Gillespie Handyman Services Inc.

I own two rental properties in Ottawa. I had some minor work done on one which was done quickly and efficiently, then later I had a deck built for the second property (on a recently constructed new home).

Gillespie beat the builder's deck price and I had a friend stop in on the work. Permits were in order, everything looked good. The deck was built as quoted and as agreed to, was impressed with how quickly it was completed, especially after dealing with the ordeal of trying to move into our newly constructed house with our builder.

Good communication with Gillespie's office, overall we are very satisfied. The deck construction was delayed three days from when we originally were told it was to be built, but it had been raining significantly and we were made aware timing was weather dependent due to ground conditions so not really a complaint.

I contracted Gillespie to completely redo the bottom deck of a two story deck. Originally I was looking for a repair but decided to get the entire deck replaced because nothing was salvageable. Trouble started when they told me that stairs were not included in the price. I specifically told Ryan (the owner) that I replaced stair boards already and that the stair joists were rotten - so I told him to replace them all. I was then quoted $1800 to do two sets of stairs and railings. I thought this was outrageous, so using the old railing and $400 of materials, I replaced the stairs myself in 4 hours.

I was also shocked to find that the old stairs were attached to the new deck using only 5 screws. The middle stair joist wasn't even supported or attached to the deck. This was after they told me that they'd make the stairs safe. I was glad I did the stairs myself because they are now safe. The owner told me that there was no board there, so they couldn't attach them. This was all hidden to me, and was only caught because I decided to change the stairs myself.

Customer service was difficult. Although they have one person dealing with customers, it's difficult to get in touch by phone. E-mail or text is the best way...so it usually takes about 3 days to figure out the solution, when a simple phone call would solve everything. Ryan is even more difficult to get in touch with as well.

I also had some additional repair work for them to do and they wanted to charge an arm and a leg to do it. I felt like they were trying to get more money out of me and I wasn't going to have it so I decided to walk away and find another contractor to finish the work they started.

All and all one of the worst contractor experiences I've had.

I had a small job to do on my deck and this firm did an excellent job. They are very professional and were a pleasure to deal with.
I will use them again in the future and have already recommended them to my neighbor.

My list of things that needed repairing around the house was overwhelming. Gillespie told me that ‘to do’ lists were their specialty. Within just a few hours I learned how right they were as my shower, toilet, dishwasher and garage door were all back in working order.
The only problem was that they were a little late arriving for the apointment.
I would hire them again and would recommend to friends!