Mike in Richmond Hill

We had an old Aprilaire 560 humidifier that wasn't working, and with the kids we needed address the dry air we had in the house. After searching for reviews and prices for a new humidifier, I felt comfortable in contacting HVAC Outsource and reached Dimitri, who was very detailed in addressing what might be the problem and provided a quote for the labour and parts, as well as a quote for a full replacement which was a great price. I had already settled on the idea of a new humidifier, and even though it seemed like the current one was salvageable, it was yellowed with age and filthy as well. On top of that, there was another good reason, which I'll explain in a bit. Although Dimitri could not fit me in on the same day Saturday (totally understandable) he was able to schedule a time on Sunday and kept me updated that he was running a little late which I appreciate. After inspecting the previous install he went over the detail of the install, as well as what he may or may not be able to use. When it came to install the water line he recommended to run a new line since we did not know where the original source went to, or whether it had a shut-off. After the install was complete, Dimitri helped me replace the old humidifier with a patch and we discovered two major issues with the previous install; 1) the water supply line was shut off already 2) the vent going to the supply side of the furnace had no hole cut, so even if we had managed to get the old humidifier working, it would have done nothing. So I'd like to thank HVAC Outsource and Dimitri for an excellent job for not just installing a new humidifier for our family's comfort, but also the investigative work they did at the same time.

Our Sub-Zero Freezer stopped working and after speaking directly with a Sub-Zero representative, we were directed to Kampen Appliance Service. The lady who handled our call (I'm so sorry I forgot your name) clarified our warranty status and when there was a discrepancy in which costs were covered, she was kind enough to verify with Sub-Zero. Andrew was our tech and he called ahead of arriving and was on time. He was very professional and answered any questions I had about the issue and he diagnosed and addressed it quickly and neatly. Thanks to the Kampen team our Freezer is back up and running.

I've used Benson lock for re-keying our old house and for our new house. I usually remove the locks and get them re-keyed but this time I couldnt figure out how to remove the lock in our new multipoint locking door so we had them do a house call and it was figured out shortly after speaking with the manufacturer. Dealing with Benson Lock is a very very straightforward experience, and they are very helpful with suggestions.

Our old driveway was a mess since the previous owner merely added asphalt on top of the existing driveway which later on started to buckle and separate. We had mulled over the idea that the seam could be patched but ultimately we decided to just repave the entire driveway in 2015. I was not at home at the time when this was being repaved however I spoke to Diego over the phone and he was happy to answer any questions/concerns. Repaving was much cheaper than interlock, just a few hundred more than what we were quoted by other companies to simply patch and really refreshed the look of house. Oh and they also found out the previous guy who added the extension paved over a step at the bottom of the porch! everything was re-graded properly :) Below are the before and after pictures. (The order is screwed up) We've had this for a year and yes the asphalt stains on the sidewalk go away after some weathering.

We met Lilja back in March 2016 via a Carson Dunlop home inspection. We opted for the air quality test as we had concerns about a home we were interested in purchasing. Lilja was friendly and knowledgeable, took all the samples she needed and within 4 days we had results that put our fears at bay. We have addressed one moldy section of drywall that was cut out and rearrange some of the heater and ac drain lines to point more directly to the drain. Another area we had concerns about came back negative, and during our renovations we eventually opened that area up and sure enough no mold, just a cold zone. Thanks Lilja!

We were referred to Walter Collodel by a good friend and we decided to do a full inspection (buyers enhanced package) with an Air quality test. Mid March 2016 - Walter and Lilja were on time (and we were late) so we went straight into it. We first entered the house with Lilja and Walter went up to the roof to inspect the shingles and skylight. Meanwhile Lilja was entertaining our questions and surveying any possible problem areas. Walter later joined us and gave us a brief report on the status on the roof and then he started walking through the house with us, explaining alot of the critical systems and quirks about about our potential new home. It was very educational and extremely thorough with the IR Thermal camera. After what seemed to be like 2 hours of walking and talking Walter wrapped up (we had completely run out of questions) and Lilja joined us to report she had collected the samples she needed. We were handed a really nifty home owner's kind of guide to which we still refer to today. Within the same day, a very detailed report with pictures and recommendations. 4 days after that we received information on the air quality analysis and recall status for all the major appliances. Our old home inspector absolutely pales in comparison to using Carson Dunlop & Assoc. I think our old house's inspector charge $500, but it was months after that the gas smell he said was perfectly normal resulted in Enbridge red tagging and shutting down our gas line. This time I know more, and feel alot more confident about our purchase. You absolutely get what you pay for, and you can't put a price on your family's safety and peace of mind.

