooth communication, any questions answered within 2 hours over email outside of business hours and during them, I’d receive a reply almost immediately from him. They came in and helped us through the design process to find the best flooring, walls and lighting for us and stopped every time there was a modification to the original plan to give us a consultation to ensure we weren’t left in the dark. Installation took 4 weeks and now it looks brand new, love it!

Loved the Penguin Basements team right from the start!
Scheduling the appointment only took one quick phone call and
we had Alan come over 2 days later to take a look and give us a
rough quote on the time and price tag. As soon as we learnt
about their approach to manufacturing and installation and we
were given our quote, we knew we weren’t dealing with some
shady project manager trying to get us buy quickly without even
knowing what we’re in for. Alan did a great job taking us through
everything step by step and answering all our questions. The
whole project was finished a month later. We love the décor,
extra finishing touches and the feel. The basement feels twice as
big as before!

Really impressed with Penguin Basements, no hidden costs, no fooling around, they let you know what will be done with your home straight up from the very beginning. We even discovered some other issues I had in my old basement that needed fixing that the project manager hastily took care of for us whilst keeping the project on schedule. 6 weeks later, we have a wonderful 850 sq.ft basement ready for use!

We dealt with Penguin Basements from Day 1 and throughout, from the quick consultation to the certified hardware they used to the great customer service and communication throughout, there was nothing to complain about. We were able to finish our basement in 3 weeks with hardwood flooring and a stone tiled wall with a built-in fireplace. Looks great, now we have another half a home compared to the cellar we had before with the unfinished basement.

Beautiful job with the basement; the bedroom, movie theatre
and living room are all fantastic! Sleek floors, beautiful bathroom
and financing that makes everything much easier. Top notch
professionalism, the installation and service team were great to
work with, always ready to adjust the project to fit my needs and
ready to answer any questions I had.

We got our whole basement made in 3 weeks, we wanted to have a game room for the kids and the project manager was great at leading us through selecting from the million different floor and wall designs. At the end of the day, we have a nice hardwood flooring, blue walls and a separate bedroom! Thanks!

Got everything done on time. Quick, easy service. Everyone is super upfront about everything, no BS. The basement looks beautiful and the financing program was a huge help.

Very nice to talk to and respectful staff that always clean up after themselves. They managed to keep the project on time (3 weeks) while still making it look 10/10 beautiful. Great work, thanks to Josh and the install team for making it happen.

Super professional service from start to finish. Quick, responsive crew. Vncent always there to give his advice and Roberto was a joy to work with when designing the basement. I got a fitness room and movie theatre in the basement. Great flooring and love the dark, exciting theme of the theatre.

Me and my wife were looking for a basement reno company and after 3 quotes, we went with Penguin Basements. Roberto was a great help in designing the basement and Vinecnt was always there to make sure that everything was done up to standards and on-time. From day 1, all the installers were super respectful, hard-working and made sure to clean up after themselves every day. The project was delayed and it took 6 weeks, but it was definitely worth the wait.

We did a full basement reno with Penguin Basements a couple months back. Loved how it turned out, the hardwood flooring is pristine and the smooth walls are great for sound proofing while also making the whole floor feel like the most spacious and cleanest one in our entire house. Super happy with everything and would highly recommend them!

Love the finished basement! Even though COVID made things difficult when it came to shipping and supply delays, they were still able to complete everything within a month and a half and be respectful when it came to social distancing regulations. The designer and project manager were always eager to add another piece to our ever-evolving basement, they were never content with the basement just being okay. Now I have a wonderful living room, kitchen and bedroom downstairs. The financing also helped out a lot.

Very pleased with how the basement turned out. Big thanks to Josh and his team for going above and beyond with the work. Great flooring, walls and custom LED lighting works great with the bar and kitchen.

Great experience with Vince, he was always there tio answer any questions we had. Now we have a great 700 sq.ft finished basement. We managed to fit a pool and ping pong table into the basement along with a bar and couches. Now we can party with our friends and not bother the kids.

Loved Josh, he always puts you as the first priority. Everyone was super quick, professional but laid-back at the same time. Love the new bedroom, living room and kitchen. The bathroom also looks great, we’re now getting more than $1000/month for the second suite! Thanks!

Love the innovation, design and service! Great install team and great designer to help show us the ropes of basement renovation. We installed a living room, bedroom and bar for stone-tiled walls as well as marble flooring in the bar and hardwood flooring for the rest of the basement. They put a lot of work into making it a reality, and I’m glad they did. Super meticulous work and a great end result! Great company and good pricing!

The Penguin Basements team was great throughout super quick and responsive with a crew that always addressed my concerns as soon as they popped up. I had the project completed in the 3 week timeline and having ajn online schedule really lessened the anxiety and was helpful to see the progress being made daily.

Loved the service, loved the staff. They’re always willing to stop what they’re doing and explain everything to you from scratch so that you always know exactly what;s going on in your home. They actually take the time to listen and help you out if you're unsure. Great professionalism and awesome install work!

Super professional, the Penguin Basements team did a great job showing su the ropes of basement renovation and worked hard to make sure that all of our worries were put to rest when we took a look at our finished basement. 5 stars!

