Chix Who Fix

We have owned our 1880s downtown Toronto townhouse for 40 years. It had been completely renovated when we bought it but, over the years, we had not done much more than painting. We managed to pull ourselves together in late 2015 and got a quote from Chix Who Fix for the third floor. Lisa Glass was very professional, and we went back and forth several times fine tuning what exactly we wanted done.
Lisa picked up from the various retailers the hardware, tiles, sink and toilet that we had bought and left at various stores. Lisa and her team showed up promptly, as promised, on the first Monday in January, 2016. By the end of January they had successfully completed our third floor update: patch and refinish wood floor, remove old plaster in gable and insulate and drywall, install all new LED pot lights throughout, gut bathroom and install new bathroom, construct new vanity (subcontracted to Miki’s Milling who did a fabulous job), remove and replace window in gable and repaint throughout.
We couldn’t be happier with the result - it is gorgeous! Now that we have a reasonably priced contractor who can get the job done so beautifully and on schedule, we are ready to push ahead with the rest of the house gradually working our way down. We enthusiastically recommend Chix Who Fix.

I found Chix and Lisa through the East York Flyer and thought I would give a local group a try. Best decision I ever made on my home renovations. Lisa is so easy to deal with as well as her crew. Every job the team has done for me has been so easy and quick. I have never had work done where the team leaves the site spotless every time. I hardly have anything to clean up when they are complete. I would use the Chix for all my renovations because I found them reliable and professional. The work they do is amazing as well. A great service in East York and other areas. Give them a try. You won't be disappointed.

A friend recommended Chix Who Fix, and we were so happy with our experience with Lisa and her crew! We had a full gut of our main bathroom done, and installation of all new tiles, fixtures, and a vanity. As it was our only full bathroom, it had to be done in a 3 week window while we were on vacation. We returned to a beautiful new bathroom, done on time and on budget! The toilet roll holder had not been sent with the other items, so Lisa had to come back to install that and paint around the wall, and that too was done with no extra cost to us. We love our bathroom, and recommend Chix Who Fix to anyone for the excellent service provided.

We own a small semi-detached home in the Beach for 10 years. We decided after this time to update our kitchen to give it a modern flair.It was our dream. However, partially due to the low quality of work delivered by Chix Who Fix, our project turned out to be more a nightmare than a dream.

After obtaining several quotes and meeting with different contractors, we believed that Chix Who Fix were the right choice to go with. Lisa definitely had us convinced she knew what she was talking about; her communication skills and her theoretical knowledge appeared to be very high. She sounded a bit like Mike Holmes at times (make it right! Code says this!, etc.) She also provided us with great references. We could not wait for Lisa and her crew to start the demolition work to prepare for our cabinet maker to install the new kitchen. The work started the 1st week of August 2014. After 5 months, December 29, we gave up on Lisa and stared finishing the job ourselves.

In short, there is not one item that Chix Who Fix touched that was properly done. Two months into the project, when we saw the progress and the quality of work, we had 2 other contractors come in and evaluate what it would cost to fire Lisa and Chix Who Fix, but unfortunately neither of the contractors would take on the job, both said they would have to undo all that was done to date by Chix Who Fix and redo it all.

To illustrate, here are some examples:
Hard wood floors – the floors were permanently damaged by uneven sanding (deep ridges were made all over the maple wood), and all surrounding baseboards were damaged by the sanding machine. Stain was put over unswept dust. Floor looks like disaster.
Kitchen ceiling – one of the worsts mistakes made is the sloppiness of our ceiling, which had a step in it and required removal of the dry wall and reinstalling it to level it. Instead of this process, Lisa elected the cheap option by mudding the step, which results in an optical disaster
Backsplash and floor tiles – tiles are unevenly glued to the wall/floor with grout unevenly spread - very obvious to the naked eye.
Faucet install – we spent $750 on a brand new faucet, unfortunately Lisa did not install it properly, it is not properly attached it is loose and wobbly. Additionally she had to come back twice to fix a leak under the sink, which she blamed on the poor dishwasher design.
Paint job – did not bother plastering any wholes or imperfections, simply applied paint, this in spite of being told that some area were peeling. There too, only paint was applied over the uncorrected surface.
Unnecessary work – Lisa failed to read the kitchen drawings or to properly communicate with the kitchen makers, which resulted in her building an unnecessary extension of the ceiling and also in wrong placement of the range hood exhaust pipe that had to be moved.

Our complaints about the lack of quality were always met with a quick excuse, such as: it is an old house, it is the floors fault, the previous renovation work wasn’t done properly, or “I said I would the best I can”…

In conclusion, there is not one part of the job that was properly done. All the work is sloppy, botched, with absolutely no attention to detail, zero craftsmanship and definitely no care or any pride. As a matter of fact, Lisa never finished the job. We have ended up plastering and repainting the walls and also had a plumber come in to fix the faucet, etc. Now we will have to hire somebody to fix the uneven ceiling. Considering our experience, I would NEVER rehire or recommend Chix Who Fix to anyone.

I would have written sooner but didn't realize Lisa was listed here. I have used her services twice for plumbing emergenices. Lisa provides prompt, conscientious service and makes suggestions for improvements. I have had a number of bad experiences with plumbers in the past but I am happy to say that Lisa is an exception. I can recommend Lisa to you without reservation.

Lisa installed a new bathtub and re-tiled my downstairs bathroom, as well as created a new laundry room/space for me. From the initial quote, to the finished product, Lisa was an absolute pleasure to deal with. I found her extremely knowledgable with great suggestions, all the while being very respectful that it was my home and my project. I also was very impressed with her problem solving skills… I have an older house full of “diy gone bad” situations and she was able to macgyver her way through every challenge.
I highly recommend Lisa and Chix Who Fix… overall a great company with high standards for the quality of work and tremendous integrity.
Thanks Lisa!
Lorie

The crew did a fantastic job with my bathroom renovation, which included removing a wall, complete demo of old bathroom, adding a new closet, and creating a new bathroom. They were considerate and respectful of my home and requirements. Hardworkers who produce quality work!