Ian in Toronto

Home Saving Inc. Heating & Cooling installed my new water tank. They were very competitive with price, as well as very efficient and professional when installing. I also called them back the following week to do some maintenance on my furnace and AC. The technician was extremely thorough compared to other HVAC companies Ive used in the past. Ill definitely use them again and recommend the company to my friends and family.

I've called on Manny a couple times at Viper Home Service. This time it was for a leak in my toilet flange. I was hoping I could fix it myself, but when I removed the toilet I realized the contractors that had renovated my bathroom 5 years ago stacked about 5-6 flange extensions to level the original flange to new floor height...not even remotely the correct thing to do. Manny cut the ceiling drywall below the toilet to make sure it was the flange leaking, then cut away all the flange extensions which were screwed/glued down. He secured the new flange from below to the subfloor with plywood cut outs, and properly leveled the new flange to the bathroom floor. What I like about Manny is that he tells you how he plans to go about fixing the issues. He does things right the first time and he always tells you, "don't worry, I'll fix it". As a homeowner, that level of confidence and competence is worth a lot...and he always cleans up the work area afterwards. I will continue to use Viper Home Services and recommend Manny to my family and friends.

Rick repaired my fridge in the past, so when my dishwasher broke down, I knew who to call immediately. Rick came by and replaced the water inlet valve, drain hose, and hot water line to the dishwasher. He is always happy to provide additional info on how to maintain your appliances and issues to watch out for. Rick is a true professional, and I will continue to recommend him to my friends and family.

My experience with Avanti was great right from the start. I found the company on HomeStars, and the owner (Eduard) was quick to respond to my email with a personal call. He sent a project manager (Adnan) to provide a detailed quote, which was very competitive compared to 4 other contractor estimates. Before the work started, Adnan came to my house three times to answer questions, provide design/colour suggestions, and take measurements. Throughout the entire process, whenever I had a question, Adnan was very prompt to answer my calls/texts. Most importantly, I couldn’t have asked for a better crew chief (Max) who did all the heavy lifting, literally. Max is a true professional and he takes a lot of pride in the quality of his work. He would think about the best approach to do something, and then measure/level everything 3-4 times just to get it perfect. As a homeowner, it’s nice to get a contractor who doesn’t think of a project as “just a job”, but someone who does their best work because they care about the end product. A few days after the job was done, Adnan came by to collect the payment and noticed that the sod was a bit yellow and didn’t look healthy. He immediately scheduled new sod to be delivered and said I could pay for the sod once everything was complete. The guys at Avanti are true professionals and I’ve already recommended them to a couple friends. The only issue with the company is that they’re in high demand, so scheduling a start date is a bit of a wait, but well worth it.

My 16yr old Kenmore fridge stopped cooling and I selected Rick Appliance Repair because of his HomeStars reviews and his competitive price. I called in the evening around 6pm, and he arrived at my house across town the following morning at 11am. He quickly determined that the issue was an old freezer fan motor. As he replaced the motor, he explained how to identify other fridge problems like compressor, Freon, or relay issues. Needless to say, with 30yrs of experience, Rick really knows how to fix appliances. I'll be sure to keep his number handy for future appliance repairs and referrals.

The seals on a few of my windows were getting old and I needed them replaced as the glass was hazy. I got three quotes, and Moncada provided the most competitive price at a ~20% discount to the other two quotes. Not only was their price the best, but Anthony, the owner, was very professional in providing a detailed quote and walking me through what needed to be done to replace the glass. In less than 3wks my windows were installed. Anthony's install team even helped me out with the brackets on one of the windows that wasn't closing properly. I will definitely use and recommend Moncada Windows in the future.

I posted on Homestars that I needed to repair a small section of my wooden fence that was blown over by the wind. Avanti was one of the first companies to call me back. It was a small job that required the removal of part of an old fence, setting a couple new posts, and putting up new fence boards. Even though it was a small job, Eduard, the owner of Avanti, still went out of his way to help me out. He provided a very competitive price that was well less than 2 other quotes, and he sent a guy to my house that Saturday. Marco arrived bright and early at 8:30am and worked the entire day. He was very precise with his work, planning and measuring the new section of the fence. He was also very respectful and clean, as to not damage my existing patio stones. I am very happy with the quality work and end product. I will consider Avanti for any future landscaping work and would recommend this company.

