Leonard Mann from Edmonton

During a recent wind storm, we discovered that some shingles had blown off our roof. I made a few calls to some roofing companies and got hold of Wayne from Class Eh Roofing. He came by within the hour complete with all the tools and materials to do an emergency repair. Wayne quickly identified and repaired the most critical areas. Upon completion he did a quick visual inspection of the rest of roof and noted numerous additional areas that sustained wind damage. He recommended a more thorough inspection to determine the extent of the damage. Wayne arrived the following day and performed a detailed inspection of the roof. It is a complex roof with multiple steep planes and dormers. He utilized sophisticated drone technology and software to accurately map the roof and identify the damaged areas. This technology produced an impressive, detailed representation of the roof with the damaged areas clearly outlined. The quote Wayne provided included printed documentation and quality drone photos as well as a detailed material list of what was included in the quote. He also suggested that we check our insurance as he found significant damage from the wind storm and insurance may cover the repair. We did our due diligence and requested 2 more quotes. Although Wayne's was not the cheapest he was close to it. I found Wayne to be very professional and knowledgeable and selected Class Eh as our roofing contractor. As we did have insurance for wind damage, I submitted Wayne's quote to the insurance adjuster for approval. The adjuster responded by questioning that perhaps not all the damage was from the same wind storm. Wayne worked directly with the adjuster and provided additional documentation and performed another on-site inspection. This additional effort and information provided on Wayne's part convinced the adjuster to approve the claim. Once approved, Wayne helped us select and source the colour of the shingles. We established a tentative install date understanding that the date is somewhat flexible based on the weather. The refuse bin arrived the day before the job was to begin. Wayne and his crew arrived early in the morning and immediately began to cover the siding, railings and decking to prevent damage from falling debris. Wayne's crew were very friendly, considerate and respectful of our privacy. The size of the roof required that the job span over 3 days. Each night the job site was left clean and tidy. Upon completion of the job, the property was thoroughly cleaned and a magnetic metal detector was used around the entire area to pick up any nails and such that may have dropped into the grass and flower beds. The day after completion, Wayne dropped by to ensure we were happy with the work that was performed. I thanked him for a job well done and for his help with the insurance adjuster that could very well have saved us thousands of dollars. Our experience with Class Eh Roofing was exceptional and we highly recommend Wayne and his crew to anyone in need of roofing expertise. Leonard Mann Niagara-on-the Lake

When it came time to purchase a fireplace for my basement rec room I did my due diligence and shopped a number of reputable fireplace companies in Edmonton. As expected, I came back with a wide range of prices and options. Although price always plays a factor in my decision making process, my experience with the company's representatives also plays a major part. I dealt with Jodi and found him be very knowledgeable of his product and as well as the fireplace industry as a whole. He provide me with a number of options and described, in detail, the pros and cons of each. He then made recommendations that he thought would best suit my requirements. As I was doing the framing and prep work myself, Jodi also made suggestions that could save me time and money on the preparation and framing of the site. Although, his quote was not the cheapest, he close to it and provided me with the best 'Bang for my buck'. The installation was scheduled for a week later. The installer, Dillon, arrived on time and notified me before arriving. Dillon did an excellent job with the installation. He was quick, efficient and clean. Dillon even went above and beyond by identifying and fixing a issue that a previous heating and 'freezin' company created when they installed the gas line to my Bar-B-Q - not to code. I had an excellent experience with Alberta Wholesale Fireplaces and would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a fireplace.

I made the mistake of going with a cabinet company recommended by my designer. Gem Cabinets was supposedly one of the 'best in the city'. If they are one of the best then it is a sorry state for the Edmonton consumer. My cabinets were promised to me by mid July 2013. Indeed all of the cabinets except for the 'custom' table top were delivered to me on the 16 of July. Upon delivery I removed the existing cabinetry from my kitchen to make room for the new installation. I made two more mistakes at this point. The first was to release all the remaining funds upon delivery of the cabinets and the second was to not inspect each and every piece that was delivered. I should have held back at least $5000 of the $30000 kitchen until all pieces were verified as correct. I simply did not have the room in my house to unpack every piece prior to removing the existing cabinetry. I was relying on a trust factor that any problems that occurred would be handled quickly and effectively. That was another mistake on my part. I was doing the installation myself as cabinet installation is not difficult with the proper planning and procedures. This was my fourth kitchen cabinet installation. I soon realized that Gem Cabinets is not really a 'Custom Kitchen' supplier. At best they are a second rate redistributor of mass produced cabinets shipped out of the States. The 'Custom' open shelves that were built at Gem’s facility were of very poor quality and looked as if they were built in high school shop class. The 'Custom' posts that I was told were $1000 a piece were 3 inches to deep. When I questioned this, Gem Cabinet's rep said that the posts were always oversized to accommodate any variations in the walls and that installers cut them to size on site. Believing this, I cut one of the posts to size. However, cutting off 3 inches, also cut off the filler at the back of the post. Therefore, I had to recut and glue the filler in place. The post was also not cut flush on the top so it would have to be cut and/or sanded flush before the crown could be installed. I realized that this was not a 'normal' issue and forced Gem Cabinets to take the posts and open shelves back to their shop to be fixed. In the meantime I tried to continue on with the other wall of the kitchen. One of my pantries was cracked. Also, the original cabinet supplier, in all their wisdom, decided to screw brackets into my new custom pantries to hold the loose shelves place for shipping. I asked that the pantries to be replaced. Gem Cabinets rebuilt the open shelves and attempted to rebuild the pantries. The open shelves came back acceptable but the pantries had the holes in the wrong place for the doors and shelves. So back they went again. The third time the pantries came back, one was still 1/8” too high. 1/8” may not be a lot but it certainly makes a difference when you are trying to put crown moulding on top of the cabinets and the cabinets do not line up. I agreed to accept the cabinet as I had no confidence that Gem could manage to do a better job. After installing the pantries I tried to put on the decorative door panels and discovered they were too small and had to be reordered. Then, after sending me a text that the door panels were reordered, I found out 1 month later the panels had not been ordered and would take another month to come in. In all, 11 of 25 components that were delivered were either the wrong size, damaged or substandard in some form. The custom table was delivered a full 2 months after initial delivery. All his time I had an unusable kitchen as I could not install my appliances until the cabinetry was complete. Every delay cost me time and money. I was told, as compensation, I would be provided with Granite at cost. When I was provided with the quote for the granite it was almost double the price of what I could buy it for retail at a reputable granite supplier. Right to the very end, Gem Cabinets could not accomplish the simplest of tasks. Even the cabinet hardware came without screws. In all, I received the last piece of my kitchen a full 6 months after the initial delivery. The excuses that were provided to me were unacceptable and sometimes laughable. Mostly they blamed the issues on a lack of an installer. (An installer would have resolved the issue or had screws). They even offered to provide an installer to me as compensation, but the problem was that Gem Cabinets could not provide me with product to be installed. So what would the installer install? I documented every aspect of my experience and presented it to Gem Cabinet management looking for compensation. I received none. Gem Cabinets has a AAA rating with the Better Business Bureau but when I lodged a complaint, it was denied as I purchased the kitchen through a designer and not directly though Gem Cabinets. I believe most kitchens from Gem would be purchased through a designer so I question the validity of the AAA rating. I chose to pay more to a custom cabinet company thinking I would get better product and service. I received neither. I could have easily saved $10000 or more by going with IKEA or Home Depot and had a better experience. My recommendation is run, don't walk, away from Gem Cabinets.