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  • Kipp Design + Consult
    ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
    26.03.2024

    Pam Schmidt

    Kipp Design + Build renovated my condo in 2021. He was referred by a friend and Steve said he only did “high end” so I was expecting him to refer me on to someone else. When he said he would do the work, I was happy. His quote for my 600 sq ft apartment was $86K (not including $12K for all new kitchen appliances). I moved out and handed him the keys. Everything was fine until near the completion of the reno. He was unwilling to do a walk thru of the condo and told me to just give him the deficiency list. I have not been thru a reno before and felt unprepared, beyond what was obviously not done well, to look for deficiencies and provide him a list. Another friend gave me the name of her builder/contractor and I hired him for an hour to do a walk thru with me. I provided the list to Steve and was transparent that I had hired someone to walk thru the deficiencies. He was surprised (understandably) but his response was what surprised me most. He said that it was not his job to “educate” me, and asked if I really expected him to get on his knees and check if the kick boards were installed in front of the dishwasher or not. I said yes because the work of the trades he used was a reflection of his standard of work. He stopped communicating with me after that and put me in contact with his new project manager, Scott. It took 3 months for Scott to rectify the deficiencies. Many of the deficiencies I had to advocate to get them done. Some of the poor quality work still exists – significant damage to the hardwood floors in the kitchen (nothing was put down to protect the floors with the installation of the appliances), tiles in the bathroom weren’t grouted and instead of grouting them, Scott used silicone. The shower drain looks unfinished (Scott used a black sharpie to try and make it look better). A closet door won’t stay open and instead of rectifying why it wasn’t plumb, Scott took out one of the hinge pins and said that was as good as he was going to do. In 2023, when a cupboard face had started to bubble, I contacted the vendor to see what could be done. They said they would be happy to help if I paid the outstanding balance on the account. What?!? He said that Steve had not paid the $1700 for a rush order for the bathroom vanity. I paid the outstanding balance. Recently, tiles on the bathroom floor were coming loose. I hired a tiler to try and fix it. He said that whoever installed the tiles (floor + shower) didn’t know what they were doing. I contacted Steve to find out about where the tiles were purchased; he didn’t respond but I got a message from Scott. It took three weeks for Scott to get back to me with the name of the tile. But the information didn’t quite align with the tiles I have. When I asked what store the tiles were purchased from (I wanted go and confirm the tiles and see if I could get more in case any break), Scott stopped responding. There are so many more instances of unprofessionalism. Steve showed a lack of integrity, inability to engage in challenging conversations, and a lack of accountability (not paying vendors and overseeing the work of his trades).

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