EM in Toronto

I needed some construction debris removed ASAP. Called several places and got several quotes. Friendly Garbage Removal's was somewhere in the middle, but the owner was able to do the job sooner than anyone else. As well, he was the first to return my call and was just generally friendlier and more accommodating than the others I called. He and an assistant removed the debris quickly and even swept up the area. I would definitely use them again.

After moving into our new home, we discovered a number of "deficiencies" that the home inspector mysteriously overlooked. :-O The latest was the extremely undersized hot water heater that had been barely heating our water, radiant floors, and driveway. I'd contacted a few companies earlier in the year to have it looked at -- trying to stay ahead of disaster -- but I was given a lot of talk about how they'd need to replace a lot of the pipes (told me they were a recalled brand, which they weren't) and most likely have to turn off the gas for several days to correct some code violations...all for a huge amount of money. We decided to do some home fixes to give us time until we could find the right person. A few days ago, the hot water quit altogether. I called a few more large companies, and the only one that sounded competent about the work was booked out 3 weeks. Happily, in another search, we found Tankless Experts. I called Kyle and he talked very knowledgeably about our problem -- much more so than the other companies -- and he was here within a few hours to look at it. He said repairing the tank was really not advisable -- very expensive and it actually wasn't the right equipment for our purposes. The previous owners had installed it themselves, and this particular model was meant for much smaller volumes; so given the actual usage, it pretty much ran through its 10-year life expectancy in about 3 years. So Kyle carefully explained what needed to be done, gave us a quote, and was back the next afternoon to do the work. Two days later, we have hot water, hot floors, and -- as a bonus -- he rerouted our furnace exhaust and brought it up to code. I would highly recommend Tankless Experts if you're looking for tankless water heating.

Since moving into our home last autumn, we've had recurring ant problems. I originally used another company that had good reviews. They addressed an initial problem and came back a few months later to spray again. But when they didn't return my call to return for a third time -- a sudden deluge of carpenter and pavement ants! -- I had to find another company. I initially found someone who seemed excellent and even sprayed the main problem area for free, but he said the job required more time than he had that day, and his schedule was booked far in advance. So he recommended Peter, and I am very glad he did. Peter returned my call immediately and came over a couple of days later. He walked all through the property, which is somewhat large, and found numerous areas that needed to be sprayed. He pointed out rotten wood on our exterior and offered suggestions for repair. Because the infestation is so bad, I decided to take the 1-year service, which means he comes back regularly to monitor and spray as needed. He's managed to completely eradicate one of the worst areas and reduce some of the others, but my property appears to be some sort of ant resort. As others have mentioned, Peter is extremely knowledgeable, courteous, friendly, and diligent. I highly recommend him for ant extermination.

Before we moved into our new home last November, the insurance company told us we needed to repair some brickwork on the side of our house. I called a few different companies, but I liked the more personal attention the Red Robin seemed to provide. They scheduled the job as quickly as possible, and the workers even came on a Sunday. Unfortunately, I think the workers weren't really happy about working on a Sunday, so the job wasn't done as well as I'd expected. I sent photos to the manger and owner, and within a few hours they replied, apologized, and rescheduled the work. The new job was done immediately and extremely well. So while I was a little disappointed with the initial work, their response was stellar. Even the insurance agent, when he came to reinspect, commented on how good the work looked.

After moving into a new home in November, we started noticing the occasional ant in the main floor coat closet. We put down some traps, which seemed to keep them at bay. *Seemed.* By the end of January, we had far more ants than we could manage, and they were spreading. Since we're new to the city, I've relied on Homestars for several jobs, and so far I've been happy with the referrals. So I used them again to find an exterminator. Pesticon had great reviews, so I called them plus one other. Pesticon answered me immediately and gave me a firm quote. (Not the case with the other company.) A day later, Khayyam showed up to do the job. He was prompt, polite, very neat, and explained the process to me. He left everything tidy when he was done, and before leaving he again stressed the importance of keeping my pets away from the area. Five months later, we have not seen another ant in the house. ... Unfortunately, a few weeks ago we spotted some carpenter ants in the garage. So I called Pesticon, and again they responded immediately and scheduled a new visit. I was happy to see they sent the same technician; and again, Khayyam explained everything to me clearly. (Since they were different ants this time, the process was a little more involved.) I would highly recommend using Pesticon.

We had just moved into a new house, and our insurance inspector had a list of things he wanted done, including getting the gutters cleaned ASAP. I found Maple on Homestars and emailed them for a quote. The owner got back to me quickly and we set up an appointment for a couple of days later, on a Sunday, for "9:00-ish." I mention the time because this is my only quibble with the service. Everything was done well, quickly, and with minimal mess. The worker even pointed out some areas of the gutters that needed caulking and a few other minor issues. But 9:00-ish had a slightly different meaning for him, since he showed up around 10. I think if we'd been more insistent on a specific time this wouldn't have happened. And since we were home anyway, it wasn't a big deal. But I wanted to mention it just in case someone needs to be firm about the time. Otherwise, everything else was great, and I'd recommend this company to anyone looking for gutter cleaning. In fact, we were happy enough with the work that we'll be using them next spring when we get our windows cleaned.

Strong Plumbing is fantastic! Valentin came to my house a few days ago to work on a problem, and I've already recommended his company to 3 friends. Four days after moving into our new home, we started noticing a terrible -- and I mean TERRIBLE -- smell coming from one room in the basement. The night before we'd had a major rain, and this room is where the sewage cleanouts are located. There was no flooding or noticeable moisture, but because of the cleanouts, we figured it must be a plumbing problem. I contacted Strong Plumging late in the day, and around 7:30 at night, I heard back from Valentin. Unfortunately, the cell service in my house is terrible, and I couldn't take the call. So he texted me. And we spent roughly the next hour texting back and forth while he tried to diagnose the problem. He said the best thing was to run a camera down the lines to see if there was a small break. He was here early the next morning and started investigating. He said that he wasn't certain it was a plumbing issue -- 60/40 that it was either that or a dead animal. I decided to have a look at the drains nonetheless. It's a very old house, and knowing the condition of the pipes would be a good thing regardless. So he put the camera in the various drains -- discovering a few surprises along the way -- but no broken pipes. This process took quite a long time and, unfortunately, didn't give us a definite answer. So he went back to the possibility of a dead animal. Ugh. As he was packing up his things, I asked him if he had time to look at a toilet that had just that very day started hissing -- ie, leaking. No problem. He looked at it, fixed it, and then gave me a bill for exactly what he'd quoted the night before. No added charges for the extra time or extra work. On top of all this, he was just a pleasure to work with -- polite, funny, and definitely good at his job. We will absolutely use him for any future plumbing repairs or improvements. And the smell? As we were moving a futon sofa out of the room so that it didn't keep absorbing the odour, we found a little mouse pressed between the bottom of the futon and the anti-slip mat that sits on the frame. Since it was hidden between layers, we didn't see it when we were initially looking under furniture and moving things around. We figure it must have crawled in there during the move and suffocated. Poor little guy.