I was introduced to Manny at Viper Plumbing by my general contractor (P&P) when I was doing my basement reno. During the demolition stage of my reno, it was discovered (although I suspected) that I had a leak in my foundation wall. Manny and his crew were called to waterproof the inside of my basement. It was the middle of winter so they couldn’t dig outside around the foundation wall and the leak was coming from my neighbor’s property line. I really appreciate that Manny took the time to explain various solutions to fix the issue and why some options were better than others. Needless to say, Manny did a great job! I was amazed how quickly his crew worked to get everything done! After my reno was completed, I wanted to change my main water shutoff valve because it was leaking. I called Viper Plumbing to do the job and also mentioned that I would like my floor drains scoped. Manny mentioned that with any plumbing service, there is a complimentary examination of the sewer lines. Manny went out of his way to show up on a Saturday afternoon to switch out my main water shutoff valve, and not only did he scoped my floor drain but he spent an extra hour snaking it to make sure it was a free and clean of any debris. In the end, he charged me a great price, which was essentially the same price of what some other plumbers would have charged just to replace the master shutoff valve! I would definitely recommend Viper Plumbing for their quality service and great prices!

I had a great experience with P&P and would definitely recommend them to family/friends. I researched a number of general contractors on HomeStars and spoke with various companies from the Toronto Homeshow when I was planning to do my basement reno. Natanael, owner of P&P, came by my house 3 times before I decided to go with his company. What made the decision easy was not only his reasonable price, but compared to the other quotes, P&P’s contract was very detailed to set out clear expectations of what was going to be done and when. In a follow-up email, Natanael also provided me with his company’s certificate of incorporation, proof of company insurance, as well as a list of about 30 references, of which I called 6 people and they all spoke very highly of P&P’s quality work. One common theme when reading the reviews and talking to his references was that the P&P is very clean, in that the crew cleans up the job site every day! Javier was a fantastic project manager on my job. Not only was the quality of his work top notch, but he was very transparent and timely with his communication. He would always text to make sure I knew what major tasks needed to be done and when a certain trade (plumbing/electrical) would be at the house doing work. He was also very accessible via video calls/facetime when I had concerns and questions about issues or design choices. Since I tend to be rather detail oriented (or controlling as my some people would say), the ability to facetime made the renovation much easier, and Javier was always patient to take the time to explain to me what needed to be done, how it was going to be done, and also provided design suggestions for why it should done a certain way. During the demolition stage of my reno, it was discovered (although I suspected) that I had a leak in my foundation wall. This issue unfortunately increased my reno budget beyond my contingency, but I would say it was money well spent for the peace of mind! P&P said the waterproofing, drain work, and re-framing would take and extra 1-2 weeks to do, but my reno was done just shy of one week of the original completion date. I can definitely say P&P did a great job to ensure they delivered on a quality reno. These guys are machines! Also the fact that they clean up the job site every day really shows that they care about their work space and have a lot of respect for the customer’s home.

I was at the Toronto Home Show and saw the Casati booth and spoke with Joe and Nicole (the owners), and they offered a competitive price for an American Standard furnace/AC package install. Joe came to my house a couple days later to provide an inspection/quote and said it would be a straight forward job, but I should've know better with my 110 yr old house there are always surprises. The install crew came to my house a few weeks later and sure enough there were a couple surprises that required drilling new holes and opening a wall for new exhaust piping as the existing pipes ran UP and between my walls. Needless to say, the crew did a solid job with the furnace install given my old house situation and even fixed up my exterior vinyl siding to cover up the old pipe outlets. The reasons why I didn't rate this company a 10/10 are: 1) the crew left in a rush on a Friday at 8pm (understandable) and didn't sweep up the debris on my driveway, which I later found at least 5 screws which could have punctured my car tire. 2) Since the install crew had to unexpectedly cut open up a small section of my wall, a drywall contractor had to fix it, but Casati couldn't schedule a contractor for 3 weeks. Despite a couple small issues, I would still recommend Casati to friends/family as Joe & Nicole are very customer service oriented, responding to calls/emails quickly, helping w/ rebates & warranties, and they do provide quality service/products.

I contacted about 8 landscaping companies to get an initial quote, and I found Mark, the owner of Blue Circle, not only provided a competitive price, but he is also very customer service oriented. Mark provided a clear and informative explanation of how to maximize my backyard patio. He also followed-up a couple weeks after our initial consult to see if I had any additional questions/concerns and went out of his way to deliver some actual stone paver samples to help us decide on the stone colours we were considering. The most difficult part of building a patio is scheduling the work, as weather is always a consideration. Once the weather warmed up in late April, Mark promptly scheduled his crew (Jimmy at Stoneworks Landscape) to start work. It took a crew of 4 people to finish my backyard patio in only 2.5 days! They arrived promptly at 8am and cleaned up at the end of each day, even sweeping my driveway for any debris. The patio work was done with professional care to ensure the proper grading away from the house and they also added a bit of topsoil with grass seeds to level out my lawn with the new patio. The only suggestion I would have for customers is to ensure that all planning/design is done ahead of time so that Blue Circle can provide a complete and fair quote, because, as I found out the hard way, any small changes or add-ons are typically costly as they delay the original planned work/schedule.

