consuelo

We live in Parkdale where there is an abundance of century homes. Our front steps were sinking as the supporting brick side walls were bowing outwards due to various reasons only a hundred years of survival can provide. We have seen many masons come and go on our street, most of them mediocre at best, but we couldn't hold off the work for much longer. I first saw Johnson and Playfair's work in the form of 3 brick columns that were impeccably done with very thin mortar. My husband and I were intrigued and at the same time excited at the prospect that we may finally have found properly trained masons to do the work on our home. We finally met one of the dynamic duo working on a stone walkway in another house up the street from the first. He identified himself as Playfair and claimed ownership of the work on the columns. We asked them to provide a quote for the restoration on our house, and they listened very carefully to my concerns about what we required, not the least of which is I didn't want our deck to collapse. They were prompt with the quote which was competitively priced, detailed, technical and patient in explaining the restoration work to be done, showed up on time, maintained order and cleanliness to the work site as well as made sure that the neighbour's property was protected from dust and dirt. The employees were courteous, Mr. Playfair actually laid the brick himself, approached the need to support the stone steps the way an engineer would, and overall left a very good impression and provided us with hope that all is not lost in the world of trades. We highly recommend Johnson and Playfair, and we would hire them again for any other restoration work on our home. We are happy clients.

Gordon Bailey goes by the mantra "i'ts not how you start, it's how you finish". We hired Gord to restore our deck and porch back to its historical roots. We paid a 50% discount and paitently waited for the project to begin.We waited for a period of time within which most people would have gone to court, but instead kept our faith in Gord knowing that once he got over the medical issues, staffing problems, and several cynical phone calls from us, he would make good on his word, or at least the signed contract. When the time finally came, Gord sent his top guy, Joe, to do the deck floors, a neighbour to organise the backyard to become workspace (my backyard has never looked cleaner nor more organised, this guy left me speechless), hired a fantastic carpenter whose skill and talent were outdone only by his unquestionnable work ethic! At the end of the day, we now have a porch and 2 decks that make our home the most historically beautiful house on the street!! (Once the garden gets straightened out, it will be even better!). He finished well on this project. The most important thing for us however, is that Gord did not run away with our money, he absorbed and digested our anger about all the delays, and went out of his way to make amends. He knows his stuff, and that's why even after all the delays with our home porch/deck project, I hired him to do the repairs to the roof of one of my investment properties. He's not cheap, but because he knows his stuff and he has Joe, my husband and I are sticking with Academia to replace the entire roof system at our home, for the spring of 2012. I can tell you that he isn't greedy, because I recently consulted with, and asked him to evaluate two quotes for a roofing job in Hamilton, and rather than stepping in to do it, he was honest enough to say he is not licensed to work there, but went out anyway to assess the situation in order to give me a professional opinion of what was needed, in order for me not to be duped by other companies. Academia is "old school"--honest and knowledgeable, excellent value for the money. I won't thank him here, not yet, since my home roof is still on the docket, but I am looking forward to a solid roof, and that new skylight for my artisan room/office! After all this, YES, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM! Consuelo de la Vega Homemaker and Investment Property Manager