Heather in Richmond Hill North

Steve gave us a competitive quote and was detailed in his description of what the job would entail to repair our masonry. He and his son came out one Saturday morning in June to repair a couple of large cracks that ran up the side and across the front of the brick/stone on the exterior of our house. In a short time, it was looking like brand new! He even kindly offered to put some caulking that we had on hand up along a small space at the top of our porch roof where we had a wasp next last year to help us avoid another wasp issue while he was up there. Thanks for a job well done! I would definitely recommend Steve to anyone (and already have done so).

We have used Keldan for three consecutive years now after we were referred to them from our nextdoor neighbors. We have gradually replaced all of the builders' windows in our townhome and are extremely happy with the price, professionalim of the sales quotes, the product we received (excellent quality and a 25 year warranty), and the professionalism of the installation services (polite, quiet and clean). Overall, we have had wonderful experiences each and every time Keldan has been at our home and we will eventually replace our doors using this company in the future.

You can feel confident and happy with your renovation project if you choose RAAKSS and Robbie for your next renovation! This was a our first major renovation in our home and we were very cautious in our search to find a contractor. We wanted to remodel and gut our ensuite bathroom which included getting rid of our 90s giant whirlpool tub and remodeling from the floors to the ceiling. RAAKSS won our business because of their creativity, competitive quote, stellar reference reviews, Robbie’s professional expertise, and respect for us as his client. QUOTE Robbie’s quote was competitive with other contracting teams and Robbie offered the best creative ideas to make the layout of our new bathroom both stylish and practical. His quote included labour costs and range of reasonable material costs (excluding tiles, tub, vanity, and any "surface product" we could visualize). In the end, his material costs were on the low range that he quoted us. Robbie didn’t ask for a deposit and only expected us to pay at the end once we approved of his work. PRE RENOVATION Robbie visited our home before the renovation to measure our bathrrom and give us a shopping list of major items (ie. bathtub, vanity, toilet) to purchase. He even directed us to potential suppliers and showrooms to make the selection process easier. He was always available for phone calls and emails while we were shopping. RENOVATION Our renovation finished exactly on schedule. Robbie was always on site at all times as he (and his assistant) were the only people working on our renovation. Robbie communicated with us daily about the progress and was always available to answer our questions via phone or in person. Robbie and his assistant are truly craftspeople in all areas (plumbing, tiling, electrical work, painting) and we are extremely happy with our renovation! ABOVE AND BEYOND Robbie and his team went above and beyond our expectations. Robbie fixed pre existing issues with the plumbing and electrical in our home, answered our many questions, and even offered to buy a toilet off of us that an unreasonable supplier incorrectly recommended for our plumbing. Afyer the project completed, as things settled there were a few issues that arose, and Robbie always came back to help us get things smoothed out and working/looking perfect. Robbie is a true professional and will be our contractor for all of our major projects in the future!

The door in our home was about 11 years old, and had been installed improperly by the builder (Wycliffe). It was of poor quality, and in that 11 year time frame, the centre post of this "French Door" set had rotted through due to improper weather stripping, etc. We got quotes from three top ranked companies on HomeStars, and ultimately selected Casa Bella because we were impressed with the overall aesthetic and quality of their door products and how it would work in our home (for the flow & look of our main floor). We selected gliding doors that looked like French Doors, as they lead into a small kitchen area, and the doors would always bang against the kitchen table when opening. Our salesperson, Mark, also let us see the factory (they build all of their own products), and it was spotless. They are clearly very clean and thorough in their work. A final reason for selecting Casa Bella was that they have their own employees install the products, not sub-contracted workers. We did not want the job to be rushed, but done properly instead. For all of these reasons, we very much liked Casa Bella. Our only concern, throughout the process, seemed to be the general time frame in which our emails and phone calls were responded to. It seemed to take longer than we expected (and we say this from the perspective of working with several contractors this year to do many upgrades to our home). In general, Mark was great. He seemed to be going out of his way to accommodate us (i.e. coming during evening hours, etc). However, our general sense that we were left with was that Casa Bella needed some more admin. support in their main office, hence the delay in Mark getting back to us (although this was not ever stated to us). Finally, communication seemed a bit askew on the day of installation when we we're getting the boarder installed that we had asked for, in the final framing stages. We had asked for wood in the event that we would be able to stain it. Also, from the pictures that Mark had shown us of past projects, there was detail (simple engraving) in the moulding, to make it look more regal. We were offered plain wood slabs. In the end, the plain wood slabs did not fir the gap between the drywall and the door (since our door was a custom size) so we ended up getting something with moulding on it. I think this should have been better stated in the contract (although by 'luck' we ended up with exactly what we wanted) and would urge future customers to discuss this more in depth than we did. Throughout the process, Mark continued to email us. He was always polite and friendly, and tried to assist us in any way he could. Overall, the final project is spectacular! We couldn't be more pleased and are thrilled with the new look, and especially with the new flow in and around the eating are of the kitchen. It is exactly what we had hoped for!

