Greg

I contacted The Boiler Shoppe through Ductless.ca to inquire about installing a Mitsubishi Split system heat pump in our home. The head installer, Pat Nolan, was so helpful in answering all my questions and addressing my concerns that I didn’t bother contacting anyone else for a quote... the price he gave me was just shy of what I expected to pay so I didn’t see any point in looking elsewhere. Since I had all the information I needed and a fair price, thanks to Mr. Nolan, we proceeded to book an appointment for the following week. On the day of the install Ahmad and his young colleague arrived on time and got right to work. Since they were replacing a 17 year old existing unit that had outlived its usefulness I was kept informed at every step of the process. It would be fair to say that these guys really knew what they were doing. Their work was quick, tidy, and efficient, in short, as professional as my expectations. Did I mention that Pat Nolan dropped by to check on the progress and have a nice chat with me before moving on with his day. All in all it turned out to be a very pleasant experience.... One last thing... in my humble opinion it’s the little things that a company is prepared to do that adds value to the work and in that regard “The Boiler Shoppe” scores 10 out of 10.

After a seemingly endless 4 month main floor and basement renovation our ducts were in desperate need of cleaning. For logistical reasons I was specifically looking for a company who employed a portable duct cleaning system and “Dave’s Ducts” was number one on my list. This company was a pleasure to do business with. Their website tells you everything you need to know about the process and pricing and with one short phone call to Dave the booking was made. On the day of, the crew arrived a little ahead of schedule, protected my new floors with drop sheets, set up their equiptment beside the furnace and got right to work. The cleaning took approximately two hours from start to finish which seemed about right since our ducts and cold air returns contained a considerable amount of construction debris. The whole process went very smoothly and the team was attentive to ever detail. My thanks to Dave and his crew for a job well done and Dave, don’t forget to give me a call in five years... see you then. Greg Carducci

My wife and I first met Chris and Russell at the Home And Reno Show. We had been planning our main floor renovation for most of the fall and winter and were now looking for finishes. We had already decided on quartz for our countertops and some of the backsplash but we needed some guidance as to selection through to instillation. Chris and Russell were extremely helpful, they describe exactly what our next steps should be. First they visited our home to assess the work and survey the plans. After we had accepted their very reasonable quote we started looking for the right slabs at suppliers suggested by NorthStone. This turned out to be the most difficult decision of the whole renovation; my wife and I were so far apart on this that it looked like it was going to end in divorce! Finally, after much deliberation we settled on a very nice stone from Lucent. This was mid-April and demolition wasn't going to start for at least another week (weather permitting,) but my wife and I were so sure that this was the only stone that would work with the other finishes in our new kitchen so we decided to buy them right away. With still 2 months to go before we would need them installed, Chris and Russell very kindly agreed to store the slabs at their workshop until the kitchen cabinets were in place. When "countertop day" finally came, the NorthStone crew arrived with our quartz slabs precisely cut and polished and ready for instillation as per our design. if you've ever renovated an older home and rebuilt from the bare brick and joists as we did, then you know that even when things are suppose to be square, they're never really square! This was not a problem for the NorthStone team. With skills and experience beyond their years, Chris, Russell and their head fabricator were able to install our countertops and backsplash with such care and precision that the end result far exceeded our expectations. Thank you gentlemen for your help, your guidance and most of all your fine workmanship: this was indeed a job well done. Greg Carducci

When my wife and I decided to renovate our main floor, the kitchen became our primary focus. We both agreed that an IKEA kitchen would provide us with the style, functionality and durability we were looking for while still leaving lots of room in our budget for high end appliances. When the time came to choose an installer we actually interviewed two other companies before deciding on FURNITURE MASTER but in the end, they were clearly the right choice. After contacting Artem and sending him our IKEA kitchen plan, he sent back a quote and asked to make a site visit just to be clear as to the scope of the work. We discussed the design and the installation process as well as a few issues I thought may be problematic. Needless to say Artem put my mind at ease. On the day of the install the crew arrived on time. First two assemblers and a short time later Alex, Artem's business partner and head installer. These guys worked like a well oiled machine. They were organized, efficient and extremely skillful. I was astonished at how quickly things began to take shape. On the second day Artem joined the crew and by the end of day our new cabinets were beautifully installed. They made it all look so easy while being careful, clean, courteous and respectful of their surroundings. The FURNITURE MASTER team are without question skilled craftsmen who take considerable pride in their work. Thank you gentlemen for a job well done. Greg Carducci

Professionalism and attention to detail are what impressed me the most about Avenue Road Roofing. I had booked my new roof approximately 3 months ahead in order to come at the end of a 2nd floor renovation that was scheduled to end in September. During that time ARR sent an engineer to examine our attic to insure that there were no structural issues and subsequently a start date was set for early October. I chose ARR after reading several HomeStars reviews and discovered that most were favourable and there were many comments on how careful they were to protect the clients property from unnecessary damage. I have a corner property with a rather large front and back garden that I was concerned might get damaged during the removal of the old shingles. My fears were quickly put to rest when the crew arrived on time and methodically removed planters and chairs etc. that might be in harms way and proceeded to cover all vulnerable surfaces. Seb, the Forman, listened to all my concerns and then instructed his crew accordingly. The work began and continued to well after dark so the house was more or less finished that first day. The garage roof would have to wait as there was rain in the forecast for the following morning. As it turned out, the rain held off and the ARR crew arrived at noon and the garage roof was completed before dark. My only criticism is that the clean up crew could have been a little more thorough. A final walk-threw to remove stray shingles and plastic wrapping and a final sweeping to remove the ubiquitous grit on both mine and my neighbours property would have been appreciated. A couple of days later Tas arrived to do a final inspection of the work and found 4 issues that would need to be corrected before the project could be brought to its end. Unfortunately, the next day (Sunday Oct.15th,) a severe wind and rain storm brought two large limbs from our 70 year old Norway maple crashing down into our front yard. One of the limbs just “nicked” the edge of the porch roof damaging one shingle before crushing the eavestrough and smashing the front steps. The next day I called Jason, the project manager at ARR and asked if his crew could repair the damage as I was concerned about my warranty being null and void if the insurance company handled the repair. He assured me that his men would assess the damage when they came to complete the repairs Tas had discovered. Early the next morning two gentlemen from ARR arrived and informed me that only the shingle was damaged and that the roof boards and protective cladding were fine. He replaced the shingle, at no charge, and finished the work that Tas had indicated. They even cleaned out my garage roof eavestroughs; I was very pleased. Avenue Road Roofing has been a pleasure to deal with from start to finish. No detail was overlooked, no request went unanswered, truly a first class company.

