clare on springdale

After purchasing our 1925 home in the fall, we called Clarke for an assessment on the work required to deal with damp in our unfinished basement. We were given plenty of advice against going with an internal waterproofing system, including from the City of Toronto, but decided, based on cost and reputation, to take a chance. Ryan was our Clarke salesperson. He was very personable and always answered our questions. On his initial visit, he underestimated how much work would be required as after a few weeks and a big rain, we discovered water leaking under the basement stairs and around the perimeter. Ryan then reassessed and, based on the revised cost, we dropped the idea of purchasing their very expensive floor tile and dehumidifier. We booked them to install a drainage system around the inside perimeter of the basement as well as a sump pump. Unfortunately, Ryan did not clearly communicate all the details. For example: the sump pump does not come with a battery back up – that’s another $1250. An updated invoice with additional costs to remove and waterproof behind the stairs did not get to us because Ryan’s laptop failed, and he did not follow up to okay this new price. We weren’t told straight up that it would cost $650 for Clarke to return in the spring to bury the 10’ discharge pipe from the sump pump, currently running out over our back patio. We have had to agree to disagree on whether their production manager actually explained this once the job had been done. The contract mentions it in small print, but neither one of us understood what it really meant. Finally, they don’t tell you until after the fact that it is “normal” for cracks to appear between the concrete they lay and your original concrete floor. The work was done in January and it is now late-March. Thankfully, so far, the basement is dry and we are now making plans to finish the space. For a company that comes so highly recommended – on Homestars and according to the customer testimonials sent to us by Clarke – we expected a higher quality of service and communication. In our experience, their different departments did not communicate with each other well, and their follow-up once a job has been done is poor. They do provide a very detailed contract, so the best thing we can advise is make sure you’ve definitely got the final paperwork before the job is done, confirm exactly what it’s all going to cost, and READ THE FINE PRINT!

After purchasing our 1925 home in the fall, we called Clarke for an assessment on the work required to deal with damp in our unfinished basement. We were given plenty of advice against going with an internal waterproofing system, including from the City of Toronto, but decided, based on cost and reputation, to take a chance. Ryan was our Clarke salesperson. He was very personable and always answered our questions. On his initial visit, he underestimated how much work would be required as after a few weeks and a big rain, we discovered water leaking under the basement stairs and around the perimeter. Ryan then reassessed and, based on the revised cost, we dropped the idea of purchasing their very expensive floor tile and dehumidifier. We booked them to install a drainage system around the inside perimeter of the basement as well as a sump pump. Unfortunately, Ryan did not clearly communicate all the details. For example: the sump pump does not come with a battery back up – that’s another $1250. An updated invoice with additional costs to remove and waterproof behind the stairs did not get to us because Ryan’s laptop failed, and he did not follow up to okay this new price. We weren’t told straight up that it would cost $650 for Clarke to return in the spring to bury the 10’ discharge pipe from the sump pump, currently running out over our back patio. We have had to agree to disagree on whether their production manager actually explained this once the job had been done. The contract mentions it in small print, but neither one of us understood what it really meant. Finally, they don’t tell you until after the fact that it is “normal” for cracks to appear between the concrete they lay and your original concrete floor. The work was done in January and it is now late-March. Thankfully, so far, the basement is dry and we are now making plans to finish the space. For a company that comes so highly recommended – on Homestars and according to the customer testimonials sent to us by Clarke – we expected a higher quality of service and communication. In our experience, their different departments did not communicate with each other well, and their follow-up once a job has been done is poor. They do provide a very detailed contract, so the best thing we can advise is make sure you’ve definitely got the final paperwork before the job is done, confirm exactly what it’s all going to cost, and READ THE FINE PRINT!

After purchasing our 1925 home in the fall, we called Clarke for an assessment on the work required to deal with damp in our unfinished basement. We were given plenty of advice against going with an internal waterproofing system, including from the City of Toronto, but decided, based on cost and reputation, to take a chance. Ryan was our Clarke salesperson. He was very personable and always answered our questions. On his initial visit, he underestimated how much work would be required as after a few weeks and a big rain, we discovered water leaking under the basement stairs and around the perimeter. Ryan then reassessed and, based on the revised cost, we dropped the idea of purchasing their very expensive floor tile and dehumidifier. We booked them to install a drainage system around the inside perimeter of the basement as well as a sump pump. Unfortunately, Ryan did not clearly communicate all the details. For example: the sump pump does not come with a battery back up – that’s another $1250. An updated invoice with additional costs to remove and waterproof behind the stairs did not get to us because Ryan’s laptop failed, and he did not follow up to okay this new price. We weren’t told straight up that it would cost $650 for Clarke to return in the spring to bury the 10’ discharge pipe from the sump pump, currently running out over our back patio. We have had to agree to disagree on whether their production manager actually explained this once the job had been done. The contract mentions it in small print, but neither one of us understood what it really meant. Finally, they don’t tell you until after the fact that it is “normal” for cracks to appear between the concrete they lay and your original concrete floor. The work was done in January and it is now late-March. Thankfully, so far, the basement is dry and we are now making plans to finish the space. For a company that comes so highly recommended – on Homestars and according to the customer testimonials sent to us by Clarke – we expected a higher quality of service and communication. In our experience, their different departments did not communicate with each other well, and their follow-up once a job has been done is poor. They do provide a very detailed contract, so the best thing we can advise is make sure you’ve definitely got the final paperwork before the job is done, confirm exactly what it’s all going to cost, and READ THE FINE PRINT!