David worked for us on a few occasions after being recommended by a neighbor as a handyman. Each time we gave him tasks that increased in difficulty, and each time we asked if these were tasks he was capable of performing. He worked well on caulking and minor electrical issues (we were satisfied), but after coming to our house a couple of times, we found that we would call, and then wait a couple of months to have him return (he would continually delay and push back the dates he could arrive to do the work). Eventually, he would come, and the work would be good. In the instance of the range hood, he brought his brother, since he knew how to do this work (and David did not). In all of these instances the work was fine, paid at an hourly wage of about $40 per hour, but the process of GETTING him there to do the work was frustrating to say the least. Finally, we asked him to build a gate for our backyard, with an arbour. He indicated that he has the skill to do this, and could ask questions of professionals in the field when he was uncertain. It took from February 2008 to October 2008 (after the first snowfall) to have the gate/arbour finally installed. At this time, David decided to tack on a "designer fee" to his hourly rate, something in the range of an extra $700 (totaling $1300+ for a basic gate and arbor). We addressed this concern with him, and he agreed to $1000 which we were still unhappy about (since it was a basic gate & arbor with no more than $150 of lumber), but felt we were at fault since we had trusted him previously and did not get a quote for this particular project. Since the gate was up, but still unfinished, we paid him $750, with the remaining balance to follow upon completion of the final details of the project. By April 2009 we had to remove the entire project since it was of very poor quality, was completely warped, did not function and was actually pulling down our fence which it was attached to (since the posts were not secured properly). At this point, after several phone calls, David has refunded us a portion of the fees, but refuses to give us all of the money back for the inflated material fees, which he claims cost $289. He said he would have used these materials over again had we not had them disposed of. He also indicates we should have called him more than once (which we did, but his cell phone picks up & hangs up over and over). Advice: If you want to get ahold of him -- good luck. (The only reason we did was because he moved into our neighborhood!) If you want minor electrical or caulking work done at a decent cost, he's your person. However, he is very young, very inexperienced, and essentially if he cannot rectify the issue, you are left with the cost of the supplies at minimum. That seems like paying someone's tuition, if you ask me. I would rather hire an experienced professional, who always provides quotes, comes on time, and follows up with appropriate receipts (and proof of payment). You pay for what you get!

Estimate and Communication Before the Work Steve from Postholes.ca arrived on time with an estimate that was on par with the competition. We took quotes from other fence builders (including a top-ranked Home Stars Fence Builder) and Steve was clearly the most knowledgeable and forthcoming of the three potential builders. He gave us a quote in a timely manner over email that covered the building of our fence, fence gate for our other fence, and removal of older cemented posts from our previous fence that blew down in the winter. Steve also responded promptly to email, thus avoiding further delays in the installation of the fence & gates. Most importantly, Postholes.ca provided a 2 week time frame to build the fence while other builders were giving us a 4-8 week delivery time. Steve did not ask for a deposit (other builders were looking for 50% deposit) The Work Steve and his partner worked meticulously to ensure the challenging needs of our fence (on a slope, working around previously dug postholes), middle gate, and side gate for entry into our yard were met to our satisfaction. They arrived on Saturday to establish the new fence holes and returned the next day to finish the work on the fence. We appreciated the fact that we could be home to view the installation process of our fence. He was very detailed in his building process and worked around our already-established garden. He used 6 x 6 posts to protect the integrity of the middle gate and cemented in every fence post deep into the ground (our previous builder did not cement in every hole). Through his work, we could clearly see his commitment to quality and the long-term reliability of our fence. Postholes.ca clearly hires only true professionals. Overall We are extremely happy with the skilled craftsmanship made by Steve and Postholes.ca. As you can see by our pictures, he did an amazing job. THANK YOU, STEVE & TEAM!

