Cynthia in York

I received at least 7 - 8 quotes from $2,000 - $15,000 to have my 120 year old rubble foundation walls reparged. So confusing! I had a company hired for $8,000, when he stopped communicating. That's when I did in depth research to know what was required to do a good job and what that would cost. I learned new parging will not stick to paint, so removing the old painted parging was crucial. Also a rubble wall is very sandy, so the bolted wire mesh gives the new parging something to attach to securely. Many companies were just going to reparge over the existing parging that still stuck without installing wire mesh. I realized it was a pricier job to have the old cracked parging removed, cover all the walls with bolted on wire mesh for good adhesion of the 2 - 3 new parge coats. I also had the parge mix dyed with a white powder, to have light gray walls without ever having to deal with the paint eventually flaking due to the moisture in any basement. Ruairi and Taryn were always a pleasure to communicate with answering all my questions, promptly and honestly. Chris, Tristan and Patrick were fun to interact with and did wonderful work. They went above and beyond what I expected! They were detailed in covering the furnace and water heater, disconnected my washer, dryer and even the laundry tub to move and cover ensuring proper coverage on the walls behind those items. A long, drain pipe bolted to the wall was delicately rehung away from the wall and bolted back in place. Chris asked me to look everything over to tell him where I would like any touch ups. They installed a new dryer hose and returned twice to ensure the reconnected drain for the laundry tub no longer leaked. This company treats you like you're part of their caring family!

I did my homework before receiving 5 estimates from other Homestars companies with good reviews, but no one seemed to be the right fit. I started my search in March and had a highly recommended local painter (not on Homestars) hired for June when out of the blue in June, he said he couldn't paint my house. Disillusioned, I called my local paint store, Decorating Elements on Royal York who recommended, Demiri Painting and Decorating. When I asked for another company name, they would not recommend anyone else. That spoke volumes! From day one upon meeting Val, I felt a connection. He's very informative, honest and highly dedicated to making his customer happy. We communicated well (very important to me) and I had confidence he was the one to do the job. Val's team, John, Engin and Mike are a dream. They arrived every day on time in good spirits, worked hard and long with attention to detail, always leaving the work site neat and tidy. They removed very old painted wall paper (not the kind that is meant to be painted) on walls and ceiling of 2 bedrooms, lots of plastering and sanding on old cracked uneven lathe and plaster walls, used special conversion paint from oil to latex on all surfaces before painting could even start. The star of their efforts was the complete transformation of all the old dark stained wood trim, doors, fireplace and staircase with a beautiful custom matching dark stain and varathane. (Most companies wanted to paint it all white.) This was not an easy job and I'm not easy to please! I'm in awe!!! The walls are unbelievably smooth and all the wood is so rich and gleams like new. This company went above and beyond my expectations. They moved my furniture out, covered whatever remained and moved it all back. John even removed and replaced all the light fixtures/ceiling fan for safe keeping. (A great chance for me to give them a good cleaning.) Val and John came back several times to take care of those last details, just to make sure I was completely happy. I cannot thank them enough for making this old diamond in the ruff shine!

I was very impressed with Greg's prompt replies to all my emails over a period of time, while we waited for the ground to harden for the use of a Genie Boom (aka cherry picker). The rental was $800.00 - $1000.00 of the cost. My roofing is steel and not to be walked on. His son, Micheal and employee, Artur worked with absolute precision in maneuvering the bucket around two chimneys without any damage to the roof. They informed me of a cut in a steel shake noticed some distance from where they were working. Artur was kind enough to take a couple of pictures to show my roofing company, the cut and another one to show the guys working from the bucket of a Genie Boom to prove no one walked on the roof. My chimneys are looking great and the steel shake has been replaced by the roofing company. Thanks to Micheal and Artur for mentioning it, as the cut was completely through the steel shake! UPDATE: I had asked Greg to do whatever was necessary in his professional opinion, so no further work had to done in a long time, since it was expensive to rent a Genie Boom to reach the chimneys. This past April 2019, I had a family of raccoons living in my living room fireplace just above the damper accessed by the chimney. Greg said, I never asked for animal proofing! He wanted another $350.00 to do a patch job. A patch job didn't sound esthetically pleasing or durable. I decided to have a wildlife company take care of everything at once without having to coordinate with Greg. The wildlife company said, it's the humane thing to do and safe for me to leave them there until they leave on their own around the beginning of July. It was noisy at times and once I saw a paw dangling from the damper opening. Cute, but scary at the thought of them getting in the house! They insured the raccoon family had finally vacated before wire meshing the chimney opening invisibly for $250. I asked Greg to please inform his future customers as to whether or not their chimneys are animal proof.

