Maxine, Downtown Toronto

I've used KP Waterproofing for several projects. I was referred to Kris by my friend who was referred to him by her boss. He first came in because my basement was leaking. He was very clear on what was to be done, and executed to perfection. He was (and still is) punctual, businesslike and very very quick! He first assessed my leaking basement. When everyone was making all kind of judgements, he realized that there were holes in the walls of my century home so water was going through the walls and not to the floor where it was coming out. He was bang on! He never tries to push you to do any more than is necessary and suggested a phased approach to waterproofing, He was unavailable for the second phase so I hired someone else who talked a lot but did not deliver. Of course, I had to have Chris return to finish the job! That's why I called on him to do footings for a deck that previous owners built badly. I think the best compliment came from the city Inspector who, after inspecting Kris' work, shared with me that he is great. Kris dealt directly with the Inspector (which I think was very difficult what with having to place inspection calls and wait for the inspector to turn up) and even addressed additional stuff required to brace the deck.... which he dealt with without a complaint. There are lots of contractors out there and I lack a lot of trust because of bad experiences. At the risk of making Kris more busy than he is, I felt it necessary to give him a review though we've never discussed Homestars! I actually was on looking for another trade and searched his company name. Chris is now my go to guy for any waterproofing or concrete job... and I will recommend him to any of my friends!

The city served me with an order to comply for a deck that was built before I acquired my property. I dealt with a few people supplied by title insurance and they were lethargic and inefficient. I haven't been happy with professionals at Homestars but in a desperate effort decided to use the site. I saw the reviews for this company and contacted Rocco, the architect. What I liked about Rocco: 1. He immediately understood my needs and knew what was needed and who he needed to contact at the city. Anyone who's had to deal with the city knows that this is an incredible asset! 2. He was very professional. He arrived, on time, and did a thorough walk through of the project, providing feedback and demonstrating a vast amount of knowledge 3. He was very swift and efficient. Within a couple of weeks of consultation the plans were submitted to the city! An issue that had dragged on for 2 years was addressed and completed in under 4 months! As things moved with the city there were no delays and/or excuses on Rocco's part. Having been through a difficult process with the previous professionals I, naturally, hovered. He insisted that I leave him to manage his part. I did and he delivered. The services Rocco completed were: * Drawing plans and submitting to the city * Producing plans for Committee of Adjustments and filing the application (I represented myself) * Liaising with the city in all matters and communicating that information to me I would, most definitely, hire Rocco in the future

I live in a house with three floors that are ground level and above. There was a fireplace on the ground floor that I had sealed and covered with dry wall. My tenants occupy the ground floor and I the upper two levels. Early in this year, my tenant advised that they were hearing sounds behind the wall. Suspecting raccoons I called AAA Affordable wildlife which came up first on my Google search. I spoke to Blair who strongly felt that I was calling in good time as he had not had any reports of babies. He advised that if babies were there it would be more difficult and expensive for them to deal with the situation. He came to my house on March 17 and installed a one-way door on the chimney. The process is that the door is installed allowing the animal to exit and not return (that, he felt, would take about 7 days) after which the opening would be sealed permanently. This was great news as I was waiting to have a company restore the chimney. This would buy me the time I needed until that company could get the work done. He did not come 7 days after. Instead, he would randomly turn up at my house, knowing that the only way to get to the roof was through my unit. At those times I was not around. I had to finally ask him to set up a mutually convenient time so that he could ensure that I would be home. Early Good Friday morning (April 18, and a full month later!) I heard a commotion coming from the chimney. In addition, my tenant had started hearing noises again and his in-laws were there to attest to it. I sent Blair a text and he sent Lloyd right away. Lloyd came, climbed up on the roof and pounded away. Once he was done he said that he'd re-enforced the trap door. Again, they left the door on longer than the 7-day period. On May 14 I heard more noise so sent Blair a text again. I assumed it had to have been squirrels what