Milton

I bought a new range hood to replace a cheap and underperforming one in our newly-purchased home, only to discover when I removed the old one that the duct and aperture in the brick were offset seven inches from the outflow at the back of the range hood! So someone probably a long time ago like 15-20 years or more when the kitchen was renovated moved the stove and did not bother moving the exhaust! In other words we and the previous owners have been venting hot (and greasy!) air mostly into the wall cavity for who knows how long. I tried cutting it out myself but quickly realised I was over my head. I found Professional Masonry Services on a neighbourhood Facebook group and Chris agreed to come by and take care of it fore me. It being January, he got back to me after checking the long term forecast and suggested waiting a week as he spotted a window of above-freezing temperatures wherein he could do the reconstruction work in addition to the necessary removal. Chris came as planned, sorted out the opening with laser precision and even matched the brick to the point where you would literally never know the hole was ever anywhere but where it is now. I am very pleased that I did not try to complete the work myself. Chris was also extremely friendly and pleasant to talk with and happy to answer all my questions about the work, the materials, the techniques and anything else I fired at him. I started with a messy problem and finished with a clean and elegant solution. There is nothing more you could ask for.

Our basement toilet stopped flushing and being handy I tried several things including some new tricks learned from Youtube to no avail. I finally decided to call a plumber and chose Super Rooter based on their stated area of expertise. I made the right decision. Working with Super Rooter was a pleasant experience from the beginning to the end. The woman who answered the phone asked me what was my problem and I told her "you know your advertisement (see attached) ? That is me. I am the guy who has tried everything and now has the plunger stuck to his head". Mitchell arrive that afternoon and quickly diagnosed the issue as being in the main sewer line and not the vent or the toilet. And he did so while sharing his thinking with me, explaining the pipes and their diameters and the material they were made with, which part is mine, which is the city's, what is likely blocking, what is worst case scenarios, how he was going to remedy it, what the fee would be, firm, every step of the way explained to me in helpful detail. He had a buddy in the truck which is a good thing because the machine he needed to lug down to my basement was massive and heavy. He called me down to show me when he hit something and explain how far out is was and what it likely was etc., all information which I was excited to learn. As a final flourish, he called me down again and asked for a flat head screwdriver as he had already taken his tools to the truck but noticed when he was putting the toilet back on that the tank was a little wobbly and he wanted to tighten the bolts. The lessons I got about this crucial aspect of my home alone were worth the fee.

We moved into a new house built in the 50s which had had the panel updated to a 100 amp panel, but they had never upgraded the service from 60 amps. Our insurance company insisted we upgrade that right away so we decided to do the whole thing to 200 amp. I found Nick through online searching and good reviews. He knew what he was doing and made the job an almost seamless experience for us. He handled the booking and paperwork with Toronto Hydro (easily the hardest part of the job he said!) including them changing the date on us. They came the day before to install the new post and whatnot and prepare the area around the panel - remove some wall board and fish the ground wire to the water intake, etc. On the big day they arrived bright and early and oversaw the hydro shutoff and got to work on the panel. I had some heavy gauge extension cords running to my neighbour's outdoor outlet so I was able to keep my computer (WFH) and fridges going during the outage. Nick and Steve and little Nick (who is over 6' tall) were friendly and efficient and they had everything done and in place for the inspector by like 1 pm and hydro was there and hooking us back up by around 2. Nick is just overall a very friendly and funny gentleman and a pleasure to engage with. We have more electrical work awaiting us down the road and I will be sure to hire him again for that when the time comes.

We moved in to a new house to discover adorable red squirrels were living in the attic of our single-storey addition. I decided to find a local small operator and settled on this one based on the positive feedback they had here and elsewhere. Scott came promptly, and to my surprise did the lockout / one-way door on the spot. He warned me that if there were young in the house, mine would go from a simple to more complicated problem - with no change in price. He also explained that it would be very obvious if that were the case, as I would have a very recalcitrant and obstreperous mother squirrel loudly informing me of the situation. Fortunately, that was not the case and the poor squirrels were outmatched from the start. I did not hear another scratch in my ceiling from the minute Scott left my house. Scott returned the following week to remove his door and replace it with more chicken wire. I was having the roof done a few weeks later and I got the roofers to flash over the area giving it an elegant finish. There is no problem without a solution and this one, after aggravating me as I viewed it as a bit disingenuous of the vendors, as they surely knew about the tenants before we took possession, turned out to be a simple one. The squirrels are still around, and still adorable, but they are bedding down somewhere else, who knows maybe in someone else's roof. Remember, when you are hiking in the woods with a friend and you encounter a bear, you don't have to outrun the bear. You just have to outrun your friend.

We bought a new house but it did not have a gas line to the stove area. We bought a gas stove for a deal on Kijiji, and it sat in the family room while we awaited getting a gas hookup. I identified a local independent plumber/gasfitter with good reviews here and elsewhere, and he came by to assess, and subsequently sent me an estimate. I confirmed the project with him, whence he said he would come by the following week. Two weeks went by and he never showed up, called, texted, nothing. I found Hoerner with a similar search, and they booked me for a visit that week. I told the woman in the office that I was available for cancellation squeeze-in since I work from home. That worked out well, as they called last-minute to come the day before. Clare was friendly and knowledgeable and went around the house identifying the other gas appliances and calculating their load on the gas supply. I had the estimate in my email within minutes of her leaving. I called to book the job, and was fortunate, as they used what was originally my estimate timeslot to come back the next day and do the work. We are delighted with our new stove. When Clare was here I was working in the basement, and actually thought she had left when I heard her footsteps in the family room. I came upstairs to find her laying on the floor in front of the gas fireplace - which we had never figured out how to operate. She lit the pilot light for us and showed us how to control it with the thermostat. I had not even asked her for this favour and was very pleased for her help and impressed with her initiative.