John from Scarborough

We contacted Angelo based on reviews that we had seen on Homestars and elsewhere online. They responded quickly, and came out to give us an estimate, which was the best of the two quotes that we obtained. The work they did was great. Angelo followed up personally to make sure we were happy with the work and went above and beyond to fix a couple of minor issues. I would strongly recommend going with All Pro for a landscaping project.

I laid out a line using old fence posts and flagged (using those small landscaping flags from Home Depot) the spacing for the post holes in my backyard. Of course the flags would get in the way of the auger, so the guys removed them ahead of digging. To mark the spot I had flagged, one of the guys went ahead of the digger and used a shovel/hoe sort of thing to disturb a square foot patch of dirt near where each flag was - not exactly precise. Needless to say, the post holes weren't exactly where I wanted them. It's a split rail fence, so it's not the end of the world, but I wouldn't recommend this company - the work seemed rushed.

We hired John Bell Painting to paint our hallway (with high ceilings at the stairway) and one bedroom. The company was quick to respond and come out for an estimate. The work went fairly quickly, although once it was done we noticed a few problems - small things, but problems that shouldn't happen with a professional painter: there were a number of spots where the paint got on the ceiling, 3 or 4 spots with paint on the wood trim, a few areas with thin paint coverage (primer showing through), and a couple hard-to-reach areas between door casings that weren't painted at all. We emailed the company, and John was quick to come out and look at our issues. He made note of all the mistakes, and had his painter come out to fix them. In the end, it was a good job - but I'm of the opinion that it should have been right the first time. It seemed as though the job was initially rushed.

Called Markham Garage Doors based on good reviews on Homestars. One of the owners (I forget his name now) came by to measure our doorway and explain our options. Their prices were competitive (we got another quote), so we went ahead with the work. The installation was flawless, and we were really impressed with the metal work done by the "tin man." I would definitely recommend this company - and that's rare for me.

Don't go here. Salesperson was unhelpful - I ended up buying my grout elsewhere because she wasn't able to tell me what I needed for my project. Got home with my $475 worth of tiles only to find that the two sizes of the same line/colour didn't match. One was smooth with a slight pattern, the smaller ones were textured - almost in a grid - with no pattern at all. I called to explain the problem, and after being transferred four times, the guy tried to tell me that they're from different batches so some variation is expected. No. These are completely different tiles. The guy didn't like that I didn't agree with him. Needless to say, I'll be returning them tomorrow. Hopefully someone with better customer service skills is available.