E Cheung at Bloor and Dufferin

My wife and I bought our first home (renovation project) in 2008. Ken's family runs a hardware store around the corner, so I included him in the quoting process to upgrade our panel and replace all knob and tube wiring. Ken's quote was not the lowest (one came in at about 60% his estimate) but we went with him anyways, and we are very glad we did. Here are the main reasons why: 1st: Reliability. Ken and his team showed up to work, and completed the job exactly when he said he would. At times, I was worried that they would not have time to complete, but he just sent over more people to get it done. 2nd: Knowledge. Ken made lots of great suggestions about considerations we had not thought about. Basic things included pointing out which of our requests were to code and which were not. Finer details, like lighting positioning and convenience of sockets were also very helpful. 3rd. Professionalism. There were no surprises and no hidden costs with Ken. He prepared a very detailed and itemized quote in excel, sent by email. Iw we wanted to add a pot light, it was very clear how much more it would cost. Also, and it's too bad this is notable amongst contractors, but it is: he was always reachable by phone or email. Wiring up our kitchen island had to wait 6 months until we were ready; but, when ready, he came over that week and finished the job. I have absolutely no hesitation to recommend Ken for electrical contracting jobs, from small to very large.

I have used Foam Comfort on 3 occasions in my house. The first time they did the main floor of my home - formerly plaster and lathe, I required a 1.5 inch skim coat to get an air seal and minimal R-value. Scheduling was no hassle, and the workers showed up on time. They only billed me after I called and expressed approval. I did not know at the time, but I also could have asked them to come back and clean up the scarfing a bit more which would have made drywall installation much easier. In later projects I expressed this concern, and the offer was extended. 2nd occasion was to do a flat roof and skim coat on half of my upstairs; again, very prompt and reliable. The scarfing job here was also very good - no problems with drywall installation. 3rd occasion was a large cathedral ceiling. We had some disagreements on the measurements (and therefore the quote). They spent a great deal of time with me discussing their dimensions and even came back to re-measure. While we never fully agreed, they made a final offer which I accepted. Frankly, it's completely their business to quote me whatever they want, whether I agree with their assessment of the level of effort or not; so, I appreciated that they took the time to explain their side of the story. They also missed a spot, but immediately sent out a truck to remedy the situation. There was a chance to do another much smaller project, but I think they must have a minimum charge, as it worked out to be completely incomparable, financially, to the batting alternative. Again, charging a minimum is totally their right, but given the history, I had hoped for a deal. In summary: I find Foam Comfort to be very reliable and professional and the results have been great. Don't be afraid to call back and express concerns about the job, because they will respond appropriately. Foam is a good solution in situations where you don't have much stud space, but it is not cheap so budget properly; and, if possible, do bulk rather than piecemeal.

I had a small leak in my roof, and had been wanting to build a dormer with a door, so I hired RM roofing to build a dormer and reshingle the whole roof section. They subcontracted the dormer build-out and then promised to come back and completely weatherproof the whole thing. I chose RM roofing because the owner, Gonzalo, lives in my neighbourhood and he offered me a good price. I did not know much about roofing before this summer, and I now know too much. The main lesson I re-learned the hard way was an old one, but I fell for it anyway. It is this: if asked to pay an amount for services rendered, only give as much as you would be comfortable with if they never come back - because that really might happen. The worst thing about RM roofing is _not_ that that they did not do any basic finishing steps like flashing. It's _not_ that the frame they built was too small for the door they sold me, nor that it was not level so that I had to undo and reframe it anyway, nor that they never delivered a door to me anyway (probably because they made it the wrong size and crooked), leaving me with a hole in my roof for 2 weeks until I finally fixed the frame and bought and installed a door myself for another $400. It's _not_ even the painful irony that after a supposed roofing company re-shingled my entire roof, ended up with terrible leaks that ruined my drywall, and which were so severe I ended up hiring the Home Depot to come and undo the entire shingling job (at their suggestion, upon inspection of the RM Roofing job) and redo it from scratch. No, the absolute worst thing about RM Roofing is that the owner was dishonest with me on an almost daily basis for three weeks. After day 2, he asked me for some cash to cover the materials and the subcontractor he had paid for to-date. Thinking that the job had been moving smoothly and would be over by the next day, I agreed. That is the last time I saw him. Shortly thereafter, My roof starting leaking very badly. Rather than tell me that he had taken whatever money I gave him and has no further intention to return, he will tell me every single time I call that they will be coming to finish later that afternoon or the next day, and never show up and never call to cancel. The first few times my wife or I actually stayed home from work to meet them. Day after day I called him and if I got past his voicemail (I had to use different phone numbers to get him to pick up) we go through the same routine, almost like comedy, except not funny. One time he had the audacity to tell me that he was right around the corner and would be there in five minutes. I need not tell you if he showed up. After about 6 aborted appointments (not that he called to cancel, he just never showed up), I have come to realize that he is never going to come, and he is never going to have the courage to tell me so to my face, or even on the phone. Do NOT hire RM Roofing. Low quality; zero integrity.

Larry gave me a great price and delivered from London to Toronto. He was professional and polite, worked around my schedule, gave me a clear and simple quote, and showed up when he said he would despite having his other larger order cancelled in Toronto that day; Making the trip for my smaller job because he said he would. Thanks, Larry!