Cedarvale / Humewood

We used Dan's team at True North to underpin our midtown Toronto basement (roughly 600sf). They had done our next door neighbour's house several years back and have worked quite a bit with my contractor who is finishing the basement. We went down to a full finished height of 8' (from 6'2") and replaced our old steel beam. We had two very large bulky support posts which were replaced with a smaller one given the stronger beam that was installed. Included in our work was radiant heating, a sump pump and a sewage ejector. Our cold storage room was not dug out but they did waterproof it and break up / pour a new floor. From the initial consultation/estimate stage to the final walkthrough, all the staff at True North were phenomenal. Dan was very patient to answer my many questions and help me understand all facets of the project. All the guys on the crew were excellent with Fernando leading the charge on our job. Very hard-working, friendly and polite. They showed up on time each day. I got accustomed to hearing the side door open each morning as I was preparing breakfast. The project manager, John, was quick to respond to anything that needed follow up. The project stayed very close to the estimated cost. The additional costs were reasonable and were related to some unplanned work like moving my water meter to a new location and replacing the lead pipe coming into the house. Also, there were some increases in the cost of the steel beam from the time of the quote in November to the start of the job in July. They started the work at the expected time AND finished on the time. We were dreading the work because my wife and I both work from home and we thought the jackhammering would be unbearable. Surprisingly we got accustomed to the noise pretty quickly and thanks to technology, the microphone on my computer didn't pick up that noise so it wasn't an issue for virtual meetings. At the end of each day, the crew cleaned up the basement (put all their tools away) and made the driveway as clean as possible (within reason). I lost track but I think we likely filled ~8 large bins with dirt. They took care to make sure the bin was well positioned so we could still have access to our walkway while not encroaching on my neighbour's side of the driveway. The crew takes pride in their work and completing a quality job was important to them. When they laid down the rigid insulation, I went downstairs with a 6' level and couldn't find a single spot on the floor which wasn't perfectly level. Overall we were extremely happy with Dan's team at True North Underpinning. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a truly professional, reputable and trustworthy company with excellent staff.

I found Jay Tech through recommendations in a local facebook group. We recently had Jason come to our house to look at a couple of broken fixtures (pot lights). He showed up when he said he would, which counts for a lot in my book. He replaced both of the lights and while he was here, I asked if he could install several new dimmers to accommodate a switch to LED bulbs which he did...and he provided all the new bulbs which saved me a trip to the store. Based on my calculation of the product cost and Jason making a couple of trips since he needed to order parts, I thought the cost of his service was quite fair. Would definitely call Jason again for any future electrical work he have.

We had a clogged drain in our shower. I had tried to snake it myself without much luck. Once I gave up and called ExpressRooter, they came the same day and had it cleared in less than 10 minutes. Good, quick service and reasonably priced.

We had a damaged clay pipe causing sewage backup in our basement. Aquamaster prompty came and did the work the next day. Cut up a small section of driveway, dug down, replaced the pipe and were gone within 5 hours. The two crew were hard-working. It was a costly repair, but typical of this type of work - fair pricing. Only complaint was the gravel has dropped a few more inches than I would have expected so I'm not sure if the dirt was tamped down as much as it could have been.

This will be the third consecutive year we have contracted Monster Plowing’s services. Our plowing situation is a difficult one – there are five houses backing onto a large U-shaped common area connected to a laneway from the main road. Monster Plowing takes care of the laneway and the large open area. Since there are many cars parked in the area, Monster Plowing needs to be cognizant of safely plowing around the vehicles and moving the snow to an area that allows full mobility for cars to get in and out of the space. We’ve been very pleased with the service for the past two years and understand that Mikhail will be improving services with GPS tracking this season. We appreciate the flat-rate pricing since we don’t have to worry about unexpected costs if we have a heavy snowfall winter (especially since we have multiple people sharing the cost). Prices have been very reasonable and we’ve been fortunate to take advantage of early bird pricing offered each year. We fully expect to continue utilizing the services of Monster Plowing and would recommend them to others requiring snow removal services on either a small or large scale.

Ductless Air Conditioning --- We first used Rob at Walltek in 2006 when we were looking to add ductless a/c to our older midtown home on the 2nd floor and in the 3rd floor attic. Rob was very knowledgeable and helpful during the entire process. We had already received several quotes from other local companies - Rob's advice on placement, size of unit, etc... was consistent with the other good quality companies and far superior to some other sub-standard companies. The work his crew did was excellent and they left the worksite tidy inside and outside. Pricing was excellent, clear and fair. Gas Boiler --- This past winter, we returned from vacation in January to find our natural gas boiled had broken down. Walltek didn't service our brand of boiler so we went with another company and they were unable to fix the problem despite numerous visits. Eventually we decided to replace the old unit with a high efficiency unit (the block heaters, wood fires and stress with a 6 month old at home were too much to deal with). At this point, we called Walltek and a few other companies for quotes. Rob's price was the best for a Viesmann Vitodens unit. There were some issues with the unit in terms of adjustments to be made and it being slight out of tolerance from the factory. Rob came back to the house on several occasions and did everything possible to help fix the issues. We were even more impressed at this point with his level of personal service and care. He goes out of his way to stand behind his product and his company.

Roger and Lillian were so fantastic! We had a custom bed, 2 night stands and an entertainment centre made and the craftsmanship and service were outstanding. The price was cheaper than other places but the quality was much better. Both pieces were finished ahead of schedule and we were able to examine them before selecting the final stain. Roger arranged to have the units delivered to us on short notice. The movers were extremely courteous, careful and offered to help set up our existing mattress and the stereo components in the entertainment centre. Overall a smooth transaction with an exceptional finished product coupled with terrific service. We would highly recommend UC Chair and we plan to use them again in the near future for a dining room set!

We hired Bravehart to undertake our kitchen renovation after assessing several general contractors. The job entailed a complete demolition of the existing kitchen/breakfast area, framing, sprayfoam insulation, drywall, painting, flooring (heated), electrical, new windows and doors, siding on the exterior of the addition and backsplash. We moved out of the house but would visit daily to check on how the job was coming along. We were pleased with the progress and Bill ensured that his crew stuck to the pre-determined schedule. The only delay was related to a door/window supplier delivering a day late (outside of Bravehart's control). In fact, we were very happy the work was completed a few days before the kitchen cabinet company was scheduled to install. I should mention they were ahead of the original schedule despite us adding a few smaller projects as we went along. We are in an older 1920's house and after the ceiling was completed, we noticed that the movement from walking on the second floor caused the floor joists to move, which in turn created some damage to the ceiling's drywall. Bill immediately took down that portion of the ceiling and reinforced the joists at no charge. The crew was courteous and clean. One of his crew named Tom was often at the house and he was very knowledgeable and great at answering any questions I had. Bill is a great resource for anyone looking to renovate as he listens and comes up with the most efficient and effective solution. He is straight to the point and let's us know if its possible and if it makes sense. Overall, the experience with Bravehart was very positive and we plan to contact them for future renovations and have already referred them to friends.

We had quotes from several companies prior to meeting Simply Closets. Our friends recommended them to us. Daniel arrived at our house on time for the quote, gave some good ideas on design and delivered a quote significantly lower than the others. Furthermore, his wall-unit allowed us to have custom measurements rather than compromise with standard measurements. He gave us an accurate date for installation, confirmed beforehand, arrived on time and quickly completed the project. We were extremely pleased with the quality of the product, the reliability of Daniel and would certainly recommend Simply Closets to other people (and we have).