Stephanie W.

Following several bad wind storms, my daughter’s townhouse had 3 missing shingles. She called a long list of companies to get them replaced, but it’s been a busy summer for roofers and nobody wanted a small repair job. Several people promised to fix the missing shingles, but then they didn’t show up. One person even came by and met with her, looked over the roof and then told her to go buy a bundle of shingles before he came back to fix them. He said he needed to get his tall ladder, but he never came back and finally stopped returning her texts. While she was out-of-town, I stayed at her place and found Construction Works on another website. Matt was quick to respond. After so many no-shows, I was not sure the job would actually get done -- after all, my daughter lives in Hamilton and this company is located in Niagara Falls --- but Matt was true to his word and showed up the very next day. He quickly and cheerfully replaced the missing shingles, and walked around the whole roof to check for any other problems and was assured me that it was good. (Both my daughter aned I appreciated that!) Matt was personable, efficient, and affordable. My daughter and I were happy that her roof was finally fixed – and without us having to make countless phone calls and texts and waiting for no-show contractors -- it was so easy! What a relief. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this company.

If you’re looking for a kitchen renovation, I’d advise you to look elsewhere. By the time my renovation was "finished", there were 1/4-inch gaps in the mitred baseboard seams; visible marks on the painted walls; and crumbled tile grout. The pull-outs beneath the kitchen sink banged against the cupboard doors below. After complaining again and again (and being told I was "fussy"), the baseboards and paint have been fixed and the pull-outs mostly fixed, but my kitchen still has a chip on one door, a crack in the crown moulding and crumbling grout in the tile floor. Here's what went down: To begin with, the kitchen designer, Asif, drew up a good design. He listened when I wanted changes to suit my lifestyle. He answered my questions and helped me choose materials. Strike one: To address the cold floor, the contractor suggested that I get spray foam insulation installed using a company he knew. He arranged the job, and recommended that I vacate my home while the insulation off-gassed. During that time, he lost my house-key. He called a locksmith and, unbeknownst to me, kept a key for his crew, too. When that contractor went on vacation, his sons continued to work. They used "their" key to let themselves in my house each morning --- long after I had returned to stay home again (and had told them so). They would not even ring the doorbell. I knew that they would be arriving each day, but it was still unsettling to have them just unlock the door and walk in. One afternoon, after they'd left for the day, I went upstairs to change my clothes. I was standing in the loft with no pants on, when I heard the key turn in the door lock downstairs, and one of the contractors called out, "It's just me! I left my coat! I'll lock the door behind me!" The next morning, I asked for "their" key. Strike two: The contractors heated their lunches in my not-yet-installed microwave. The first day it was installed over my stove, I had the pleasure of cleaning out the dried-up spatters from their lunches. Still, at the end of the day, I can overlook a few issues if the work is done well. Unfortunately this wasn't the case. The seams of the crown molding looked "rubbed" or "worn", which they tried to cover with a waxy touch-up marker, but it showed; the gaps in the mitered baseboards were 1/4-inch wide - filled with caulking (but that doesn't work to fill such large gaps); the light rail was chipped and poorly patched; and the undersink pull-outs fell and chipped the cupboard door below. Twice I expressed my disappointment to the contractor. The first time, he responded that "some people are fussier than others"; then he said that if I were going to expect a better job, I should have "paid more like $40,000". (He later apologized via text.) That was strike three. Apology aside, neither of those responses to a customer complaint is acceptable. I do not accept the blame for someone else's poor workmanship. The contractor returned a few times to correct badly mitred baseboards and to touch up paint. It looked terrible, with brush marks on the walls and baseboard paint spilling onto the wall. After I forwarded a draft of this review to the Home Hardware kitchen designer, the store owner met with me and the designer, and they sent out someone to fix the crumbled grout and poor paint job. They adjusted the under-sink pull-outs. I will say that the one thing the contractors did well was tile backsplash: it looks great. The electrician's work was also excellent, and the installers for the granite countertop were good. I'm also happy with the fixtures - nice countertop, good floor tile, decent cupboards - but upon completion, much of the workmanship was sorely inadequate. But it's still not finished. When someone came to change the scratched cupboard handles, he chipped the cupboard door. Now the crown molding is cracking at the seam. The grout in the floor tile is crumbling again. These are little things, but it's been 9 months and I still have to call and complain or they won't get fixed. I hired another contractor to renovate my bathroom and didn't have any such problems. He even used the left-over grout from the kitchen job to tile the bathroom floor, and it's not crumbling the way the kitchen grout does. I would NOT recommend the Appleby Home Hardware in Burlington for a renovation project, particularly a kitchen.

