newhomerdoh! from Markham

1) Replaced/upgraded top floor from carpeting to wood laminate. Very good quality installation except damaged the carpet we asked to keep (4 stars) ... 2) Stained staircase but damaged wood with dents and sanded in wrong direction (2 stars) ... 3) Installed fridge ice/water line (5 stars); incorrectly stalled dishwasher but didn't rotate the water line elbow or cut enough off the water pipe (0 stars), and instead of drilling a hole into the floor siphoned power from a nearby outlet (against Code); and installed clothes washer without removing the packing bolts (0 stars)... Extras: constantly sub-contracted out the work even though we repeatedly requested he do the work himself. Found out on the last day the reason the work was so poor was because that sub-contractor was actually an electrician (that did our stairs and floors)... Stay far away from this *TOP* Chinese YorkBBS recommendation... Would have been a good price if didn't spend extra 3-4 days watching them fix their mistakes... Very low quality control of their own work, i.e. they couldn't see obvious dents or major scratches from sanding in 90 degrees against wood.

I read some of these reviews, but only after I put in an offer. Wish I had done some more homework earlier... Likes: - they have been good to follow Tarion deadlines, they usually return emails but some people don't and some not often... - they underpromise on things, only to deliver or add features later Dislikes: - head office was unprofessional with timing, sign backs, and return calls; some even don't have voice mail - decor centre: like previously commented, if you don't upgrade, they give you the lowest quality materials that don't even match! (pure crap) - they contract out to shoddy workers: poor paint quality, messy washroom installations, and sometimes written instructions are not followed - they don't build everything to code, e.g. light switches behind doors and won't fix unless you push hard Tip: 1) don't rely on only Tarion awards to tell you whether the builder is good or not. Tarion is moving more towards supporting builders than owners, though some new rules are improving. 2) trust some of these comments and don't assume you'll be one of the lucky ones. 3) don't trust their features sheet w/out seeing samples before you put in offer. 4) really do consult a lawyer before you purchase. Arista's link to purchase offer was broken before it opened. 5) don't ignore red flags to most important purchase of your life