Well done basement. They had to fix some of the issues that the old renovators had left when they did the basement 20 years ago, it looks much better now. Love the marble kitchen and sleek, modern bathroom, thanks!

We had our basement done this spring and I have been meaning to write a review since then.
I cannot express the happiness we feel about how our basement was transformed from a large empty storage room to an incredible space for guests and friends.
The choices in finishes were incredible and the planning that went into it was so professional. From the original conversation about what we wanted to do and then the design review and then the actual job itself with its amazing workers, it is hard to put it into words, but I will try my best as a thank you to this company and to the people who want to finish their basement and cannot decided who to use.
The job took literally 3 weeks to complete, with different trades coming in every day. Some mistakes were made, but the real impressive part was seeing them fix the mistakes and doing everything they could to satisfy us.
The material they use, and the ability to get a permit at a cost that ended up being cheaper than what other contractors had offered us was above standard.
Thank you Penguin basements! We are so proud to have used you!

Super satisfied with Vince, our project manager. He was always available for questioning and super informative on design choices and the hardware specifications. When there was a delay in shipping the supplies, he informed us right away in advance and worked around our schedule to come in for overtime and still complete the project on time. Thanks! 10/10 service, basement looks top-notch!

Penguin Basements was super careful to take all my design choices into consideration as well as regulations into account to build us a beautiful second suite basement. A beautiful hardwood flooring for the bedroom, fireplace and stone tiled wall for the living room and marble tiling for the kitchen. Fantastic!

Super pleased with the new basement design and install from Penguin Basements. The renovation took us 3 weeks to complete and Josh made it much easier than it would have otherwise been, constantly talking back and forth between the different departments and us to make sure that everything stayed on track and on schedule. Big thanks to him and the installers for making it happen! Cheers.

Love the FIY option they give if you’re someone who wants a good basement while also being able to save. Big thanks to the electrician as well as Vincent, the supervisor for making sure the design and installation process went smoothly, everything was finished in just 2 weeks!

We had an older home that didn’t have the proper electrical infrastructure in the basement when we did the makeover for today’s homes. Thankfully, the team came prepared by inspecting our home during the consultation and working around the limitations of the 400 sq.ft basement to give us a beautiful sprawling living room as well as bathroom with a tiled shower included! Thanks to Vince, Roberto and more for making it possible!

Their team worked hard to push our basement through in 2 weeks. Super impressed with how they were able to finish it on time, they were super efficient at work while at the same time, paying attention to every detail. Good quote, innovative design and the installation is awesome! The games room and living room are perfect for the kids now!

Had an online consultation over Zoom and decided to choose Penguin basements after they offered their quote. Always able to co0me up with new designs so make my basement bigger, brighter and better. The whole team was super flexible with whatever I wanted and were willing to work around me to fit my needs. At the end of the day, we got a playroom for the kids, living room for movie nights and an extra bedroom in our 900 sq.ft space. Before it felt like a cavern with concrete flooring but now it feels like a wide open mansion! Love it!

Chris was a great project manager, made sure to take into account all our questions, concerns and opinions and was always ready to give us an in-depth consultation or progress report on the project. Rodrigom was also a great design advisor when it came to making the perfect basement design, we love it. It’s been 2 months and it’s finally done. ; We’ve had our friends finish their basements but all of them have had problems afterwards. For us, it's still perfect.:)

From contact signing to design elements to installation, everyone helped out along the way to bring us an awesome hardwood floored basement. Thanks to Robert for coming up with the amazing design and Roderigo for keeping the project on budget and on schedule. Thanks to everyone else for the installation as well! (P. S.sorry that I don’t remember your names).

Project completed on time, communication consistent throughout and great design advice and oversight from Vince to make sure the basement was as good as can be and completed on time. 1 month later, the basement looks great!

Site manager always made sure that we were comfortable by constantly informing us of the next steps and the goals set by the team for each day. Super professional and organized, we got the project finished in 2 weeks. The DIY option to finish the basement yourself was also a great help for saving on the painting of the walls.

Loved how the basement renovation turned out! Josh and his crew were very courteous with them going above and beyond to recommend us new and innovative styles we had never thought of before as well as fixing some old structural deficiencies in our old basement.

I had my basement done in 2017. I was happy with the work done until I was notified by the city in 2020 that there were outstanding permits (HVAC, electrical, plumbing) on the basement. I have been trying to contact Penguin Basements to get this resolved with the city but have had no response.

Me and my wife had never done a basement reno before so we were nervous as to how it would turn out. Thankfully, Rick gave us some awesome design options to work with that helped us find the perfect basement for us. A massive game room where we put in a ping-pong and pool table, a separate playroom for the kids as well as a bar for night outs with friends. Our basement has everything now, it’s the best part of the house!

Me and my wife love the way the basement has turned out. We always needed a space where we could get together with friends and now we have it. The movie theatre, kitchen, living room and bar are all beautifully designed. Big thanks to Walter and Vince for making it possible as well as Joseph for coming in at the end to inspect and fix any outstanding issues we had with the project.