Lisa C

Last year, we hired Cactus to fix up our backyard and front walkway. This summer we really had the chance to enjoy the results. They did a great job transforming our backyard, exceeding our initial vision for it. Quality work done on the install of patterned concrete, soft surface. They implemented solutions that improved drainage and lighting. They replaced a decrepit fence that had been falling over for years. Based on these results, we then had them fix up our front yard. Vladimir came up with this beautiful design for the walkway/retaining walls, again, exceeding expectations for it. Work completed within our required timeframe. Hardworking, considerate crews. Quality work. Good communication. Highly recommended.

Milano completed work for us last summer. Very happy with the roof reshingle work and custom window casing that Milano completed for us. Looks great! Rodrigo was very responsive and great to work with. Would recommend to family/friends.

In May 2022, Emian Construction started on our home renovation project that had engineer design drawings and a permit. In short, they did an excellent job and were great to work with. Mehdi is very responsive and kept us in the loop on all of the different stages of the project. We will continue to work with them in the future. The scope of work was to extend an existing old wood sided extension that covered a back stairwell that was not used anymore and turn it into a sunroom/office on the second floor, and a larger mudroom on the first floor. In addition, the room connected to this extension was repurposed - from an old laundry room, to new family room. We moved our laundry to the basement, and Emian completed the plumbing work and drywalling in this new area. A new airsource heat pump was installed to supplement heating/cooling on the first/second extended areas, as well as the third floor which heating/cooling from existing vents were not effective. It was a complicated, multi-phased project that was completed in October. If it weren't for delays in receiving new siding material, it would have been done sooner. Pro's: -fair and transparent pricing -easy communication - Mehdi was always available to discuss any questions/concerns we have and let us know what and when they were working on next -clean worksite - after every day work was completed, the jobsite was left broomswept clean. Emian would clear demo'd material each day so that we did not require a waste bin rental -quality work - we are so happy with the finished product The full scope completed by them was: -Move laundry from second floor to basement - plumbing

We had Star Moon replace the shingles on the porch roof, as well as install leaf guards on the 2nd and 3rd floor eavestroughs. Found them on Homestars and chose them based on reviews and responsiveness. We are very happy with their work and will use them again. Pros: -responsive and punctual -competitive quote -work area cleaned up upon completion -professional

EDIT 2024 - I noticed the company responded by saying a boom was used. Either they are confused with another home or being dishonest. 100% no boom was used. The side of house was not done. In Oct 2021, Five Star completed exterior painting on our 3 story semi house. We found them on Homestars and selected them based on reviews, their potential availability, and quote. Pros: - free colour consultation - the consultant was professional and really helped us to determine what colour to use. We are happy with the colour - competitive quote - professional staff -were able to fit us in before the cold weather hit Cons: - unfortunately, the lack of pre-painting preparation really impacted the final result. The new porch and stairs were not covered and had lots of paint splatter. Porch ceiling not covered, edges had overspray. 2nd and 3rd floor Roof shingles had many paint splotches. -painter returned to remedy - somewhat satisfactory correction of the porch and porch ceiling. -we decided to leave the paint marks on the shingles, as we had concerns on how they would be corrected. Would rather just replace the front shingles in <5 years. Was the house painted? Yes. But we were really surprised that a professional outfit did not put any time into pre-painting prep. Not sure if this is normal for them or due to volume of work that needed to be done before cold weather.

We had Dundas Windows replace 11 windows back in Sept 2019. We are still very happy with the windows - look and quality. Pros: -professional staff, from sales rep to installers -quality product Cons: -some of the work was completed early evening when it was dark. Upon completion, there was noticeable extra caulking in large front and back windows. We had some back and forth to get the installers to come back to do the fix. Would have preferred for Dundas to do a final inspect and to more closely manage any follow-up required. In the end, rectified and happy with final product.

In July 2021, we were to have Elite Mouldings replace two old wood porch pillars with two new fiberglass pillars, on a >100 year old house. Prior to finalizing the work order, we sent them pictures of the existing pillars and porch. No one did a pre-inspect. When the installer came, he removed one pillar and said that the roof area it attaches to needs to be repaired (about $500, minor, but necessary). Not something he would do. He put a 2x4 in place, and left. We scrambled to find another contractor/carpenter to do the repair before leaving on vacation. Every contractor that showed up to quote the repair could not believe that Elite Mouldings would just leave it in that state and expect to come back just to do the installation. In the end, we asked Elite to just send over the pillars. They charged $150 for the cancelled install and delivery of the pillars. We had another contractor do the repair and install. Pros: Professional staff, good product (the pillars) Cons: Should consider what is required for older homes/ pillar replacement, do a proper quote on what they can do/not do by inspecting the property first.

In August 2021, Emian repaired part of our porch roof, and removed and installed two porch pillars. We were left in a bind when another contractor that we expected to replace the pillars removed a pillar and said that he could not install the new pillar due to wood rot in the porch roof. He put a 2x4 in place, and left. Emian were in the neighbourhood working on another house. They came by on short notice and gave a straight-forward assessment of the work. Pro's: -reasonable quote, responsive, professional, clean workspace. We are happy with the install and how they came through for us during a busy time. We would recommend them and would be interested to work with them again on other projects.

We had Spring Home install an AC unit in May 2021. At the time, we were happy with the installation and would have recommended them. However, in the summer of 2023 we needed the outside unit temporarily moved to allow for backyard stonework/fencing to be done. Upon reinstall, there was damage done to our new assets. The tech was honest and made note that the office would be in contact. Dealing with the Spring Home office to follow-up and actually rectify the problem was disappointing. By late fall, the damage was still there and they were not responsive. We settled this through our credit card company which agreed that they did not follow through on the terms of their service.