Rando in East york

My toilet was making a very loud foghorn noise. Internet research illustrated that the ballcock (real name for the piece!) needed to be replaced. After watching videos on how to do it myself, I opted for professional help instead (I know my limitations). Based on great reviews, I contacted this firm and the entire experience was professional. Great communications, arrived exactly as planned, got the work done properly. Jeff did the work and he is clearly a master of his trade. We had a nice conversation about guitars and music as well. Great guy, pleasant, courteous and conscientious about keeping my home and bathroom clean, and priced fairly. I would definitely recommend for any in-home plumbing needs. Five stars for sure.

We have a very old garage door that has given us trouble in the past. It finally stopped working after years of being finicky and the cable that attached the door to the ancient springs gave. We could still open the door but without the spring ballast, the door was very, very heavy and awkward to open. Oleg arrived exactly on time. He communicated and presented very well and after a few minutes of being shown the problem he got to work. Within an hour he had fixed the problem and given all of the parts of the garage an overall maintenance check and lubrication. Now our garage door is working better than it ever has in the 8 years we have owned this property even though we have other people work on the garage door in the past. Great service. Recommended for sure. R*

Our LG washing machine, which we bought in 2011, stopped working with a full load of half-washed clothes. We found Yevhen on Homestars along with a number of other potential repair service providers. Yevhen was the first to get back to us (almost right away) and he was also one of the only repair people to offer to work on our LG machine (some others said they don't repair LG). He really helped us out by coming in the evening; he arrived around 8:00p. He is friendly, courteous, and smart with great repair skills. It turned out that the drain pump in our machine had stopped working (which made sense since the motor was clearly still working but the liquid would not drain). Unfortunately we needed a new pump but Yevhen took care of ordering it and picking it up and the very next day he came back (again in the evening) and repaired it within an hour. Our machine is now back up and running. Problem solved and he has offered us a 3 month warranty on his repair. We were very happy with Yevhen's service and he will be our first call next time. He repairs washing machines, dryers, dishwashers and fridges. Good guy, solid repair work, recommended.

Today was the second time Max visited our home to fix an issue with our furnace. The last time was a few years ago and he was very helpful then so he was our first call yesterday when we noticed that our furnace was leaking water. He answered the phone promptly on a Saturday afternoon and came over today (the following day) at the time he said he would. Turns out the issue was relatively easy to fix though could have posed a real issue had we not taken care of it. Within 20 minutes Max had replaced the drain tubing and inspected our furnace/AC unit. Similar to last time, he spent some time explaining to me how our system works and offered some advice on keeping it running well. Since Max left, I've been monitoring all afternoon and evening and he certainly fixed the leak effectively. Max is a straightforward guy. He clearly has real expertise working with modern furnace systems and takes care of the issues with patience and professionalism. After two positive experiences, we now consider Aire Max our go-to service provider for issues and general maintenance with our furnace and AC. Thanks Max. R*

We live in a very nicely renovated home in the Leaside area but our living room was lacking the design quality of the rest of our home; the Ikea bookcases we had for many years were originally purchased for our condo and were looking tired and out of place. We wanted to upgrade this most-used space in our home and sought out a fine carpenter to help us refine and implement our vision of a modern bookcase cabinet. After meeting with a few contractors, we decided to go with Malcolm because of the many positive and authentic reviews of his work online, his friendly personality, and the fact that he quickly understood what we were looking for. He also priced very competitively, promised a timely completion of work, and his workshop is located in our area. It was a complete pleasure to work with Malcolm. He did everything he said he would do. He did it all when he said he would, for the price he promised, and he cleaned up our space as much as possible after he left each day of work (we have a young child so this is particularly important to us). Most importantly, we are absolutely thrilled with the design and finish quality of the work. He quite literally understood exactly what we were looking for and produced it for us. His creativity really came in handy with the small details such as where the bookcases met the crown mouldings along our ceiling. Our new bookcase/cabinetry is top-quality and we are certain that we added to our property value with this minor renovation. We could not recommend Malcolm higher. He is a super nice guy who very calmly worked with us to ensure we were happy. He was communicative, paid very careful attention to the finest details, and delivered an excellent product. This review may sound over the top positive but we are very happy with how this project came out and wish nothing but continued success for Malcolm. He is truly a master carpenter and we will most certainly turn to him for our next millwork project. Thanks Malcolm! R*