I chose Skylights Unlimited because they had the best reviews, carried a well known brand, and I wanted a vendor that specialized in just skylights. I had contacted Denis mid April 2016 for an initial quote to replace our bubble top skylight where the inner layer had cracked. Our inspector had noticed this along with the fact our bathroom vents were venting directly into the attic. Denis was very detailed in the description of Velux Skylight and I decided to go with the triple pane, just for the additional R value. We were still in the process of closing on the house, so I don't believe I got a proper in-person quote until early July. Being that the triple pane would have to made, I was told in advance this would take some time but Tina would check on their schedule which was confirmed 4-6 weeks before it could be completed. This was absolutely fine because we were still in the midst of other renovations. I think around mid Aug I checked the status and the glass had just arrived and Denis was scheduling the work. We had hoped to get it done as early as possible as we had delayed our attic insulation til the end of Aug and I believe they put us in for an install two days from when I called which was perfect. The skylight is absolutely beautiful and the vents look great at doing their job. My only complaint is this: they had to replace something, a board or drywall or something and after they painted it but it is terribly blotchy. I don't mind if the white is off, I dont care for it to be blended, I dont even mind if there is a definitive line separating the old white and new but the blotchiness just looks plain messy. I can accept that some trim may need to be addressed but if you're up there already and you're doing it, try to do it with some detail. The second thought to me is, if you didn't care to do this right, did you at least do everything else right? Full disclosure: I was not on-site, it was my mother-in-law. Her description of the events may be not completely expressed to me very well but her description of the job was "rushed" and "he just wanted to get out of there". I am concerned by that description but for me, the most important thing is, will anything leak? Only time will tell. I do believe in Denis, and I don't think he would ever let his company's reputation sit on a shoddy job so I'm scoring this an 8. only because of the paint job. If I dont have any leaks after winter then its a 9.5. (if I can edit this thing. If I cant then I'll put up a second review with a score that reflects it). I really do like the skylight, it's just everytime I look up I see the paint job and nothing can be done about it unless we get someone with scaffolding to properly address it. Its funny how a small detail like that can save you or cost your hundreds. [Longer Term update] Denis' team reached out fairly soon after my initial review and offered to attempt to resolve the paint issue. It was soon determined that the previous paint had not been applied well and left a texture that could not be corrected. I accepted their attempt to making things right. So after this somewhat harsh Winter, with its many freeze and thaw cycles and the heavy rainfall we've received in the previous month I am glad to report the skylight is still very water tight and no other issues have been experienced. With that I am upgrading my score from 8 to 10.

