Chris_Oakville

Had fence extension done in June with grid pattern. The price was fair, in line with couple others. Choose this company because there are so many reviews and all of them raved about the work. Well, the job was done so so, one section missed screws and the section was falling off within a week, we had to the screw that section back to the post ourselves, no big deal... then two other sections separated from the top rail after a month, so we tied the lattice and top rail using a plastic tie… overall, it was a quick job and no much attention and effort put in - the grid insert should have been cut by the pattern, so they will all look straight with same pattern, but they try to save on material (which probably will cost $30 more on the grid sheets), and using big sheets and were cutting them without any waste, resulting a non-professional look of the fence. Maybe it is because I was not on site when work was done (lesson learned, I was ALWAYS there for all contracting work done in the past, I thought this should be non-brainier, very much a DIY job). It is not because I am picky, even neighbors came to me and said the job was not very good. The job site was tidy and cleaned up well at the end.

After 3 years of planning and researching, talking and getting estimates from 8 landscapers, I decided to go with Duralock for my backyard landscaping. The Sales Manager Tony is always helpful, has good sense of design concept and always keeping my best interest and budget in mind. On May 1, Tony led his crew worked on my backyard and they delivered outstanding workmanship and result within 4 days. The work includes retaining wall, sit walls with columns, install drainage pipes, landscaping with proper slope, and double soldier course for patio and walkway, install pattern inlays for the main area, and landscaping for gardens. Tony is down to earth hands on and very knowledgeable, pays attention to detail, organized and efficient, and he is a great leader. His crew is hardworking and professional. Tony made good suggestions on stone colours and pattern designs, he took time to discuss the options with me, walking thru the landscape area together with me to ensure I am happy with the choice, this avoided big mistakes being made as I received wrong colour samples for the stone supplier! Tony is not going to do something just because the client asked for it, he always provides his expert advice, and he is right. His work consists of solid structure and quality material. And the result is amazing. Tony also did many extras for me, like planting big trees and move heavy water fountains, taking away existing stones, etc without the extra charge. He is a generous and kind person. Since the backyard landscaping completed, we have received so many complements from pass-bys and we have stayed in the backyard every day – it is the paradise of our own. Thanks Tony (both) and Duralock Team!

Landecks provided exceptional landscaping service, and totally exceed my expectations. I did not hire a professional landscape designer to design my front yard, but I have a vision and drew up a sketch plan, however it is not in scale and ‘misleading’. Out of 5 landscapers that I have talked to, Darren is the only one told me that I can’t have steps as there is not enough slope and it is not safe to have a shallow step. When I questioned him after a month, he offered to come back on site again and still told me building a step would not work for my front porch. I went to a paver/stone supplier to check for references, Darren is highly recommended. After two long months of waiting, I finally have my dream front walkway and garden built! Darren and his team are hard working, courteous, professional and did a fantastic job. Darren is very organized and efficient, he was on site throughout the entire project and is very hands-on, he operates that bobcat and other types of machines (not sure of their names) like a surgeon with a knife. Darren is also a perfectionist, every rock, every stone, every plant has to be at right location with right angle, and yeah, he has good taste for design. His recommendation on stone color, paver layouts etc. really made the difference. He combines function, style and quality together and with his experience and expertise, the final project is a showpiece. My husband was so pleased with the team and asked me not to try to save money by doing the planting ourselves (surprise to me). So we had the team did everything. Darren and his team did a lot of the little extra work for us without any complains or charging us. At the end of 4 days, my anxiety and worry turned to over joy and satisfaction. Thanks to Darren and his team!

I ordered material from Elite Mouldings for my front porch, I had my own contractor installed it. So this review is about their product and service, not installation. The customer service in Elite is very friendly, although they can’t answer many of the project related questions, there are experts standing by to help out. In particular, Bill is very knowledgeable and helpful. After one week of ordering the material, I changed my order and they kindly accommodated the request without any extra charge or handling fee. The price is reasonable, and the quality of their own Elite Trim work is decent, although the decorative squares for Recessed column could be made with better fit. Overall, nice experience. They do not have brochures for their products, which is a draw back. And they could improve the instructions delivered with the material – there is none. I had to download from their web site. The other thing is I ordered 3 columns and it came with 2 cans of wood glue in total... go figure... I had to buy more from HomeDepot. One of their sales said they are experts in interior mouldings. Maybe they exceed in that category.

When my 20 + years old furnace broke down at the beginning of December, I knew I had to replace it, together with the energy guzzling A/C. I heard that installation is the most important part of the application. So I called a few companies for estimate. I was only going for the best companies on HomeStar. I have to say most of the companies are good, except one never showed up after 2 calls. Because my crawl space has only 52 inches head space, it is a challenging task to install furnace and Central A/C. Some models just won’t fit. The two gentlemen from True Home Comfort provided the best solution with least amount of cost. They spend nearly 2 hours to exam the place before giving me the estimate. They are very sincere, trust worthy, and they try harder than others to make their customer happy. And I could not be happier. They return calls promptly, they always on time, they worked hard for 2 full days under the crawl space, they kept me informed on the work process and they have done a beautiful job. Everything is done perfectly and by code. At the end, everything is clean and tidy. With the cold spill this week, I truly appreciate the work Jason and Chris has done, my new H/E furnace is quiet and making my home comfortable. While my neighbor’s new H/E furnace has ice build up outside of the pipe already, mine is running like a champ – no problems at all! There are not a lot reviews on True Home Comfort for their installation service, so I was a bit concerned first. But at the end, they got 10 out of 10! I would recommend their installation and service to all my family and friends! THANKS again, Jason and Chris.

