Terry - Markham

We called Simply Home Downsizing based on the reviews left by other home owners here and on Google compared to other companies that offered decluttering services. After our initial in person consultation with Pauline, she provided us with a detailed estimate on help to declutter our childhood home that had over 4 decades of accumulated stuff, including belongings from our parents both of whom had passed on years ago. We decided to go with Simply Downsizing as the quote was fair given the volume of stuff we needed to have taken away. Pauline and Amy led the team. They methodically and systematically organized stuff we wanted to keep in boxes that were clearly labelled to be taken into storage. Everything else was taken away for donation or disposal. Two truckloads later and the house was pretty much emptied after just 4 days. That's right 4 days!! They even came back to pick up a couple of items that didn't make on the truck for disposal a week later. We don't have photos to share but will say this: Pauline delivered on helping us to clear out a home in getting it ready for sale. They did everything we asked and yes, literally put anything of value that they found aside for us including some valuables we didn't know were tucked away in an unlikely place. We had lots of old appliances, electronics, and furniture from 3 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, kitchen, garage, and basement to clear out. So yes, it was a bit expensive but worth every penny. A big shout out to Amy as well for her help in leading the crew each day, particularly on the last day when the heat was sweltering. In short, Simply Home helped us to take a huge step towards moving on from our childhood home. My brother and I are forever grateful as it took away all the stress and lot of emotion out of letting go of accumulated stuff. We highly recommend calling Pauline at Simply Home if you need help like we did.

I called Protection Plus based on the positive reviews on HomeStars to do a switch over from ADT after giving them 2 chances to match an offer a friend had received last year to upgrade the hardware that was about 10 years old so it would be GSM enabled (wireless) and not require a landline like the older technology. ADT's best offer? Agree to a new 3 year contract at $40 per month (yes, more than what I was already paying) to get a "free" hardware upgrade. No deal. I was connected to Brian at Protection Plus and advised my existing alarm system was considered a workhorse. It didn't need replacing. To make it a wireless system so that it could be armed/disarmed by a smartphone, I had to buy the box (transmitter) for $199. The savings from getting 6 months free monitoring by paying for 6 months helped to offset this cost. It is about $28 a month for basic monitoring and add $4 for the GSM monitoring. This monthly rate is competitive and in line with other alarm service companies. Overall, the takeover went as described with a minor hiccup. The installer took the necessary precautions with COVID, and even brought an extra pair of indoor shoes to wear while working in our home. The entire team at Protection Plus was very courteous, polite and great to deal. If you are considering a switchover, there are two things that you as a homeowner need to do before the actual date of the takeover to avoid potential unexpected costs: 1. Ensure you have the master code for your alarm. Without this code, the installer cannot complete the switchover. I was tied up on conference calls working at home, and did not have time to try and get the code from ADT. So the options were to either replace the board for an additional charge, or reschedule. I opted to replace the board because there was no guarantee ADT would provide the master code and I preferred not to reschedule. 2. Remember to call your existing alarm monitoring company to cancel your service as soon as you have a confirmed switch over appointment scheduled. If not, you could end up paying for an extra month's fee as generally speaking, 30 days notice must be provided to cancel. This is because only the homeowner has the authorization to cancel the existing service. Update: I am upgrading my review from an 8 to a 10 as Protection Plus promptly refunded me for the cost to replace the control panel. This was completely unexpected as it was my decision to pay the additional cost rather than have to reschedule the takeover for another day. This is a testament to why Protection Plus has so many positive reviews.

We came back from vacation to find our fridge stopped working. We called three different repair shops on HomeStars and Moris was the first to respond. Moris was clear that it would be a $70 charge to come and diagnose the problem. This was very reasonable compared to other guys who ask for $100 to $150, particularly given it was a Sunday. He was very thorough and explained what he was doing in assessing the problem. The control board for our kitchen aid side by side fridge was the problem. He called back the next day to give us a quote on the part. Given our fridge was already 8 years old and the total cost to replace the board (parts & labour) was going to be around $400 we decided not to proceed as it would just be a matter of time before another part failed. We definitely recommend Moris for his honest opinion, reasonable rates, and professionalism. Thanks Moris!