with the fact that they said a raccoon could not get in. Blair sent Lloyd who assessed the situation after talking to both my tenant and I and said that it was indeed raccoons and now with babies as he could hear them behind the wall! At this point he started suggesting my options: 1. I could have them cut the wall and remove the babies but I would have to pay $50 and have the wall resealed, 2. they could hang a light or radio in to force the mother to remove the babies. I protested about having to pay a cent more as I felt that they were remiss in coming to make the permanent seal, thus allowing the mother to re-enter and have babies! He proceeded to blame me for not calling them after 7 days and for not being there when he randomly turned up at my house! The nerve! I called Blair who calmed the situation down and suggested the use of the lights. The lights were at another site, he advised, so he would return once he retrieved it. Lloyd returned on May 20 and installed the light. My tenants had immediate relief; not so me. The raccoons moved from the ground floor and were obviously able to find a space behind the wall on the second floor as I could now hear them! I sent Blair a text saying that I could hear a ruckus and it was localized in one spot. He replied that it must have been the mother moving out (so why was the noise localized?). Lloyd was back the next day. Though he attested to not being able to see right down the chimney as he felt it curved at one point, he felt confident that it was raccoon free, pulled out the light and sealed the chimney. While he was pulling the light, I heard the babies crying. He assured me that that was not so and felt it must have been the light casing that was grating against the wall as he pulled it out! Well it seems it was not as I heard more action in my chimney that very night and the mother was on my roof going crazy on the chimney. I sent Blair a text advising of this, requesting this time that he not send Lloyd but come himself as I felt this job needed a fresh brain. Realising that the light had worked, and what with Lloyd’s explanation of the curved chimney I suggested two lights: one in the upper level and one lower. He refused to come and still sent Lloyd who turned up at my door and after some discussion, concluded in no uncertain terms that I was crazy – and repeated it when I, in shock, asked for clarification! Without assessing the situation, he suggested that I was hearing metal moving with the wind in the chimney! I asked him to step off my property at this time. I called Blair and he immediately tried to weasel himself out of his contractual obligations. He suggested removing the seal and giving my money back. I was fine with that but told him that, in no uncertain terms, was Lloyd allowed on my property to effect the removal. I shared the same with Lloyd when he called, explaining that he was both disrespectful and unprofessional. Well Blair never returned, nor has he refunded my money. I called a couple other wildlife removal firms who refused to get involved and said I should insist that they come back and take the seal off as the babies would die behind the wall. I contacted the SPCA as the last thing I wanted was to have the odor from dead raccoons permeate my house! The SPCA was tardy in their response time. In the meantime, and after several nights of attacking my chimney, the mother returned with a vengeance and tore away their "permanent" seal and is now happily running around with the babies in my walls! [please see the update to this below. It seems that the seal held so the mother was indeed trapped in]. It’s a pity that I can’t post audio as I have evidence of this. I am also thankful that I have tenants who can testify to all of this! These guys are quacks. I am of the firm belief that, had they come and sealed before the mother had babies, the mother would have moved on to another site. In addition, I am concerned that their one-way doors (which the chimney repair man called flimsy) and permanent seal did not work!! These guys are in this for the money. I guess standard raccoon removal is a no-brainer but it was amazing to me how quickly Blair wanted to pull out of this once his quick and cheap fixes did not work. As I sit listening to the raccoons in my wall and texting my tenant as he too is hearing them, I still await my refund. Run for the hills!! In response to the company's response: 1. The OSPCA was called to get them to come and unseal the chimney. I had advised that that would be my next action per the attached text to Blair: Friday, May 23 @ 12:54: "So I have not heard from you about the opening of the chimney. If you (and not your employee who called me crazy and is thus banned from my property) are not on site by 10 am tomorrow I will be contacting the Ontario SPCA and the Toronto police service to report that you trapped baby raccoons in. They can then make the determination that your employee denied which is that the animals are indeed trapped inside. I am still expecting a full refund of monies paid. Thanks!" This