We signed with Newsam in February 2021 for a basement renovation that they said would be finished in 2-3 months. Here we are in November with a still unfinished job.
1) Cost:
The quote was for $74k. We added/removed a few things later and brought the total price to $69k. Towards the end of the project, without warning, Newsam asked us to pay $101k. Some examples of why the costs are higher:
· They stated that their quote was irrelevant in the end and it was just an estimate, and they bill time and materials. This was not stated at the beginning of the project and the contract is not clear on this (e.g., it states explicitly that it is a "quote" with a "total price").
· They asked their plumber to provide a quote for some potential additional work, and instead of giving a quote, he executed the work. Newsam asked us to pay for it anyway.
· They want us to pay a new significantly higher electrical quote ($11.7k vs $7.5k) that they never asked us to approve.
After several slow back-and-forth exchanges, Newsam agreed that they would come fix their (18) deficiencies if we pay $85k. We are unhappy with this amount but we agreed to pay it as a compromise to have our basement renovation finished.
2) Our safety
During demolition, Newsam filled our entire house (two floors on top of basement) with a huge amount of dust (no joke, it was like an explosion, with even clothes inside boxes two floors up from the reno were covered in dust). Despite our repeated requests to address the problem, Newsam did not install proper dust control and my wife had repeated asthma attacks. We were forced to move out to an AirBnB on short notice which was very inconvenient.
3) Quality of work
Mid-July, Newsam stated that they completed the work, but we found more than 30 deficiencies (e.g., doors not closing, obvious holes in the walls, heating cable for drain not installed). Newsam and their sub-trades were generally sloppy. A few examples:
a) Without authorization, Newsam's plumber (sub-trade) drilled through our stone foundation to the front of the house.
b) The bathroom sink and faucet are not aligned. We mentioned this to Newsam before the walls were closed but they forgot to fix it.
c) We had to remind Newsam at least 4 times before they fixed our stairs' handrail.
d) We asked Newsam to remove a pile of bricks from our house, and we received two emails that this will be done. However, this was not done.
e) Newsam lost two finishing caps from our toilet. Newsam claims to provide high-end services but they told us it's just a finishing cap, it would be a hassle to find a replacement, and suggested we try to find it ourselves.
f) The electrician (sub-trade) came on site unaware of many details that we have agreed to with Newsam and he had no electrical plans. We had to direct him as he undid his work to fix things.
g) Our doors still do not close properly, despite several back-and-forth exchanges with Newsam.
h) Documents Newsam sent us often had mistakes.
4) Strange bill
Newsam asked us to pay $2.5k, which they claimed were plumbing fees because our furnace had an original error in installation. We do not believe the plumber was on site nor that the furnace had an error in installation. We challenged this bill and Newsam waived it.
5) Timeline
The deadline for the work continuously moved up.
6) Final note
We went with Newsam instead of other cheaper contractors so we could have the full-service experience, and have a peace of mind with an experienced high-end company that takes care of all the details and respects our budget. Instead, it has been a long, drawn out, time consuming and emotionally draining experience. read more