I am very happy with the work that Ed and his crew has done. They are efficient, professional, very careful with floors and furniture and they did a fantastic job. I am picky when comes to painting, so often I rather to paint the walls myself to make sure the details are taken cared. The house was freshly painted when we bought it last year. The previous professional painting work was not so professional, so I just wanted to get things done myself to ensure the job are done perfectly. But I am too slow – all my weekends end up with paint cans and paint brushes and I only completed a couple of small projects for the entire year. I am so glad that I called Ed – found them from Homestars. The job was done perfectly, beyond what I could accomplish myself and all done in one day! They filled scratches, holes, sanded and painted. They covered the floors, the cupboard doors and furniture and they are quiet! Would recommend them to anyone needs painting done, and I would definitely hire them again for future projects!

I am more than delighted with the fence that Neil and his team installed. I had a few estimates from other companies and Neil is the only one went the extra mile to get the custom pattern that I wanted, with competitive price. Not to mention I changed my mind back and forth so many times and Neil has been very patient all the time. Neil is very responsive and professional, he has good design and quality standard that only comes with experience. I was a bit concerned when his team showed up to install the fence on the first day without Neil, but they are exceptional, they took the time to make sure the property line is located accurately (The house is on a angle, and the survey is a 50-year-old drawing and it is not clear at all), and Neil visited the site twice that day to ensure all is taken good care of. They made good alteration on the elevation of the front fence. It looks beautiful. The fence is strong, straight, and awesome. The site is so clean that I could not tell if there were concrete foundation under the posts. Neil made the phone call to follow up and have his team waited until I am satisfied with all the work. What a wonderful service – very hard to find these days. I would recommend Neil and his team to anyone requiring a fence. I wish Neil and his team all the best and success.

Absolutely one of the best professional services I have received. I have an older home and the walls are not straight. I did not notice the shower enclosure wall curves in/crooked quite a bit. So when the sales rep came to take the measurements, we both missed the curve on the wall. The tech came to install the door could have installed it without pointing out the problem, but he insisted to do it right. He took new measurements and took the shower door back. And since then, Rick (the manager) came in twice to measure the enclosure. Rick is a very knowledge and skilled trade man. The final solution is that they will install two pieces of glass (instead of one), which costs more and the original one is now garbage (tempered glass can’t be re-cut). I thought they would either charge me more, or cancel the order since it does not cover the cost. But they didn’t. They took the responsibility and they did a wonderful job with the installation. The finished glass door follows the curve of the wall, and sealed very nicely, no one would know the tiles next to it are crooked. Paying close attention, I can see the extra work they had to do to make the glass a perfect fit. Boy, am I ever impressed! From the beginning to the end, the sales person - Joe, the manager -Rick and installation guys, all of them are wonderful to deal with. Thank you all so much for a professional job well done!

I was confident to have Joe fix my crawl space water seepage problem the first time he came up to give us the estimate. He was knowledgeable, his estimate was reasonable and he was not a sales man like others. During the 2 days, Joe was with his crew thru the process - and they are an excellent crew! The crawl space is only 4 ft high, and the guys worked so hard to break the concrete, they could not stand straight and had to stretch out after a while. I felt for them. I wanted to have a large sump pump liner installed and they had to dig and carry all the mud out in order to install the liner. Joe also closed the old window well nicely with bricks and cement. There were some extra works that I asked Joe to do without asking price first. And I am pleased with his charge as they are very reasonable. At the end, the guys cleaned up everything, no mess on drive way whatsoever and Joe tested the sump pump. Water proofing is a huge and messy job and Joe and his excellent crew made as pleasant as it can be. I am very grateful for that. They are great great people. I would 100% recommend Guardian Seal Basement Waterproofing to my family and friends!

I needed to install a Natural Gas fireplace in my living room and I am so glad I used Al’s service. I have visited a few fireplace showrooms, and many of the places are pushing me into buying from them. They also charge a lot of extras even some of the options I want are included with the purchase of the fireplace. Finally, I purchased a nice Napoleon fireplace thru Al and have Al did the installation of the fireplace. Al is professional, courteous, and did a neat work inside and outside. It was a lot of work and Al delivered it on time, on budget. He worked in the crawl space for hours without any complains, he even vacuumed the floor after the drilling and cutting! Al was careful with my furniture; he explained all about the operation of the fireplace and patiently answered all my questions. I truly love the beautiful fireplace that he installed!

I never met Jonny before or saw any work that he had done, just found his number from Homestars site and place a call to him right before we move. I wanted to refinish a buffet and a drop-leaf table that my sister left me. He sent a guy to pick up the furniture. We did not even know how much and how he will do the work. Frankly, we were a bit worried. I didn’t even know what is a good re-finish should be look like! The day he delivered the finished furniture, I could only say "wow, wow and wow", what a beautiful job! He not only fixed the broken parts, re-finished all exteriors, but also sand/polished inside of the buffet. I may not know much about furniture refinishing, but I know this is the highest standard of furniture refinishing you can ask for! Better than any antiques in a reputable shop! Oh, I could only wish my dear sister to see this. Anyway, now I am planning to have Jonny finish a few more pieces that we have, and my mother is considering the same thing too! Thanks, Jonny, thanks, for everyone’s contribution to Homestars!