was after a note on the previous day and a telephone call reflecting the same request. So as per my initial note, Lloyd was banned, no one else was! 2. Before he sealed the chimney and while he was pulling the light out, I informed Lloyd that I was hearing the animals crying. He denied that I was hearing what I was hearing. Please read my note! 3. The tenant indeed said he was hearing nothing once the light was inserted but I was! I live in a house with many floors. That is all in my note!! 4. This company loves to spin the "homeowner poisoning" thing! I ask this very important question: If the raccoons were poisoned on at least April 18 and could not crawl out, how come Lloyd confirmed that he could hear the babies behind the wall on May 14? that's some serious slow acting poison right there! 5. So it seems their seal worked. Two Sundays ago, a raccoon came through a duct on the ground floor, aka they were able to burst through the duct system! In addition to 4. above, we are now smelling a strong odour throughout the house. The company that came to do the extraction indicated that the roof was indeed sealed tight so the animals were indeed trapped in. Note that the "poisonous peanut butter" (rolling my eyes as I type!) did not kill them in two months but trapping did in three weeks! As I type someone is cutting into my walls to see if he can find where they died. 6. Most blatant point: Blair himself noted that he had to send someone out "several times" which, by the way was no favour to me but part of their warranty! I ask: If you're any good, even when dealing with allegedly weakened raccoons, why would you have to come so many times?!

In December of 2010, my roof started leaking – a most inopportune time as I was preparing to travel for Christmas, preparing cakes for a charity bake sale, trying to conquer a huge learning curve for a new job in a new discipline and all other things that regular life brings. I went on the Homestars site and started calling contractors that were highly rated. I was amazed at the unprofessionalism of some people who did not even return my calls but I got a few responses. In one instance, I made an appointment and while I was on my way to the property (about 10 minutes before the appointment) the person called to say that he just got a big job and could no longer do my job. Apparently, he had gone to the site and then realised this! I later learned that that term, in translation, means “I don’t want to do your job”. I also found out that because my house was in a row in the downtown core, most people did not want to touch it as the work involved in moving material etc was intense. My next appointment was a representative with a major renovation chain store centre. They turned up and quoted a huge amount of money which included all the frills of insurance and warranties and guarantees. My next appointment was with Terry. I was, of course, expecting another similar response from the first guy, assuming that the only reason the chain store rep turned up was because he had to! Terry turned up and I immediately ended my search. I will summarize the things that set Terry above all others, including other types of contractors that I’ve used: Timeliness: He got to the house before I did (I was five minutes late) and by the time I turned up, he commented on using a gauge of timeliness of arrival to measure the seriousness of the homeowner. I knew this was a serious person. Knowledge and thoroughness: He then climbed on the roof and, in great detail, explained several different options and gave me the potential price range of each. He also pointed out features on other non-emergency parts of the roof and made suggestions about timelines in which they should be done. I felt informed and, because of that, was comfortable with the decision I eventually made. Professionalism and reliability: I asked him about next steps. He assured me that he would get the job done within the next few days and that he did. It was a relief, especially with my timelines. Of course, as you imagine, I followed up with Terry again this year. I called him in August of this year to follow up on the aforementioned non-emergency parts of the roof. What I loved about Terry is that when he sent the quote, which I initially thought was high, he did not get defensive or aggressive when I called to question it as I find people tend to when their prices are questioned, but he actually took the time to explain the breakdown. I was fine with it. What I found very professional was that Terry was busy and did not try to make any promises he could not keep. There was one part of the roof that had been attacked by racoons so there was some degree of urgency. He was up front and honest about timelines, promising to fit me in once openings became available and, again, was able to pull through for me. In all of this, I preferred to wait until Terry was ready than even think about enlisting the services of anyone else. Terry is now my go to roof person and I will definitely recommend him to anyone I know that needs roof work.