We used Spring Home the last winter when our furnace broke down. We called four HVAC companies and they were the only one to call back the next morning. The only criticism we had but did not mention at the time was that the technician who came out to replace the control board only put back one screw to mount it back into place. Fast forward to this Summer and our central air conditioner wasn't working very well during the heat wave mid-August. I inspected the furnace and found ice building up inside the evaporator coil in the furnace. I initially thought it was caused by the drain line which was clogged. After cleaning it out, I let the fan run overnight to melt away the ice and dry out the furnace. The next day, the inside evaporator coil iced up again and figured it was due to low refrigerant level. The coil appeared to be clean (not dusty) as replace our furnace filter regularly. Like last winter, we called a few different HVAC companies in our area and only Spring Home returned our call. It was explained upfront that it would be $90 for the service call to diagnose the problem but they would need to perform a leak test for an additional $150. It was explained that topping up the refrigerant level would only be a temporary fix as it wouldn't explain why the refrigerant level was so low. Thus a leak test needed to be done. The technician, Sean, confirmed we were low on refrigerant. He had to come back the next day to perform the leak test as it was getting dark. He mentioned he would need to cut one of the lines, and fill the outside unit with nitrogen. A subsequent reading of each line taken the next day would confirm whether the leak was coming from the outside or inside coil. Cheryl from the service department was great in following up with us and provided us with rough estimates in case a major repair was needed. Our Kenmore unit only had 3 years warranty remaining on the compressor, so worst case scenario it was going to cost at least $1,500 (inside coil) to at least $2,200 (outside coil) for the repair. It was explained the outside coil generally costs more and is a two person job. At this point, I started calling other companies for quotes on a replacement central air unit. Only because of the prior responsive service we received that I am not giving Spring Home a zero rating. What we did not expect and it was not clearly communicated that the leak test would mean being left with an air conditioning system that is completely inoperable. We are in a worse a state that before as evidenced by the photo. Sean came back the next day to take a reading (we were not home) and the Cheryl called to confirm the outside coil needed to be replaced. Meanwhile, two other HVAC companies (one from Costco) came by to give us a quote. Both representatives commented on the leak test done and said cutting one of the lines was completely unnecessary it and unprofessional to leave our air conditioner like that. Cutting one of the lines would released more refrigerant (which we would have to pay for now if we decided to go with the repair option). and the line they cut should be replaced. When I got home I found one of the caps for the valves on the ground and the other one missing. An apology that includes "what's done is done" does not cut it. We do NOT recommend Spring Home Heating & Cooling and suggest looking elsewhere if you do need your AC unit fixed.

Our garage door is just over 6 years old (builder's special - heavy wooden double car door) that has never been serviced. The cable on the left side became frayed, and was no longer level. It wasn't until two broken rollers broke recently that made the door sound terrible that I finally decided to call for service. I chose Markham Garage Doors because it is a local company and had great reviews here on Homestars. Kevin answered the phone and was here in less than an hour. He worked quickly and efficiently, and didn't mind my curiosity as I chatted with him. Although only 3 rollers were broken, I asked to replace 6 instead in case one of the remaining others might break soon. We will definitely be calling Markham Garage Doors again in future when it comes time to replace our garage door. Thank you again Kevin for the great service and answering all my questions.