The new house we purchased had a room above the garage that was terribly cold. Since this room was to be designated for our 2yr old daughter, we wanted it to be as comfortable as possible but we were all torn on what was safe to use and fell into the classic spray foam versus traditional batt discussion. We had seen that CBC Marketplace episode about the nightmare spray foam experiences and were apprehensive about using spray foam but I had decided to use spray foam based on a few things: 1) In the CBC cases, the spray foam was not applied properly 2) I've lived above a garage with batt before and it wasn't pleasant. 3) our old house has open cell spray foam and although its better than batt, I'm aware of its problems. I probably looked at 3 different companies and their reviews before I was comfortable with choosing Insta-Insulation. As a side note, I mostly look at the bad reviews and say to myself, am I like this person? Would I feel that way? Is this guy crazy or is this a fake review? Having alot of reviews help because it just normalizes the good and bad and I'm starting to ramble here so I'll just keep on with the review. I contacted Insta-Insulation (Late May 2016) for just an inquiry on what foam they use, and if they had any additional info. Aldana answered the call and was more than happy to point me to the manufacturer's site with the MSDS. Trevor was more than happy to answer any additional questions regarding the product, its cure time, and safety. Not once did I feel like I was being pushed into something which is great because I really hate that kind of gym membership tactic. We had Trevor come over (Early June 2016) for a quote to spray foam the ceiling of the garage with an optional price for the shared rear wall and to insulate the attic with cellulose to R50. We had discussed about spraying all 3 walls and the ceiling but he recommended the shared wall based on cost/value and I agreed. I think I mulled over it a bit because there was so many contractors going in and out of the attic that I totally forgot what kind of lead time Insta-Insulation would need. Crystal sent a followup email (Late June) and I advised her that we were targeting mid Aug. So the week before they were to spray foam the garage, we started to take down the ceiling and existing insulation. I was surprised to see how poor the previous batt insulation was and that a majority of it had blackened due to various areas where the vapor barrier had been cut. It also had an empty cavity with a single vent to heat/cool the floor above. We hit a snag during this week because contractors still needed access to the attic and I did not want anyone to disturb the insulation that was going to be blown in. I spoke with Crystal and Andrew who were very understanding of the situation and we agreed to reschedule only the attic work for Late Aug. Spray foam: James and Aiden showed up on time (actually early) and were very pleasant to deal with. I showed them some of the areas I had concern with and they did their plan of attack, then proceded to wrap any areas they didnt want to get foam on. They were also kind enough to help me move some items that the contractors did not move out yet. They performed their roles with diligence and experience. Its the diligence aspect that is rare. During this time I had some additional questions on the foam curing, whether or not I need to leave the garage doors open, etc, all answered very confidently. They left the garage very clean...probably more clean than it was before since they swept up any residual or trimmed foam. Blown-in: Dave and Trent would be the professionals today and showed up on-time (early again). I had a small map of the attic areas I wanted them to be wary of (networks cable drops) and they gladly took this as reference after their initial survey. This time I wouldn't be able to stay for the whole job, so Dave went over what would be done for certain areas and scenarios. I was particularly concerned with the soffits and mor-vents as I found the attics air kind of stagnant. He re-assured me that he would address anything he found wrong reasonably and would send pictures. At that, I left for work and later in the afternoon I spoke with Dave just to go over what was done or what he saw and received pictures as he said he would to which I was very satisified. Pricing: I found this to be very fair for the size of the house. It was actually a bit under-budget based on the number I was getting from local forums. Organizations as a whole: It seems like everything is well run, with everyone's role played perfectly. I'd like to thank everyone at Insta-Insulation for a great job done and yes, I would highly recommend them to anyone. Extra note: We had Insulthane Extreme as the spray foam and it was completely odorless the next day. I got right up there to take a whiff, nothing.

I wanted to add a gas line for a Barbecue outside our house which was under renovation. Looked around here and but eventually found Ken Kijiji. There he listed his TSSA and License and rough pricing per job. I had called several others but I just felt the information he provided was more forthcoming. Work was done in July 2016. Ken was very punctual which is super important when it comes to renovations because there are so many people and sub projects running at the same time. I was actually at work at the time, so I would speak to Ken or my wife over the phone to properly communicate what needed to be done. Ken also speaks Cantonese which was a huge bonus because my mother-in-law is handling alot of the renovation and the communication for her is easier. I myself only speak English and had no difficulty in communication. Job was done fairly quickly, and yes one hole had to be made in the basement ceiling but the other contractor patched that up in a jiffy. We had our line lead start from the furnace room with a cut-off, run a little more than 12 feet to outside, and run another 9 feet with another cut-off, all securely mounted to our exterior brick and painted. The run was very clean, and the cut-off clearly labelled in the furnace room. All in all, I would use Ken's service again, and have no problem recommending him to anyone. Sidenote: I think Homestars is a very important site to gauge the reputation of vendors (we are using 2 directly sourced from here). However, do not let non-"Best of" vendors scare you away, some are like Ken, who have few reviews but maintain a very high degree of customer satisfaction, they just may not promote themselves enough. No, he did not ask me to fill this review after the work was done (but he should).