Dave from Pickering

We moved into a condo with 30 year old appliances which all worked but needed some fixes. The washing machine of a stacked set was my major concern. Initially it worked but made quite a lot of noise. Then a solenoid valve broke and we only got hot water. I hoped to repair the washer because the dryer was fine and there would be problems replacing the set with new machines because of sizing and venting issues in the closet. I booked an appointment for the following week because there was no great urgency. Bruce phoned before coming and was on time. I was thrilled when he said that he was very familiar with the machine and diagnosed the problems quickly. Fortunately, the parts were still available but they were fairly expensive. Bruce also removed the stub of a broken-off appliance bulb in the freezer that I had been unable to budge and ordered an outlet socket for my stove. He returned with the washer parts when they arrived, made the repairs and checked the operation and for leaks. Bruce returned again with the stove socket and replaced the old one. The service call plus labour for the three visits was $125 with the balance being parts and tax. Bruce was a pleasure to work with. It's been a month since the repairs and so far so good.

After the recent wind storm, it was brought to my attention that my chimney cap was askew. I called 3 companies that sell and install gas fireplace inserts to request a service call to determine the extent of the problem and fix it. The quotes ranged from $140 to $350 and nobody could come out for at least a week. I chose the least expensive and booked an appointment. A day or two later they called to postpone the appointment. So I decided to look elsewhere. I called The Chimney Company and spoke with Bill. He listened to my problem and said he could come and check it out. When I asked when, he said is tomorrow morning OK. Bill showed up as promised and scaled the roof. He determined that everything was intact and cemented/caulked the cap back into place. Bill was there for about 20 minutes and didn't charge me a cent. He said it wasn't worth writing up the invoice. I learned that Bill's specialty is building/rebuilding brick chimneys for wood burning fireplaces, so I can't really comment on his expertise but I can say that his customer service was outstanding.

I had half a dozen smaller items that needed fixing at my house, such as; deteriorating concrete pillars for the garage doors; a long sectional window sill that wasn't sloping away and had crumbling joints; small cracks in the foundation, flaking spots on a concrete slab; a small section of rough unattractive parging; etc. I called 3 contractors on Homestars that I thought would be comfortable with smaller jobs. One company set up several appointments but kept cancelling them due to scheduling conflicts. A smaller company took a week or two to come and quote and I got the feeling that he was trying to over-sell me. Dave Bissinger from Red Robin made a timely appointment and kept it. His quote was very reasonable. It was a pleasure having Hadrian do the work. He was very thorough and he's a very interesting guy, as well. He was scheduled for another job the next day, so he told me that someone else would come the following day to remove the forms used for the pillar repairs. John came the next day and, after removing the forms, said that, because the facings weren't perfectly smooth, he would come back to parge them. I was very impressed with John's perfectionist attitude and his commitment to customer satisfaction. I'm happy to recommend Dave, Hadrian & John.

The walkway from the front of our house, along the side to the backyard was made of concrete patio slabs that were about 25 years old. Anticipating the fall and spring rains to come, I was concerned that the walk was now sloping towards the house in spots, rather than away from it. In late October, I called three firms that I found on HomeStars. One told me that they were booked and to call back in the new year. A second came to the house within a few days to prepare a quote. That firm emailed the next day to say that they had received a larger job closer to home and that they couldn't do my job until 2013. At my request, they did provide a quote anyways. I made an appointment with Angelo from All-Pro and, although he had to reschedule, I must say that he always called me if he or his crew were going to be late. I never had to sit around and wonder where they were. Angelo gave me a quote that was comparable to the other contractor and said that, barring bad weather, he would get the job done before the season ended. They started within 2 or 3 days of signing the contract and were finished a week later. It was only a 2 or 3 day job but they were finishing other jobs and a couple of days were too cold or wet to work. I was happy that the job was getting done. Angelo was frequently doing some of the work himself but, if not, he came by at least once a day to review the work with his helper(s). One concern was our A/C unit. It had to be raised to put stones underneath. It would have cost approx. $500 for the HVAC service people to disconnect, move, and reconnect. Angelo offered no guarantee but said that he had successfully raised many A/C units without damaging the lines and it appears he succeeded again. I was pleased that they used plywood sheets to protect the lawn from damage by their equipment. I should also mention that, while they would usually have a port-a-potty on site, they used our powder room because it was such a small job at the end of the season. This was not an issue as all the guys were considerate. Both Angelo and I agree that I am fussy but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend All-Pro or use them again.