We just completed a relatively small job with Arthur and his team at The Roof Whisperer and we are very satisfied. The work was done earlier than scheduled in a high-quality manner. Arthur communicated in a professional way at all times and we feel that we certainly picked the right contractor for this work. I feel that it is informative to also offer a bit of a back story. In the summer of 2014, our house was leaking along our east facing frontage during rainstorms. We thought that there was a leak in our roof so we called out a couple roofing teams to take a look. One group, who I won’t mention here, suggested quite a serious improvement to our roof shingles, which are only about 5 years old. When Arthur visited, however, he advised us that actually our roof is generally fine and though it could use some small, typical maintenance improvements, the reason our house was leaking was actually because the bricks on the front of our house needed to be repointed. He showed me where the problems were and recommended a mason to do the work. Sure enough, we had the brick face repointed and the leaks never occurred again. He quoted the maintenance items we might want to do on the roof but at the time we declined to do them. When we had Arthur back to quote on the clearly necessary work on our garage shingles this year, he offered to also do the small roof maintenance items as part of the contract, at a discount to the fee proposal he offered last year. His team did that work this summer as well and we feel like we got great service and quality work at a fair price. Thanks Arthur. Thanks also go to Jean, the Roof Whisperer’s happy office manager who manages the invoicing and general paperwork associated with the projects. She was always very kind and helpful. Arthur’s onsite team were great, too. Though their English wasn’t perfect, they were very kind, seemed to work very hard, and did a conscientious job of cleaning up after themselves at the end of each work day; this is particular important for us since we have a child that plays in the grassy area near the garage. Overall, great work and recommended. R*

We are very happy with our new deck and had a wonderful experience working with Zion and his team. We live in a small semi-detached house in Toronto. Our backyard is small and the outdoor space itself is complicated by the fact that we have a freestanding garage behind our house. As part of the deck structure we wanted to incorporate a tall screen wall to provide privacy between us and our neighbors, a full enclosure so that our toddler could be contained in a controlled area, an elevated platform so that our BBQ would be at the same level as our rear door, and a locking enclosure where we could store our green bin to keep raccoons away. After speaking to a number of deck providers, we decided to work with Zion (BinSolutions). Not only is he a very nice, fun, and pleasant guy, but he was the only provider who was able to offer a solution that met all of our requirements within our budget. He also provided a very innovative design that was far better than anything else we saw. This wasn't magic or anything; he simply took the time and effort to really think through how he could accomplish what we wanted. It was impressive. He is a super creative guy. Throughout the process, Zion was helpful and friendly. And this tone continued through his amazing team. They were awesome; respectful, hardworking, detail-oriented, and pleasant. At the end of each day, they cleaned up the work space and ensured it was safe. The final deck is incredible. We are totally happy with how it turned out and we would recommend Zion's crew to anyone. Zion finished the deck exactly on the schedule he promised and came back right away to tweak a couple minor issues we discovered on inspection (ie. the locking mechanism on the door to the driveway area was not working and Zion replaced it the day after we mentioned this issue). There were no cost overruns and no up-selling. We used the deck all summer (I believe it was finished in June) and we love it. The added benefit is that Zion ensured the entire deck was designed to prevent any raccoon entrances, a concern in our area. Zion's BinSolutions team is fantastic. I would happily recommend this company to anyone and I am pleased to provide a 10/10 rating to this firm. Zion provides the kind of service you hope for when you are spending significant amounts of money improving your home. Thanks Zion!

Ralph and Fazi and the crew at AFG Heating and Cooling Services were great to work with. We noticed last week when we turned our AC on for the first time this season that no cool air was coming out. I called a bunch of the Heating and Cooling companies listed on Homestars but found the call with Fazi to be the most comfortable and reasonable. Within a day he had visited to assess the situation. He wasn't able to fix it on the spot so Ralph visited two days later (on a weekend!). Within a few hours he had tested our HVAC system for leaks and then refilled the system with coolant which was low. Everything is now working well and he even gave advice on how to manage the gear. Ralph is good guy. He was clean, took his boots off every time he came into the house, worked hard, resolved the problem, and stuck around long enough to ensure it was working well. I recommend these guys. We are happy with the service, feel the price was fair, and appreciated that they were responsive and knowledgeable.

The short version: Rowan and his team at P2 are professional, detail-oriented, pleasant, honest, and skilled landscape craftsmen who understand design, quote reasonably, and deliver quality work on time and on budget. The longer version: Throughout last winter (early 2013), I sought a quality landscape team to help redesign the driveway in front of our house in Leaside (Toronto). After false starts with a few landscape contractors who lacked professionalism, a friend of mine recommended I speak to Rowan at P2 Contracting. Sites like HomeStars exist so that satisfied customers like me can spread the word about great service providers. Rowan and his crew exceeded expectations. My wife and I are very happy with how everything turned out. Rowan's email and phone communications were great. He always responded promptly and he quickly arranged to visit my home to check out the existing situation. He helped me refine the design I had in mind and quoted a price that I was expecting and happy with. He provided a formal quote with a clear scope of work. Within days of authorizing the proposal, his crew was onsite and working hard. The work took two days as promised. At the end of the first day, P2's crew not only moved their machinery away so that I could park my car in the driveway where they were working (the job was to expand the width of my driveway to provide a proper unilock walkway), but at the end of the first day they broom swept the entire area so that it was presentable and safe. Even our neighbors commented on what a great crew I had hired. My wife was home on maternity, having just delivered my baby girl the week before, and the P2 team (I think there were 4 guys working) were kind, thoughtful, and totally professional. When she had to leave the house to take our baby for a walk, they helped without being asked and made her feel very comfortable with the fact that they were working right in front of the house with machinery. She was happy so I was happy. They were respectful and kind. The job took the exact time Rowan promised. When I arrived home from work at the end of the second day I inspected the work and found it 98% complete and finished. I had already received an email from Rowan asking what I thought. When I advised that there was one small part of curb that I thought could be finished a bit better, he promised it would be taken care of the next day. When I got home from work the next day, it was finished as promised. I enjoyed working with Rowan. He is a pro. He knew exactly what I wanted, helped me with the design without trying to up-sell, quoted reasonably, and then delivered with excellent craftsmanship using a professional team of respectable, hardworking men who knew their craft well. It is now 6 months later and the improvements to our driveway are holding up very well. I hope to hire P2 to help us with our next project, the renovation of our backyard with the addition of a deck. I gladly recommend P2 Contracting.