After purchasing our 1925 home in the fall, we called Clarke for an assessment on the work required to deal with damp in our unfinished basement. We were given plenty of advice against going with an internal waterproofing system, including from the City of Toronto, but decided, based on cost and reputation, to take a chance. Ryan was our Clarke salesperson. He was very personable and always answered our questions. On his initial visit, he underestimated how much work would be required as after a few weeks and a big rain, we discovered water leaking under the basement stairs and around the perimeter. Ryan then reassessed and, based on the revised cost, we dropped the idea of purchasing their very expensive floor tile and dehumidifier. We booked them to install a drainage system around the inside perimeter of the basement as well as a sump pump. Unfortunately, Ryan did not clearly communicate all the details. For example: the sump pump does not come with a battery back up – that’s another $1250. An updated invoice with additional costs to remove and waterproof behind the stairs did not get to us because Ryan’s laptop failed, and he did not follow up to okay this new price. We weren’t told straight up that it would cost $650 for Clarke to return in the spring to bury the 10’ discharge pipe from the sump pump, currently running out over our back patio. We have had to agree to disagree on whether their production manager actually explained this once the job had been done. The contract mentions it in small print, but neither one of us understood what it really meant. Finally, they don’t tell you until after the fact that it is “normal” for cracks to appear between the concrete they lay and your original concrete floor. The work was done in January and it is now late-March. Thankfully, so far, the basement is dry and we are now making plans to finish the space. For a company that comes so highly recommended – on Homestars and according to the customer testimonials sent to us by Clarke – we expected a higher quality of service and communication. In our experience, their different departments did not communicate with each other well, and their follow-up once a job has been done is poor. They do provide a very detailed contract, so the best thing we can advise is make sure you’ve definitely got the final paperwork before the job is done, confirm exactly what it’s all going to cost, and READ THE FINE PRINT!

After purchasing our 1925 home in the fall, we called Clarke for an assessment on the work required to deal with damp in our unfinished basement. We were given plenty of advice against going with an internal waterproofing system, including from the City of Toronto, but decided, based on cost and reputation, to take a chance. Ryan was our Clarke salesperson. He was very personable and always answered our questions. On his initial visit, he underestimated how much work would be required as after a few weeks and a big rain, we discovered water leaking under the basement stairs and around the perimeter. Ryan then reassessed and, based on the revised cost, we dropped the idea of purchasing their very expensive floor tile and dehumidifier. We booked them to install a drainage system around the inside perimeter of the basement as well as a sump pump. Unfortunately, Ryan did not clearly communicate all the details. For example: the sump pump does not come with a battery back up – that’s another $1250. An updated invoice with additional costs to remove and waterproof behind the stairs did not get to us because Ryan’s laptop failed, and he did not follow up to okay this new price. We weren’t told straight up that it would cost $650 for Clarke to return in the spring to bury the 10’ discharge pipe from the sump pump, currently running out over our back patio. We have had to agree to disagree on whether their production manager actually explained this once the job had been done. The contract mentions it in small print, but neither one of us understood what it really meant. Finally, they don’t tell you until after the fact that it is “normal” for cracks to appear between the concrete they lay and your original concrete floor. The work was done in January and it is now late-March. Thankfully, so far, the basement is dry and we are now making plans to finish the space. For a company that comes so highly recommended – on Homestars and according to the customer testimonials sent to us by Clarke – we expected a higher quality of service and communication. In our experience, their different departments did not communicate with each other well, and their follow-up once a job has been done is poor. They do provide a very detailed contract, so the best thing we can advise is make sure you’ve definitely got the final paperwork before the job is done, confirm exactly what it’s all going to cost, and READ THE FINE PRINT!