Several months ago I signed a contract with Brothers Plumbing Ltd. to waterproof the exterior north basement wall of my home, approximately 30 linear feet. In order to access the wall a mutual concrete walkway between my house and my neighbour's house had to be removed. Incidentally my neighbour was having her south basement wall waterproofed by Brothers Plumbing at the same time. Once the waterproofing was finished , the excavation was back-filled and a new concrete walkway was poured with the addition of 3 area drains connected to the weeping tiles evenly spaced along its' length. I complained to Kevin, the project manager, that the concrete work appeared to be of inferior quality; there were no expansion joints or spacers and the finish was uneven and patchy and poorly graded. I questioned the need for the 3 area drains instead of a properly graded walkway but Kevin said that the drains would help to move the surface moisture away more efficiently. in addition, he assured me that should I have any problems, all the work was guaranteed for 25 years by Brothers Plumbing Ltd. Still not entirely convinced but unwilling to cause trouble, I paid the balance of my invoice. Within a few days I received a statement of account from Brothers Plumbing Ltd. marked: 'PAID IN FULL' and 'ALL WORK GUARANTEED FOR 25 YEARS'. With the very first rainfall water began to seep through my north basement wall. I called Brothers Plumbing and they came and slathered some concrete along a 6 foot length of wall where the water was seeping in. Their patch job didn't entirely stop the water from coming in but at least it was temporarily manageable. At the same time my neighbour was also experiencing flooding in her basement. With the arrival of the spring rains the flooding became more severe. once again I began complaining to Brothers Plumbing. I exchanged several phone calls and emails with Lisa, their office manager. I sent her descriptions and photos of what we were experiencing and just how severe the problem had become. After several weeks of stalling, Lisa finally agreed to send Tony, an employee and master plumber at Brothers Plumbing to survey the situation. It was on this visit that I managed to convince Tony that the area drains were the cause of the basement flooding. The very next day Tony sent a crew to cap and plug the drain holes with concrete and agreed that the walkway was not properly graded and needed to be replaced. Once again I began calling and emailing Lisa the office manager to set up a start date to replace the sub-standard walkway. Again after weeks of delays and excuses Lisa confirmed to me by email that the work would begin on August 15th 2016. On August 15th, nobody showed up. After several more weeks of calls, emails, promises, delays and excuses, Lisa once again confirmed to me by email that the work would begin on November 21st, 2016 and again no one showed up. Convinced that I had done everything in my power to persuade Brothers Plumbing to honour their '25 YEAR GUARANTEE', I decided to file a formal complaint with "Toronto Municipal Licensing and Standards". As a result of the investigation, it was determined that Brothers Plumbing Ltd. was not licensed to do waterproofing or to lay area drains as specified in our contract. Instead they could only sub-contract this work to a licensed renovator or contractor. Brothers Plumbing sub-contracted this work to "Vito Construction and Plumbing" also not licensed to do waterproofing or to lay drains. Because of this Brothers Plumbing was found to be in violation of Municipal Code Chapter 545-441A. The only reason they were not formally charged was because the six month 'Statute of Limitations" had run out. Instead, Brothers Plumbing Ltd. and Vito Construction and Plumbing each received a 'caution letter' from Municipal Licensing and Standards. I have a summary letter of the investigation as well as copies of the caution letters as issued by Municipal licensing and Standards as proof of these claims. When I entered into a contract with Brothers Plumbing to waterproof my north basement wall, I was not informed that they were not licensed to do this work themselves. Nor was I informed that the work would be sub-contracted to another company. I feel that Brothers Plumbing had misrepresented themselves and had they been transparent with me at the begin, I probably would not have hired them. Instead I wound up paying a premium price for substandard work. if you're still thinking about hiring these guys please think again! The very last thing Brothers Plumbing cares about is customer service!! IN RESPONSE TO BROTHERS PLUMBING: The fact that this contract was signed 18 months ago is irrelevant. There were problems from day '1' and the problems have been ongoing. In fact, I spent the better part of 2016 trying my best to cooperate with Lisa, your office manager, in order to get you to honour your "25 year guarantee". The concrete walkway that you installed has continued to be a problem. Rain water does not drain away especially since you capped and plugged the faulty area drains installed by your "unskilled employee". In some places it pools to over an inch in depth and as a result the moisture is beginning to erode the parging on my neighbours foundation wall. In addition, the concrete is beginning to crack in several places because you neglected to install expansion joints. Since you now admit that 'some' of the problems (read all of the problems,) that I was experienceing were caused by "...mistakes made by an unskilled employee..." then tell me why am I paying for your negligence? Any reputable company would have dealt with this months ago. Instead Brothers Plumbing has chosen to walk away, money in hand, without correcting its mistakes. While you say that you "did your absolute best to remedy the situation" both you and I know that you most certainly did not! I challenge you Brothers Plumbing, do the right thing and honour your "25 YEAR GUARANTEE."