Blevine from Toronto

We also saw Insta-Insulation on Holmes on Homes. They were the only one of three companies to come out and give us a quote in person for an attic top-up after we had ice damming last winter. Robert was very courteaous and made suggestions to combat the problem. The crew arrived on time, they were polite and careful in our home. A definite please to do business with.

We had some water damage during the installation of a flat roof last summer, and I hired Winmar to help determine what remedial steps needed to be undertaken. The company's after hours service dropped the ball, but the company responded quickly and professionally once I got them directly. The estimator was very professional and explained the conditions under which mold can grow, and he also explained how a previous contractor had used a heat sensing gun to "scare us" into buying his service. Winmar wrote us a very professional report to present to the roofer with very fast turnaround. A pleasure to do business with.

We hired Avenue Road Roofing because they had a good reputation and also because they were featured on Holmes on Homes. We knew they would be expensive but we wanted a company that could back up their work. The quotation process was very pleasant the estimator explained things in much more detail than the two other roofers we asked to provide quotes. It took over 2 months for them to start the work, but in fairness, the summer of 2006 was plagued with rain. They started a three day job on a Friday, which should have rung the alarm bells, and they assured me that the first layer would protect the roof in the event of rain. Well, it didn't. The good news is, they stood behind their work and eventually repaired the interior. The metal work was not done properly, and that too they fixed. Some of the stucco trim has to be cut away, and this was never properly finished. It took a total of five months from the time we signed the original contract. We were generally happy with the work on the roof and the professionalism of the company in standing by their errors, but they should be more upfront about their ability to do the job in a resonable timeframe. Once they start it, it should be finished as best as possible in consecutive days, not over a period of three months.

Nick was very quick to respond and he did a good job of demonstrating his knowledge in determining the cause of the problem. I was pleased to hire him because of this. However after he "did the deal" and installed the equipment, I was less thrilled with his service. He didn't show up for a subsequent appointment to check on the progress until I figured out that World Cup soccer was more important than his customer and then he reluctantly rescheduled. His son came by to pick up the equipment a couple of weeks later but he didn't bring any tools with him to put back the carpet, fix the baseboards, etc. Fortunately I held back some of the payment because they never followed up to come back and fix it. In the end, I determined that this was a rather expensive service given the amount of time Nick and his son spent, combined with the fact that I did much of the dismantling of the equipment and the reinstallation of the carpet. I was grateful that the job got done quickly and that the water was dried out. Unfortunately you don't have much time to check these companies out when you have water leakage. So be prepared!