With a baby on the way, we were getting very concerned about the raccoons living in the crawl space under an extension in the rear of our house. We were procrastinating dealing with this for about 6 months because the problem was complex and not really pressing since we don't use our backyard very much. But we noticed that the little buggers had made quite a nest for themselves by destroying the insulation to the vent that warmed the extension. Not only were we not getting heat to the room but we were spewing hot air into their nest. Smart little critters. Our HVAC repairman wouldn't fix the vent until the raccoon had been dealt with. We called a few companies and most of them couldn't promise to prevent the raccoons from returning after they removed them because of the specific issues going on with the plastic siding of the crawl space and other factors. ENTER JOE BRUNO. Joe at Snap Pest Control is much more than just a wildlife removal service. He is also a smart handyman who knows how to solve problems. Joe visited once for free to review the situation and together we strategized a permanent solution. He is a very nice guy, pleasant to deal with, and friendly. Creative. Via email we discussed how to deal with the problem and once we decided on a course of action he came back a few days later with all materials needed and handled the situation. He came on a cold day in the middle of the winter and worked for a few hours, all as promised. In the end he provided a very effective solution; the raccoons are gone and I don't believe there is any way for them to return. It is now 2 weeks later and today I entered the crawl space with my heating repairman and saw from the inside that the raccoons have not returned. Problem solved. Joe is a good guy. Trustworthy and smart. We would definitely recommend him to anyone who has raccoons in a tricky, complicated spot of their home. Thanks Joe! R*

We are very happy with the service provided by Avenue Insulation. They were priced very competitively and showed up to do exactly what they said they'd do when they said they'd do it. When the installer finished the work, he helped me up into the hatch of the attic to see the neat job he did. He and his assistant cleaned up thoroughly afterwards and left our house exactly as they found it, just warmer. They even added a bit of cellulose to increase the R value higher than we originally purchased. The installer was a very nice guy, as was the woman we dealt with on the phone, Laara. She was very sweet, patient with my questions, and a pleasure to deal with. Recommended. R*

My wife and I are very happy with the final product produced by Kaylie and her team at Custom Closet. With Kaylie's help, we designed organizers for both our bedroom and our basement; they turned out just about exactly as we hoped. Whenever our friends and family come over to our new house for the first time, they always comment on how great the closet systems look. They are both totally integrated into the rooms, look elegant, and are totally functional. Kaylie was fantastic to work with. When she first showed up at our house, we were taken aback a bit because she is clearly very young. But she knows what she is doing. She is a total pro. Her design skills are top notch and her customer service is fantastic. The only issues we had with the entire process with Custom Closet had to do with the installation. Though they arrived to install when they said they would and only charged us exactly as we had agreed, their installer was rough around the edges. He had a young, incompetent assistant with him who he was rude to, swore at, and it made us uncomfortable. They were not very considerate of keeping our home clean, didn't clean up sufficiently afterwards, and left the door open unnecessarily on a cold day. Also, on the second day of installation, the installer suggested that our floors were too crooked (ours is an old but recently refinished house) and that the final product wouldn't look good. This was a total surprise to us and given how late in the process we were hearing this, it was totally unacceptable. I called Kaylie and next thing I knew, the owner of the company was at our house, reassuring us that everything would look great. In the end, it did. Our systems are really amazing and gorgeous. If the installer had just focused on the job and treated his assistant better (or brought a competent assistant with him instead of a kid), everything would have been perfect and we would have given a 10/10 instead of a 9. We expressed our concerns and get the sense the company will make the required changes. The crazy thing is that the installer did a fantastic job on the installation. Just needs better 'bedside manner'. This is a good company. They are honest, hardworking, solid designers who make an excellent product they care about. Their price was WAY less than California Closets for the exact same thing. When we researched before hiring, we compared apples to apples and California Closets was nearly twice the price. When I gave them an opportunity to explain why theirs was so much more, they could not offer a single good reason. Custom Closet is definitely the way to go. Our wardrobes are high quality and we are confident they add value to our house. Highly recommended. R*