Jeff in Toronto

Project: We are doing a major renovation to our house and needed to move the stack and also wanted to take advantage of this to put in a bathroom in the basement as well as redo the old clay drains (including a back flow valve) and lead water supply. I want to do the interior plumbing myself. Right from the beginning this company impressed me which is rather hard to do b/c I’m a project manager (not in construction) and a bit of a jack of all trades – meaning I have high expectations. From my first call, Dorothy was very polite and helpful. She even contacted me when she didn’t receive the plans I promised to email her – apparently I mis-typed the address. Then Bill (owner) got involved and was very good at communication and very organized. Not only did he show up at exactly the time he said he would (something that seems hard for so many trades to do) he called beforehand just to make sure it was still convenient for me. He listened to my needs and was very flexible in deciding scope of the project (what he would do and what I would do). He gave me his plan and price very quickly as he promised. His quotes/invoicing is done online – something I like and shows how organized and serious he is. I had various questions about the quote and he quickly and clearly answered my questions. When I finally accepted his quote on a late Saturday night, I was quite surprised to get a call from him Sunday asking if he could start Monday morning. Bill’s team was equally impressive. I had 4 guys involved besides Bill and the project lasted 2 weeks. The guys were all young but very hard workers, friendly and very polite (something my wife was super impressed with). We never were concerned about having them in our house and they were very respectful and clean. I couldn’t help asking them their opinion of their boss (sorry Bill) and they had nothing but good things to say about him which is huge in my opinion! The guys were also very patient with me b/c I wanted to understand what they were doing and learn a bit more. They (and Bill) would give me advice on the plumbing that I was going to do myself. Bill managed the project and his team very well (remember I’m a Project Manager so this is a big compliment). He communicated very well with me and set my expectations well – and delivered on them! Different guys have different skills and they were going between projects depending on the stage. I never felt like I had to worry about the quality or if this project would drag on. Bill was onsite many times to check in with the team and me. And when plumbing emergencies came up elsewhere and members had to attend, the rest of the team would simply refocus on other tasks to keep the project moving ahead – very flexible and organized. Because my project was not at all an emergency I have no problem with resources leaving to help someone in dire need – after all, I would expect that service if I needed it too! Bill and team did a professional job and came in on budget and time. I trust the whole team and know that Bill stands behind their work. I would recommend him to my family, friends and … you!

Our project is rather big and complicating: we are putting a second story over half of an existing bungalow, building a two car garage attached to it, and putting a floor over that. I’m a project manager (not construction) and very interested in the whole process of design and build so I’m a sure I am a bit of a pain to professionals (and place high expectations on them). There are a few general things I look for in professions – quality of work, trust, listening skills/ability to work well together, responsiveness/communication, and price. David didn’t disappointment on any and even impressed me. While searching for a designer, I found many of them only heard a small percentage of what I was saying and then it became them telling me what they wanted – not what I want. David listens very well. But he also knows that he has more experience than I and does make recommendations and gives me a lot to think about. But if I don’t decide on his idea, there are no hard feelings as he knows I’m building my dream house, not his. In the end, I think we are building a beautiful house – one with both his ideas and ours. We also had to use David at the Committee of Adjustment (CoA) as we had to break some variances. We had objection from one family but David handled it VERY professionally – not backing down at all but not insulting my neighbors. An easy win at CoA thanks to David. Throughout the process, he always was well organized and communicated well to me so I knew what to expect ahead. He has always been super responsive and never left me thinking ‘has he forgotten about me’. We had many issues (not related to David) which made the whole process drag on and poor David’s had to be patient. In the end, I think David was involved for over a year and never complained and even helped out wherever he could (even though it wasn’t his area). Even though David’s portion of the process is completed, he still answers my questions promptly no matter how small or unusual. He is definitely someone I enjoyed working with and someone I would highly recommend to my family, friends or…you.