Peter and Tracy Taylor Maxwell in Toronto

after having our basement waterproofed, we hired Ludwig Paving to do an asphault strip along the side of our house, where the gravel-filled hole met the paved driveway. The were prompt, neat and thorough, and made sure the paving was an appropriate angle so water would run away from the house. They gave us a great price, and great service, and we'd happily hire them for our next paving job.

You could not ask for more reliable and conscientious contractors than Paul English and his assistant Eric. When quoting, Paul listens carefully to your requests, and gives you detailed estimates on paper, noting what is involved in each step of the job. If during a job he realizes that he will need to charge more (i.e found old electrics in the wall), he will consult with you and ask your permission to continue, and then try to find the most cost-effective way of performing the task. For the most part, Paul and Eric do the jobs themselves, but hire in when they know they need a specialist (i.e. a tiler), and work that into their initial quote, so there are no suprises. They arrive on time every day (even early sometimes), and stay with your job until its over. They do great work, and are constantly trying to make you happy. Paul always said he never felt good leaving a job if his client wasn;t happy, so he'll do his best, even sometimes at his own expense, to do it right. We've used them for siding, concrete replacement, backyard construction, drywalling, and two gorgeous full bathroom renovations. We can't say enough good things about Paul and Eric and would highly recommend them.

Craig removed two Manitoba Maples in our backyard, and one huge dying pine in our front. He was fast, courteous and knowledgable and everything we agreed to on the written estimate was done perfectly - he even piled up the wood from our big pine neatly on the front lawn so that our neighbours on the street, several of whom have fireplaces and wood burning stoves, could help themselves. He did a great job and we highly recommend him.

We can't say enough about Convertible Air, and particularly about Marnie, our contact, and it would seem, personal home heating specialilst! We found Convertible, oddly, at the CNE where they had a booth set up one year, and the gentleman who ran the booth was just wonderful, and convinced us to have hi s company come in and take a look at the system we were replaceing (renovating an old house, and inproving the entire heating/cooling system). Marnie showed up and took us through what was needed and perhaps more importantly, what wasn't. She was very knowledgable, efficient, and pleasant. We hired them and were not disappointed. Their price was great, and their installation and followup service was excellent. More than once we called them to get other work done, and they never tried to upsell us - in fact, sometimes even after coming over to our house, and inspecting the job, they would tell us it wasn't necessary and cheerfully go on their way. When we bought our next house, we thought we had a serious problem with the existing furnace - Marnie came right over, new baby in her arms and helped us out. We have recommended Convertible several times with great success - the only problem we have even been told of is that since they are a smaller, family owned company, it can take a while to get your initial call returned. But please don't get discouraged, they're great.

Alex Salvino (and his father) did a fantastic job on the pressure treated fence he built for us. He took into consideration requests from our neighbours on both sides (who were going in on the cost), and made a plan to suit everyones' interests. They were fast, neat, and helpful and we would highly recommend them.

We hired Manny on a friend's recommendation, and were very happy with him. HIs price was extremely competitive, he was knowledgable and prompt. When we found a small problem a few months after his initial install, he came to fix it quickly, with no argument whatsoever, and went above and beyond what was requested. Its a small company, and we figure Manny is, if the not the owner, then the one who fields and responds to the calls, so his popularity can unfortunately mean that it can take a while to get him to return the calls or to book him, but its worth it.

After speaking with several companies that did their best to upsell us (including one that told us that the small flat and peaked roof on our tiny east end semi alone would cost $20,000), we were impressed with Alpine's no-nonsense pitch, and with their price, which was several hundred below their compeditors. They did the job quickly and well, and even threw in a couple new pieces of plywood at no extra cost. When we did have an issue a few months later with the garage roof, they repaired it without question (although it was their busy season, so it took them several weeks to get to it).

We've now used Great Norhtern for insulation jobs on two houses; each time they have listened to our requests, carefully inspected the areas that required work, given us helpful advice, and even talked us out of getting some of the work done, as it would not be cost effective for us. Both times their quote was lower than most others, and when they arrived to do the job they were courteous, quick and tidy. They were excellent, and I would fully recommend them.