It's now April 2018 and I still love my steel roof, but I need chimney work done. It's only accessible with a cherry picker ($800 - $1000 rental). I called Hy-Grade for instructions on how to walk on the roof without damaging it. They did not recommended this. Hy-Grade could remove and replace some shakes for $500 - $600, but scheduling would be a problem, as this is their busy season. So I warn anyone in the market for a steel roof to make sure anything up there that's not at the edge of the roof is also maintenance free for 50 years!

Alex came through by building an 8' x 10' Ipe deck, no railing, a notched corner to add some interest and just one step up all around the deck floor. Alex promptly/politely answered any concerns I had via email to my satisfaction. There's a range of different shades in the natural colour and grain patterns of the Ipe boards that I wasn't aware of or cared for. It became apparent only after the deck was completely finished and it rained. Alex said they don't sort their boards or the cost would increase. Compared to several other quotes, they were substantially cheaper. The deck is much admired and one friend didn't want to walk on it. He thought it's too nice and didn't want to get it dirty! All in all, I'm a satisfied customer.

Can't ask for better than being treated like part of a caring family. I realized after crunching the numbers that this 50 year, fully transferable roof was very cost effective. One concern I had was it would be noisy when it's raining hard. It's not. It is actually more quiet than the old asphalt shingles because of their raised wooden strapping/insulating system under the steel shakes. I was completely satisfied from beginning to end! They even came through with a referral reward cheque of $400 when a neighbour who liked my roof had their own installed. I wish all contractors were like them. It's now April 2018 and I still love my steel roof, but I need chimney work done. It's only accessible with a cherry picker ($800 - $1000 rental). I called Hy-Grade for instructions on how to walk on the roof without damaging it. They did not recommended this. Hy-Grade could remove and replace some shakes for $500 - $600, but scheduling would be a problem, as this is their busy season. So I warn anyone in the market for a steel roof to make sure anything up there that's not at the edge of the roof is also maintenance free for 50 years!

This work was done May 13, 1996. I trusted that it was done according to my contract, which I still have. I've just had a home energy audit done and was told that my attic needed to be insulated. Shocked, I said that it was done to a total R value of R-40 from the existing R value of R-12. The audit guy said it was only R-14 at best. He added that the existing insulation of black mineral wool was not covered by the fiberglass at all in places. He said if it had been done to R-40, the insulation would be around 24" thick. He showed me pictures that he had just taken and I went up to look myself. I feel scammed and frankly, surprised that they are still in business!

Great guys! Great service! Great product! My 15 year old furnace kept breaking down 2 years after it's installation. It was time to replace it, to avoid huge repair costs, even though I was disappointed it didn't last longer. The installers, Jaime and Rob did an excellent job and asked if I was satisfied before they left. I noticed a small leak in one of the water hose connections, just after they left, which I called about immediately. Even though Jaime was exhausted from a late night install the day before, he returned right away and corrected the problem! I'm amazed how Dave Chaddock (the owner) is always available and answers all your questions in a polite and friendly manner. I found this company on homestars and have had several dealings with them over a couple of years. Once you become a Reliable Home Comfort customer, they truly live up to their name!