After having previously used Easyflow for plumbing problems, we called them first when a minor leak started occurring under our kitchen sink. They were once again flexible about when they could come to work on the project, and we scheduled them to come. Upon arriving, Ralph and Adam had the problem identified, new parts in place, pipes cleaned out, and tested multiple times to ensure that the pipes were resealed. They were polite, professional and very helpful. Thanks again for great service!

We have called Northern Painting a number of times for various projects, for both interior and exterior painting and staining. Each and every time, Klaus has given us a prompt quote and has visited us to do the work exactly when we says he has time to schedule us in. He always returns the very next day(s) to complete the work. He has worked on trim, walls, ceilings, deck staining (current project), and exterior painting of doors and windows. His attention to detail is incredible, and he always carefully cleans and protects his work area. His work is superb. We would happily recommend Klaus to anyone who is looking for an affordable and highly professional painter.

When a small & mysterious leak formed on our basement ceiling, and then rapidly expanded in size a couple of months later, we knew something was wrong and needed to be fixed fast! We tried to trouble shoot the issue ourselves (since our kitchen/dishwasher is right above where the leak was forming in the basement). After much frustration and no success, we called & left a message for Giorgio from Easyflow Mechanical Inc. Giorgio promptly returned our phone call (within the hour), and he made himself immediately available to come and assist us. He was always professional and respectful of our home. He made several attempts to find the problem, and is an excellent problem solver as it relates to ensuring that he doesn't need to open up walls, or make holes to see if he can find the problem. He makes sure that he treats your home as if it were his own. He used his camera to view underneath the dishwasher, and around the sink area, in small crevices between cabinets (in places we would have been unable to reach on our own). He removed drywall behind the dishwasher (which is not visible anyway, when the unit is installed, before even going to the basement). He then tried going through openings in our basement ceiling around ductwork with his camera to see if he could avoid damaging the ceiling. In the end, Giorgio did need to open up our basement ceiling, but again he did as little damage as possible before continuing to open it up a bit more. A first diagnosis had us all thinking (and convinced) that an elbow joint in the plumbing had come loose. When Giorgio returned a couple of days later to fix the problem (which he offered to do on his weekend, but we told him it was not urgent since we could use the sink), he had already re-thought the problem and had devised a way to fix the leak without opening a second hole in the basement ceiling. He cut out the baseboard behind the dishwasher which then allowed him to reach further into the basement ceiling (again, this hole is not even visible when the dishwasher is installed!). In doing this, Giorgio discovered that right above the elbow joint, the builder had put a nail through the baseboard, through the wall, and into the pipe! This had been the source of the leak the entire time -- and while it is 10 years old, the nail had only recently corroded, thus causing water to escape! Without Giorgio's quick thinking and excellent problem solving skills, we would have had a much larger section of our basement ceiling to repair. The leak was quickly fixed from this point. Thank you so much Giorgio for a professional and positive experience! While we hope not to have any plumbing or heating problems, we would be thrilled to have you back to our home any day!

After a poor experience with a previous "roofing professional", we were connected with Rodney from Perry's Roofing. His service was immediate, and he came to visit us the same day as we originally contacted him. He was very clearly knowledgeable with all of the roofing products and colours, and he made ordering our product from his company easy and worry-free. Perry's Roofing arrived promptly the next morning, and completed with work within one day with great professionalism, including covering all lawns and driveways with tarps for added protection. Clean-up was amazing, and they even provided us with their number should we need to contact them at any time. We couldn't be more please with the finished work!