We called True North Interlock based on the reviews on this website for a quote. Nino put us at ease in explaining how the work would be done, and provided us with references so we could see examples of his work. We visited one of their jobsites in progress with three homes that were side by side in Newmarket. He was the only contractor who said he would dig 10 inches and offered a 3 year guarantee on the workmanship. Nino also pointed out a grading issue to our neighbour. Based on this, we and our neighbour hired True North to interlock our backyard patios. Nino’s crew came to work during some of the hottest days in July and early August. The patio stones were laid in a pattern that looks much better than the suggested patterns in the brochures. We appreciate the time they took to cut our border pieces into wedges for the outside curves of the patio rather than cut little wedge pieces to fill the gaps. The only thing we would have done differently is to get all the details of the work to be done written into the contract. This would have helped to avoid any misunderstandings and ensure the work was completed as expected. We appreciate Nino’s understanding and professionalism as he and his crew worked diligently to address our concerns. We look forward to enjoying our patio in the years to come and are assured Nino will be there to stand behind his work such as fixing any grading issues.

I called Red Robin Masonry to get a quote to replace the front steps for my parent’s home. The stairs had started to crumble at the base and the concrete pad needed to either be re-leveled or replaced. We chose Red Robin over a competitor whom we hired previously as their quote was competitive and they also had good feedback on Homestars. After two scheduling delays, Mike and the crew showed up to begin work in August. Although the workmanship was good, we did not expect the concrete pad to be removed as we were originally advised it did not need replacing. We advised after the fact the concrete pad needed to be replaced as it could not be re-leveled to work with the new pre-cast steps. As well, there were two unforeseen events that required additional work and cost: The old concrete was so thick that their jackhammer was inadequate, and a heavy duty jackhammer had to be rented to complete the demolition. Secondly, the old steps were backfilled with dirt/rocks that needed to be removed before the new steps could be installed. These two unforeseen events resulted in a final bill that was significantly higher than the original quote (40% in this case). As a result, we were at an impasse as I did not agree on what the additional costs would be beforehand. We appreciate Mike used his own pickup truck to make a couple of runs to dispose of the dirt. However, if we had been advised of what the additional disposal costs would be for the extra disposal, I would have suggested a more cost-effective alternative – even if it meant a delay in completing the job. Fortunately we were able to come to terms and settle the bill. In summary, Red Robin did a good job in replacing my parent’s front steps. The parging around the new stairs looks like it was part of the original porch. Next time we will make sure to get everything in writing so that any unforeseen events that may result in additional costs are discussed and agreed upon before proceeding further. In summary, aside from a much higher than expected cost, Red Robin did a good job in replacing my parent’s front steps, and the parging around the new stairs looks like it was part of the original porch.

We almost went for Polywood shutters from another vendor who had an exclusive on it but decided they did not deserve our business after they called to cancel our appointment half an hour before they were supposed to show up for an in-home consultation. I was extremely upset because my widfe and I rearranged our schedules to home to meet with them on a weeknight. Luckily our neighbours told us about Andrew at Kamfair Drapes. They had Eclipse vinyl shutters installed in their home because they knew someone who purchased the same product over 7 years ago and said they still as good as the day they were installed. A quick visit to the store and we got the same as our neighbours - plantation style shutters with the tilt bar hidden of to the side on the front. Andrew came by to finalize the measurements for the windows (main and second floor) and even called to apologize as he was going to be a bit late. Three weeks later our order arrived as expected. Andrew and his cousin Allen, showed up at least a half hour earlier in the morning than we expected to do the installation. They completed the installation in the time originally quoted (just over 4 hours). They cleaned up and took away all the packing materials and left no mess. So if you are looking for exceptional value and excellent customer service, ask for Andrew at Kamfair.

The quote we received was competitive, and the work was performed sooner than originally scheduled. Three sections of a brick wall under the front porch needed to be replaced as two were crumbling and another was sagging from water infiltration. An old milk box was no longer being used and had this removed and bricked up as well. Two guys came and removed all the old brick, and another fellow came the next day to lay the bricks. We are very pleased with the work done as it was a gift for my parents. They too are very pleased with the work and colour matching of the bricks on the side of home. We would not hesitate to recommend or call Otto and his crew back for another job. Thank you!