BJ from Edmonton

Mike and his helper Wilf did an excellent job in constructing a bar and fitting/installing my old kitchen cabinets into a new basement development. Mike's price was fair and his estimate on material costs was accurate. He checked with me throughout the process to make sure I was satisfied. He was careful to clean up with the ShopVac each day. It is difficult to find experienced, honest and reliable trades people - so if you need a carpenter give Mike a call.

Our home was built in 1992 and has Polybutylene (Poly-B) piping. In the process of developing our basement, the City plumbing inspector suggested that I change out as much of the Poly-B piping as possible before closing in the ceiling. I was particularly concerned about a connection with a shut-off valve in the basement ceiling joists to an outside water tap. Brian changed out three pipes and moved the shut-off valve into a much more convenient location in the utility room. He also changed out the outside tap to bring it up to code. Brian is experienced and efficient. We found his price slightly on the high side, but we were very pleased with his work and would recommend him.

I hired CertaPro Painters to apply 2 coats of primer to my new basement development (1265 sq. ft.) and paint all the ceilings with 2 coats of paint. I was very pleased with their painter, Sharid, who did an excellent job. He was congenial, worked steadily, careful in his clean-up and consulted with me regarding the bulkheads before he proceeded. He was knowledgeable and was very willing to share painting tips. I received a number of quotes and found CertaPro Painters to be fair and the most reasonably priced.

The Taping Guy rescued us and our new 1265 sq. ft. basement development. Based on the recommendation of one of the framers, I hired someone who was supposed to be an experienced tradesperson to do our drywall, taping and mudding. After two weeks I had major questions about his workmanship. I called Chris, The Taping Guy, based on all the excellent reviews I read on Homestars. Chris hooked me up with a professional drywaller to complete hanging the drywall and rip out the ceiling and hang it correctly. Chris had to undo a lot of substandard taping the other guy had done and spent a total of 52 hours making it right. Chris is very knowledgeable, he came on time, was easy to communicate with and most important he gave me an estimate and stuck to his quote. I highly recommend Chris for your mudding and taping needs.

Dave was recommended to me by the framer we used for our new basement development. What a great recommendation that was. When I first contacted him he gave me a rough estimate of the cost over the phone for running heat to three rooms, installing an exhaust fan for new bathroom, and solving a problem where the heat ducts were too low for a cabinet I wanted in the new family room. He came for his appointment on time and then went over the exact cost, and made suggestions where I would need cold air returns. Dave is very knowledgeable about heating and cooling and even offered some great suggestions regarding my ceiling bulkheads. Dave helped me out with another contractor's improper dryer ventilation. Dave holds an Alberta Journeyman Certification in Sheet Metal and Gas Fitting and willingly showed me his trade "tickets". Dave took out the HVAC permit for me and his work passed inspection first time. I highly recommend Max Heating and Air Conditioning.

On a Sunday evening our 10 year old John Wood Hot Water Tank started leaking then flooding our basement, so we knew we needed a replacement. I began reading reviews of plumbers on HomeStars. I made a list of 6 plumbing companies and started calling Monday morning. 5 out of 6 on the list could not send anyone that day and a number dismissed my questions about the brand of water tank they would install. "They are all the same" a number of plumbers said. Forget about asking about warranties. "They are all 6 years". I called EAZY PEAZY PLUMBING and spoke to the owner Jeff. He answered all my questions and spoke in a direct and pleasant manner. He was on another appointment, but he told me he would go and pick up a new water heater and come right over. Jeff installed a Bradford White 50 gallon water tank with Defender Safety System. It has an 8 year warranty on the tank and 6 years on parts. He got right down to working and also installed a new shut off braided supply flex pipe. He asked for a mop to clean up and he removed the old tank. From the time I initially called him until he completed the job was 3 1/2 hours! That's fast and efficient service. He is a journeyman plumber and gas fitter. I was pleased with his work.

We had estimates for our full basement development from 5 contractors in Edmonton. Each priced the replacement of our existing basement window (53" X 16") with an Egress Window (mandatory for a bedroom by City Bylaw) in the range of $4000 - $10,000. I decided to find a contractor to do the egress window myself. Many window companies do not even carry egress windows and the one that did, said I would have to find a concrete cutting company to cut the opening. I was so happy to find Complete Concrete Cutting Ltd who are a 'one-stop shopping' for egress windows. They do it all. They cut the concrete opening, they remove and dispose of the concrete off site, they supply and install an EZ Exit Window from Peace Windows in Grande Prairie who have the patent on this window (watch this YouTube video - escape in 10 seconds) http://youtu.be/SghZc0LhRd4 They supply a window well and fill it with washed rock. Matt and his crew did an excellent job. Prior to the job I had a number of questions and Matt took the time to call me back and answer all my questions. Due to how busy they are, they were not offering their digging service, so my husband dug the hole in front of the window 8' X 4' X 32". Their initial price did not include the finishing of the exterior of the window with a blue skin water membrane, and applying a metal lath strip and covering with waterproof parging. Since I had no idea how to do that, I asked Matt if he could do it for us, and he did for a reasonable additional price. When we started to dig the hole, we realized that their standard size window of 22" X 42" would be too small for the existing window width and thankfully they had a 22" X 53" window in stock. This took a lot of emailing back and forth and Naomi in the office patiently answered all my questions. They came 2 weeks from the date of my initial call, on the day they said they would and they were finished in one day and a couple of hours the next day. The total cost was considerably less than any contractor had estimated, which was an added bonus. I highly recommend this company.