Jay in Newmarket

My wife and I had planned to do all the kitchen renovation by ourselves - all except the granite installation - but by the time we were done with all the cabinets - we were exhausted! Plus, we did not have much experience with tile installation so we decided to ask around in Newmarket for local contractors who were available in short order(We wanted the kitchen work finished and kitchen back to normal as soon as possible :-)). After reading reviews on homestars, Robbie from RAAKSS stopped by (he lives closeby) for a quote. He is a pleasant person to talk to and we got along very quickly. We discussed with him, the design that my wife and I had selected, and we soon realized that it was one of the more labor intensive ones around. Robbie gave some good suggestions and we took them under consideration. The biggest one was that if we were go with a simpler design he could come in and take care of the work the very next weekend. We were thrilled about that possibility! After figuring a simpler design, Robbie confirmed and showed up around the appointed hour in the morning, the next weekend. He got to work and pretty much continued through the afternoon without a break. It was quality work done with very little tile wastage. One of the things we really liked was that he continued the tile pattern unbroken from wall-to-wall, around the switch plates and behind the stove. He was back the next day to finish the job. The only reason we are giving him a 9/10 is because we felt he was a bit on the pricey side for 1.5 days of work. But the work done is a quality job and we are happy with that. Recommended!

We chose Higher Grounds after receiving quotes from 2 other contractors in the Markham area. Though their granite selection stock on hand was limited, they had the granite - Tan Brown - that we were looking for, so it did not matter. First we met Jorge and he took time to explain the way his company did business and was upfront with all the costs. One of the best thing about higher grounds is that there are no hidden costs! They gave a rate that was all inclusive and better than the other 2. Jorge also showed us around his workshop and, being an engineer myself, I saw he had one of the best stone cutters in his shop. We were finally satisfied about Higher Grounds capabilities when we met Marcio who is the person who comes to do the templating as well as installation. Being a partner in the business, he has a vested interest in making sure everything has gone right and we were happy to know that a partner is supervising the granite installation. They required a 10 day leadtime after the templating, and the whole scheduling and installation went smoothly. We explained Marcio where we wanted the taps placed and he was able to accomodate our requests, especially on the one side where 2 were next to each other. Our only minor complaint is that the joint where the 2 granite slabs come together could have been done better. But other than that, the granite edges and all the rest has worked out very well. A definate recommend!