I called at least 5 different attic insulation companies, and they all quoted a top-up insulation for a small attic (330 sqft) from the current R10 to R50 for a minimum charge of $900-1000 for blown-in cellulose. Luckily, my last call was to EcoComfort. I spoke with Patrick, who was very professional, and got a very fair quote of $650 for a top-up to R60! I scheduled the insulation for a couple weeks after the call, which happened to be during the April ice storm in Toronto, and the EcoComfort crew showed up right on time despite the horrible weather/driving conditions. The crew was very professional, efficient, and tidy. They did a great job and were done within 2 hours. I will definitely recommend EcoComfort to anyone looking for insulation services.

I called Easy Access Garage Doors after reading the positive reviews on HomeStars, and I have to say the 98% score and Best of 2017 Award is totally deserved. Chris, the owner, is all about customer service! He was quick to respond to my calls/txt msgs, showed up on time, was very professional/informative with the install process, and the end result/product is top quality work at a very competitive price. What impressed me the most is that Chris is a problem solver. I have an old home in the Beaches with a small garage, low head room, and an uneven floor, and he was relentless in figuring out solutions to make my new garage door and opener fit and operate the best. I definitely recommend Easy Access Garage Doors.

I had gotten estimates from a number of plumbing companies, and Josh was the most professional in terms of answering my questions and informing me what needs to be done and the plumbing process involved. His quote/price was also very fair. We scheduled a day for the work to be done, and his crew (Dillon and Emerson) showed up early and got started right away. They were all very polite and extremely efficient with their work. Even the day after the work was done, Josh returned to show me how to open/clean the inside of the trench basin. I will definitely use Josh for any additional plumbing jobs and will recommend him to anyone looking for an experienced plumber with great customer service.

I'm surprised by all the negative reviews on HomeStars for 3D Interior Fashion because I had a great experience. I was hesitant to use HomeDepot for my blinds, but many small independents were unable to do Zebra blinds for my 94" wide window. HomeDepot was able to do the size and sent out a designer, Avi, to my place free of charge, and it was a good thing because his design suggestions were great!! Instead of getting the Zebra blinds, which would have been more expensive and difficult to maintain/clean, Avi suggested a great deal and product by Maxxmar...a dual solar shade with black out blind (see pic). There was absolutely no pressure in changing my mind and Avi even came back to my house a second time because I wanted to see the sample shade again. Scheduling the installer, Tim, was also a breeze as he came by in the evening to take measurements and told me my custom order which typically takes up to 6wks to make/deliver should be ready in 3 wks. Sure enough, on the 4th wk, I get a call from Tim to schedule the install that same week. Tim was polite, efficient with the install, and removed all packaging. I would have scored my experience a 10/10, but the install cost that HomeDepot charges was a bit pricey because they charge a flat fee per house and not by # of windows (I purchased shades for 3 windows...but I guess this would be a deal if you did all your windows in your house). I would definitely recommend Avi from 3D Interior Fashion as he provides great design advice, is very knowledgeable about the products, and is very attentive responding promptly to questions/concerns.

I was in a jam after I fired my prior contractor and I called Bella Flooring to help me, since I purchased my hardwood floors from their store. Muayad promptly came down to my house that afternoon to provide a quote, and said he could send a crew to fix and finish installing the hardwood floor on my second floor the following week. He sent his best guy, Suda, who is an absolute machine! He fixed my floors by removing the hardwood around the door jambs/closets that were poorly installed by the last contractor, and then finished installing the hardwood floors in the other 2 bedrooms and hallway. Next, Suda tackled the squeaky stairs in my 110yr old house by installing new steps and reinforcing them from underneath the staircase, which is now absolutely silent and looks amazing! These guys are real pros and I would definitely recommend Bella Flooring to buy quality Wickham hardwood. The only issue is that they are so busy that scheduling the hardwood floor installation requires patience.

Horrible contractor experience!!! At first Dave was very informative and provided suggestions/alternatives to do renovations, but once I awarded him the job to level my 2nd story sub-floor and install hardwood, his communication was non-existent. Not only was he not returning my phone calls or voice/txt msgs, he was barely on-site. He also used cheap particle wood as sub-floor instead of true ply-wood, and the install of hardwood floor was worse than amateur work, he didn't even undercut the door frames!!! (see pics)...best decision was to fire him, but unfortunately I had already paid him $2500 to level my sub-floors. Buyer beware!