Ln from TO

It was a pleasure dealing with A & Y Plumbing. They responded quickly and resolved the issue the same day! Pricing was reasonable. The drain pipe from our washing machine was blocked, resulting in water pouring out onto the floor. Alex was knowledgeable, friendly, quick, and did the job. After the pipe was snaked, he let water run through the pipe for a few minutes to make sure that it was definitely working. Since then, we've done our laundry and had a dry floor! Thank you A & Y.

All our windows and sliding doors were replaced by this company a couple of years ago. I just want to say that their service since has been excellent. I called Steve Mercer yesterday to tell him about a couple of minor issues, and he came right over today--in the rain--to fix it all up. No charge. Thanks Steve! You're as good as your word!

I can't speak highly enough of Nestor Velez, the owner of this company. He was present, hard at work, diligent and creative throughout. I could really see that he takes pride in his work. And well deserved! The price was reasonable. Our house was in dire need of painting and wall repairs. Plus bathroom renos. I mean real need! For eg, we had a huge mysterious bulge in the hallway that I was sure meant serious damage. Nestor reassured me that it was most likely just a bubble, and when he stripped it out, he showed me the undamaged wall behind it. There was a horrible extensively damaged ceiling (due to a repaired leak) that he patiently replastered and repaired until it looked new. We needed a make-over in a tiny bathroom with rot behind the shower tiles. It was a really tough job because of the size. He redid it beautifully, floor, shower stall, taps and shower head, and recommended re-hanging the door so that it would open out and create more space, which we approved and he did as well. That's how he has been throughout this challenging job. Always helpful and thoughtful with many very useful suggestions. Not just colours but also improvements. For example, he shone light down a grate and discovered that air was blowing behind our bathtub and came up with a solution. There were so many added touches, like spray painting the grates to spruce them up. My husband and I both have home offices, and in this large project, Nestor managed to keep our spaces available to us as much as humanly possible, and was always considerate of our teenagers' privacy. He and his assistants, Mr. Wong and Ernesto, put a great deal of effort into reducing and cleaning up dust at the end of every day. Before he left for the day, he went over the day's work that had been done and outlined the next day's plan. He never complained, even when working in very tight spaces, but was always positive and pleasant, as were his assistants. This was a job I'd wanted done for years but kept putting off because of the disruption. He even removed old baby gates and put down new quarter-rounds on one of our floors, which look perfect. Now I'm having so much pleasure gazing on our beautiful new walls!

Wow, what an amazing job. Everything's a challenge in our house. The sliding doors needed to go into the kitchen to replace 3 old wooden doors that were misshapen and leaky. Besides being uneven, the old frames supported the ceiling. As usual, Steve Mercer came up with a creative idea, a large sliding door framed by 2 windows, supported by a large beam. Steve McCue came up with the way to make it happen and then did so. He even chose a wooden trim for the inside because my kids call this small addition "the cottage" and the colour of the trim matches our table. See the picture! Isn't it beautiful? Now I'm just waiting for a quote on spray foam insulation for below the kitchen floor. (Hint, hint...)

Gary Balabanian is an electrician with integrity. After the ice storm in Toronto in December 2013, hydro supervisors inspected our street for outside wiring issues. We were informed that the hydro wire connected to the outside of our house was not installed according to code, and had to be redone promptly or we would have our power cut off. A lot of people were getting those notices, and when I called several electricians (recommended to me by the way), they were very busy, there was a shortage of parts, and they and were also charging twice to four times the usual price because of the situation. Gary was completely honest. He said his first priority was restoring power to houses that were without power. But after that, he would deal with us, and he did not raise rates because of the demand. He charged us time plus costs, and his rate was bang on what our old electrician (retired) told us to expect. It was half of what the lowest other quote was. He did the job that was needed, and got the ESA certificate.

Highly recommend this company! Difficult roof successfully repaired at last! Here's the story. We had a new roof put on by another company that led to numerous problems they were unable or unwilling to fix. The last problem, which they attempted to fix unsuccessfully was a leak in a dormer. I called John Stewart and Andrew came during a heavy rain in order to better detect the issues, and stood outside on a ladder in the rain to examine the area. He identified the issue, which related to improper installation of the new roof in the first place, and came up with a plan to fix it in a way that didn't break the bank. The crew came and repaired the area. I didn't post a review right away because I wanted to see what happened in the rain. But now, a year later, I can report that the area is still clean and dry! Thank you John Stewart, Andrew, and everyone in the company!

We had Fortress replace a window and door previously, and were so pleased we decided to hire them for the big job of replacing the rest of our windows with vinyl windows in our 3 story house. As before, Steve Mercer was prompt and had great suggestions, especially for an awkwardly sized large window that looks beautiful now, as does everything. Steve McCue came to measure and head up the team, and everything was done cleanly, promptly, pleasantly, and with an excellent product. Installation is key, and over several jobs, I notice they always take the time & care to do it right. Price is midrange. We had single hung and awning windows installed, as well as a side-slider where no other would work. I had previously had a window done by a more expensive company and was not anywhere as happy with service or product. Steve and Steve are a terrific team and they set the bar for their employees. I am really looking forward to our new kitchen doors, which they will be installing next.

So impressed! We were moving rooms in our house and I called all the top rated movers in Homestars. It's The Right Move was the only one that was willing to accommodate our needs without charging a minimum way beyond our needs. They came up with the innovative strategy to fit us in around another move so that all we had to do was pay the hourly rate for time taken. Since we just had a few heavy pieces to move, this was fantastic. They carried things up and down from first to third floor in our narrow century home, including a heavy filing cabinet. They took apart my children's bunk bed and reassembled the separate beds in their new rooms, as well as disassembling and reassembling our dining room table, and with improvements! Philip and his assistant (I think Paul?) were fantastic from beginning to end. Honest, efficient, reliable, and totally competent. Highly recommended!

We were very pleased with all aspects of the job, from our first meeting with Steve through to the completion of the job. We had three single hung windows in a bay in the living room, plus a sliding door installed in the kitchen. All done with a great deal of efficiency and pleasantness. We plan to go to Fortress again for new windows and doors for the rest of the house. Price was mid-range, service top notch. I just want to add a shout-out and thank you to Steve McCue too!

The flat roof was done fine, and the balcony over it taken down and put back for us--both stars for that because the peaked roof was a disaster! We did both about 5 or 6 years ago, as our peaked roof, which had never leaked, was old and our adjoining neighbour was redoing hers and recommended this company to do ours at the same time. Little did we know what was to follow. Immediately the new roof sprung a leak, and Andre did not respond to pleading phone calls. Eventually he did come, after months of calls, but the "repair" did nothing to solve the problem. Then there was a second leak. It took more calls and photos and several visits. After more than two years and buckets under our new roof, finally Andre put a second layer of shingles over the two areas where we had leaks. Peace at last...until we sprung two new leaks on the other side of the roof. More calls, more months, more tapping here and there. Finally again, more shingles added. One of the leaks was resolved. The other still was wet, the interior under the leak blistering again after being plastered over. More calls and emails and photos, that have not been answered. We still have the leak. I do not recommend this company if you need a new peaked roof. Anyone can make a mistake or have a bad experience with their crew. But it has been 6 years of our new roof leaking with no final resolution. It looks like we are going to have to pay someone to put on another new roof. 5 or 6 years of leaking roof is not what we paid for. We have now been advised by other roofers as to the short-cuts and poor workmanship that caused these problems.