After purchasing our 1925 home in the fall, we called Clarke for an assessment on the work required to deal with damp in our unfinished basement. We were given plenty of advice against going with an internal waterproofing system, including from the City of Toronto, but decided, based on cost and reputation, to take a chance. Ryan was our Clarke salesperson. He was very personable and always answered our questions. On his initial visit, he underestimated how much work would be required as after a few weeks and a big rain, we discovered water leaking under the basement stairs and around the perimeter. Ryan then reassessed and, based on the revised cost, we dropped the idea of purchasing their very expensive floor tile and dehumidifier. We booked them to install a drainage system around the inside perimeter of the basement as well as a sump pump. Unfortunately, Ryan did not clearly communicate all the details. For example: the sump pump does not come with a battery back up – that’s another $1250. An updated invoice with additional costs to remove and waterproof behind the stairs did not get to us because Ryan’s laptop failed, and he did not follow up to okay this new price. We weren’t told straight up that it would cost $650 for Clarke to return in the spring to bury the 10’ discharge pipe from the sump pump, currently running out over our back patio. We have had to agree to disagree on whether their production manager actually explained this once the job had been done. The contract mentions it in small print, but neither one of us understood what it really meant. Finally, they don’t tell you until after the fact that it is “normal” for cracks to appear between the concrete they lay and your original concrete floor. The work was done in January and it is now late-March. Thankfully, so far, the basement is dry and we are now making plans to finish the space. For a company that comes so highly recommended – on Homestars and according to the customer testimonials sent to us by Clarke – we expected a higher quality of service and communication. In our experience, their different departments did not communicate with each other well, and their follow-up once a job has been done is poor. They do provide a very detailed contract, so the best thing we can advise is make sure you’ve definitely got the final paperwork before the job is done, confirm exactly what it’s all going to cost, and READ THE FINE PRINT!

After purchasing our 1925 home in the fall, we called Clarke for an assessment on the work required to deal with damp in our unfinished basement. We were given plenty of advice against going with an internal waterproofing system, including from the City of Toronto, but decided, based on cost and reputation, to take a chance. Ryan was our Clarke salesperson. He was very personable and always answered our questions. On his initial visit, he underestimated how much work would be required as after a few weeks and a big rain, we discovered water leaking under the basement stairs and around the perimeter. Ryan then reassessed and, based on the revised cost, we dropped the idea of purchasing their very expensive floor tile and dehumidifier. We booked them to install a drainage system around the inside perimeter of the basement as well as a sump pump. Unfortunately, Ryan did not clearly communicate all the details. For example: the sump pump does not come with a battery back up – that’s another $1250. An updated invoice with additional costs to remove and waterproof behind the stairs did not get to us because Ryan’s laptop failed, and he did not follow up to okay this new price. We weren’t told straight up that it would cost $650 for Clarke to return in the spring to bury the 10’ discharge pipe from the sump pump, currently running out over our back patio. We have had to agree to disagree on whether their production manager actually explained this once the job had been done. The contract mentions it in small print, but neither one of us understood what it really meant. Finally, they don’t tell you until after the fact that it is “normal” for cracks to appear between the concrete they lay and your original concrete floor. The work was done in January and it is now late-March. Thankfully, so far, the basement is dry and we are now making plans to finish the space. For a company that comes so highly recommended – on Homestars and according to the customer testimonials sent to us by Clarke – we expected a higher quality of service and communication. In our experience, their different departments did not communicate with each other well, and their follow-up once a job has been done is poor. They do provide a very detailed contract, so the best thing we can advise is make sure you’ve definitely got the final paperwork before the job is done, confirm exactly what it’s all going to cost, and READ THE FINE PRINT!

We called Dee to help us with space planning in our basement for use as an office/guest room, with room for a second bathroom later down the line. With our limited budget, we really needed expert advice on how to spend what we have. Dee was amazing! She patiently talked and brainstormed with us. She created several scale drawings outlining our options for this round of renovations, and how the space would look when completely finished. Dee's advice was thorough. She gave us specific advice on furniture and appliance placement, where to buy shelving that best suits our space and needs, and where we could source sliding and standard doors that we could size to fit the lower ceiling in the basement. Dee also went through one of the contractor estimates with us. She showed us where we could save money, and pointed out where we should ask more questions. Dee is thoughtful, thorough, and a pleasure to work with. Highly recommended!

Jerry replaced the knob-and-tube wiring that was present throughout our newly purchased 1920s home. He fully upgraded the electrical in the house, including moving the panel to the other side of the house. He came to us recommended by a friend in our neighbourhood, and has more than lived up to our expectations. Reliable, personable and professional, he is a pleasure to work with. Unlike many contractors we’ve worked with, he listened and responded to our every concern. He went out of his way to ensure we had power over the Christmas holidays. He advocated strongly on our behalf with both Hydro and the ESA inspector, and we really appreciated his follow-up and dedication to his work. His apprentice, Ryan, even shovelled our driveway! We would highly recommend ElectroPro. Thanks for everything, Jerry.