Robert Paul Dickinson Rob’s Renos 4 U Rob’s Renos Robby D’s Renovations Simcoe Handyman Services Rob Dickinson Rob’s Roofing and Renovations Rob’s Roofing and Renos Home renovation project turned into a remediation project. Stayner Ontario

I hired (Oct 2021) a contractor, Rob Dickinson (Rob’s Renos 4u), also known as Rob’s Renos, Robby D’s Renovations, Simcoe Handyman Services, Rob’s Roofing and Renovations, Rob’s Roofing and Renos, to do home renovations and subsequently he walked off the project leaving my home in complete shambles, incomplete work and extensive damages. Rob was referred to me from a good friend who previously did work in her home. I stressed the fact that I wanted a licensed general contractor with experience and has contacts to trusted tradesmen. He assured her that yes he was licensed with 40 years experience in the construction industry. He was fully aware of the work required and assured me that there was nothing on my list that he hasn't done already. He showed me pictures off his phone of the work he accomplished. He was convincing and we went ahead with an agreement.

We did not move out of the house during the renovations but the contractor did not take that in consideration and completed all the demolition work first leaving us to endure living in a construction zone. After assessing the mess he left us we were overwhelmed and in a state of anxiety and distress. An original budget of $80,000 has cost us over $120,000 and to date we still have not completely restored our home because we have exhausted our funds. My home renovation project turned into a remediation project.

The renovations we agreed upon and outcomes are as follows:

- complete upgrade/renovation of three bathrooms (ensuite, main and powder room), none were completed. He added electrical for a vanity light but he wired it to the electrical outlet without installing its own light switch leaving the electrical wire constantly live.  He incorrectly installed the walk-in shower base without installing the water barrier, he did not add double studs to ensure a weight-bearing system for the glass shower doors but instead hid a hardwood floor board behind the drywall in its place.  The drywall ceiling in the walk-in shower was not securely installed and was left drooping and unattached.  The vanity, stand-alone bathtub and flooring in the ensuite washroom were never installed. He installed a shower surround panel in the main bathroom that did not match up with the bathtub and he installed the wrong diverter and did not include the plumbing rough-in for a bathtub spout. Walls were poorly primed. The powder room was not completed. I realized he did not bring in a licensed plumber or electrician and it was necessary to hire both trades to rectify the errors he made in both the ensuite and main bathrooms. Also, extensive remediation was required to rectify the ensuite walk-in shower. 

- remove all carpet on the second level and replace with hardwood flooring, carpeting was all removed but no hardwood flooring installed. Not completed.

- remove ceramic flooring on main level and replace with hardwood flooring, started but not completed.

- popcorn ceiling removal on main level. He completely removed the ceiling and replaced with new drywall. I did not expect to replace my ceilings. An expense I did not budget for. According to a professional painter the contractor used a mesh type taping which should not be used on ceilings because it does not allow for movement and therefore cracking will occur. Extensive cracking occurred requiring fixing.

- paint kitchen cabinetry. The contractor completely ruined the cabinetry and they were deemed unpaintable by two reputable painting companies. He held my cabinetry for five months leaving us with doorless cabinetry and pantry. He sanded the cabinetry to the bare wood instead of a light scoring on the surface. As the wood was exposed to the grain an oil-based primer was necessary to seal the wood but instead he used a water-based primer which caused the tannins to seep through the grain. At this point they were deemed unpaintable unless they sanded the cabinetry back to bare wood again. He also used a spackling product to fill the inside edges of the trim and surface to smooth out the grain.  Again, extensive sanding and work involved and no guarantee could be provided by the professional painters. My only economical recourse was to re-face my cabinetry.

- 2 sets of carpeted stairs to be upgraded to hardwood stairs. He hired a stair company who he highly recommended. We later find out he was a neighbour who manufactures hardwood stairs for new build and does not do renovations. They also did not know each other or have any working relationship. They also were a nightmare. They removed five spindles leaving spaces greater than 4 inches between spindles. Cracked a railing in the family room. The bullnose along the upstairs hallway was not wide enough to install the spindles and therefore the spindles were partially set off the bullnose. This same railing did not fit flush to the corner wall but 1/4 inch off the corner. The stair length are shorter than the original stairs and therefore the base stair on the basement level exposes the cut off portion of the ceramic tile that should sit underneath the stair. They rectified the spacing of the spindles and replaced the cracked railing but refused to fix any of the other deficiencies. They did not stain the stairs either. The contractor agreed to fix the spindles/bullnose issue which he did.  He also agreed to replace the ceramic tile and stain the stairs/railing but never did.  

- install boxing and custom crown moulding throughout the main floor and upstairs hallway, work was started but not completed. A portion of the crown moulding required a 4" board but apparently he could not get this in MDF so he used a particle board material which doesn't provide a smooth professional finish. Extensive cracking occurred requiring lots of mudding and sanding. And to make things worse he primed and painted.

- paint the whole house, started but did not finish.  The work that he did do was so poorly done.  Over $2,000 worth of paint was purchased and used, but with all the mudding and sanding that was required, my house still needs to be repainted.

- fix all cracking with the 45 degree angled corners, started but not completed. The work that he did do was so poorly done.  He made many attempts to fix these corners with no success.  I asked him about specific taping for corners but he never used any and kept telling me that these types of corners will always crack and there was nothing more he could do. 

-install new baseboard trim and door trim, started but not completed.

- install new backsplash in kitchen, not completed

- install new light fixtures throughout, not completed

Other damages include:

- knicks and scratches on oak French doors; crack in one of the glass panes; unaligned doors after trim installation

- removed door latch insert from entry door, never installed it back

- damaged my bedroom furniture because he never covered my furniture and used it to place his tools and materials

- damaged all the baseboard trim, window and door trim on the second level when he removed it but it didn't need to be removed as it wasn't being replaced

Robert Dickinson (Rob's Renos 4U) was not qualified to take on a project of this size.  He was all over the place, starting one project and jumping to the next before the one he was working on was completed. He did not prioritize and could not manage the project.  His lack of experience and knowledge of construction practices became evident in the work that he did.   He lied about being a licensed general contractor.  In fact we found out later that his business registration lapsed and he did not renew it. We paid him for work that was completely unacceptable.  A contractor with 40 years experience is expected to know a reasonable amount of industry standards, know a reasonable amount of construction by-laws and execute a reasonable amount of care of duty. Robert Dickinson failed on all accounts.

He removed new material from our home to return to the hardware store for refund but kept it for his own purposes. He handed me receipts that were not purchased for our home.  He handed me over $1,100 in gas receipts and expected to be refunded. After completing our hardwood floor installation we were left with an extra 9 boxes of material (200 sqft). His measurements were way off and due to lapse of time we were unable to return the extra boxes for refund ($1,000). We feel he took advantage of us, knowing we both have our disabilities. He is a fraud and a swindler. I strongly DO NOT RECOMMEND Rob Dickinson (Rob's Renos 4U) or any of the other business names he uses.

We filed a lawsuit in Small Claims Court and were successful in receiving Judgement. We are now in the process of enforcing that Judgement. This whole process has taken a toll on our family and I miss having my home.