Houseproud in Mississauga

This company can be hit and miss because the staff changes all the time. However in the Spring of 2011 Nunzio and his crew was asked to paint the outside of my house. He had a very detailed breakdown of where the costs were and he was very professional. Although the price was right, after that it kinda went down hill. Some of his workers had to be fired during my project for tardiness and lack of ability. But where they fell down Nunzio picked up the slack. He had been a painter for several years before becoming a sight manager and then franchisee so he knew what he was doing. Considering that it was one of the first jobs for his crew I think they were still working out the kinks. The job did come in on time and looked very good. The house looked transformed and I think that helped with the subsequent sale of it.

I LOVE this place! Upstairs they have hundreds of rugs from Persia, Morroco, India, Pakistan, South America and other exotic places. Downstairs they have hardwood, ceramic, vinyl and cork flooring. I originally wanted ceramic tiles for my kitchen; but they were cold on the feet and unforgiving for people who drop things. So, Julio recommended this fabulous Vinyl flooring that has the look and even the texture of ceramic, but it is warm and a fraction of the price. The expert installer from Pollock's came over to our house and did a fantastic job that finished the kitchen perfectly. The lesson - this ain't your mother's vinyl floor.

I went to Canac because their quality was above IKEA and their price was below most competitors. The quality of the cabinets was quite good. I asked for granite counter tops and was sent to a supplier to choose my own large slab, which I was very pleased with. The reason I only gave them a 3/5 and would hesitate to recommend them to my mother was because of the installer they sent. 'Todd' was new to the industry and my older house had a few 'irregularities' (not quite 45 degree corners, not quite perfectly straight floors) which he did not seem to be able to compensate for. The result was that when the granite cutter came he indicated that the boxes were not quite level and the ones by the sink would have to be removed and put back in properly. Instead 'Todd' used shims to try to level them. Without asking me, the granite installer then CUT the stone in order to avoid it cracking later - this not only broke my heart it left a big line through what had been a solid piece of granite. It was my first kitchen reno and it had already taken quite a bit of time with nowhere to cook but the barbeque, so I let it go. Now that it is done I do enjoy the kitchen very much - but my eye is always drawn to the cut line!

Handyman Connection has a central number that you call when you need things done around the house. I called them for Crown Molding because my husband did not have the tools or the inclination to do the job. The fellow they sent was prompt and polite; he brought a huge circular saw to do the angles and set up in my backyard to minimize mess. He got the living room/dining room done in an afternoon, including the caulking along the bottom edge and on the corner seams and then he cleaned up after himself. The result was seamless and all we had to do was paint. It added a contemporary elegance to the rooms and added value.