I had two quotes for replacing my aging hydronic heating system and hot water tank. I wanted a “normal” heating system, but it seemed like such an onerous thing – getting quotes, researching brands and units – that I procrastinated a bit. The first company I called sent someone to my home with a brochure in hand, having already chosen a furnace for me. He put together a quote right away. I didn’t really feel like I had enough information. The second one, Craig Newhouse, came to my home, looked around, and spoke to me before deciding which furnace would suit my home and my needs. He told me why he would choose that system, and gave me lots of information about it. Both systems were brand name furnaces, but Craig’s quote was more than $1,000 lower than the first guy, and having read so many positive reviews, this was a no-brainer. A week after I gave Craig the go-ahead, his crew installed my new system. Al and Mike were friendly, courteous, and efficient. They introduced themselves when they arrived, laid out rubber mats to protect my floors, and answered all my questions. They took away all signs of the old system, leaving my home clean and in order. (I didn’t even have to sweep up after them!) My new furnace and hot water tank are running well, and I’m happy. I wouldn’t think twice before recommending Craig and Four Season Comfort to friends and family.

I've had a lot of contractors in and out of my home over the years, so I appreciate the good ones. First off, sales: Alisha was very helpful with my flooring decisions and I appreciated her advice. She came to my home to measure and brought flooring samples so I could see the colours where they would "live". Once the sale was done, I had two crews from Alexanian in my home: one for the main floor hardwood; another for the upstairs carpet. The wood floor crew: Huseyin introduced himself and then got to work. I stayed out of their way, but I believe there were two or three women on the crew. This was clearly a subcontracted job. They did not greet me or introduce themselves, but simply set up a speaker and began to play loud music before getting to work. My first complaint about the hardwood installation is that they left the doors wide open all day. This meant that every fly and moth in the neighbourhood flew in. I worked in my office upstairs while they worked downstairs, and sometime around mid-day, I realized that the music and hammering noise had stopped. I went down the stairs to find the house empty, my garage door wide open to the street, my back patio sliding doors wide open (screen door too), and my front door open. The contractor's van was gone as well, so I presumed they had gone for lunch. They hadn't let me know they were leaving. I was upstairs -- while all my doors were open, anyone could have wandered in and helped themselves to whatever was in my home and I would have just assumed that any sounds were coming from the flooring crew. With my garage door open, anyone might have come in and gone through my tools and supplies without my knowledge. I closed all the doors, but again, the flies, bees and moths had already made themselves at home. Otherwise, the installation went okay. Not great, but just okay. There is a new large chip in one half-wall near the garage, and I hear "popping" sounds when I walk over certain areas, so my engineered wood feels more like a laminate. There was a gouge in one board, and Huseyin came back to "fix" it, but he simply coloured it with a black marker (borrowed from me) and it looked pretty bad. When I said that the "repair" wasn't right, he became annoyed and said that my floor was going to get marks on it and that I should learn to live with it. I asked to have the board replaced but later change my mind, as I was concerned that his repair might look worse than the gouge. The hardwood crew gets 1.5/5 stars. Now, the carpet: A week after the wood floor, Zephara and another man came to install the carpet. Zephara introduced himself and looked at the plywood staircase that I had stripped, sanded and painted white (I had hoped to have a runner down the centre), and he kindly asked why I'd changed the work order to have the stairs fully carpeted. I showed him the problems that were not fixable with a sander and paint, and he agreed that, while painted stairs and a runner would have looked nice, it wasn't going to work for my situation. (I appreciated the validation!) He asked me to show him the area being carpeted and then cheerfully told me to "go and relax". Zephara and another man (I didn't catch his name) were pleasant and respectful towards my home. They were very courteous. The second man carried the leftover carpet to my garage, and I propped open the door - he closed it when he was finished. (Little things make a difference). We chatted a bit as Zephara worked on my stairs, and a few hours later, they had finished my carpet. It looks really great. (They even vacuumed up all the carpet bits!) Zephara pointed out the (nearly invisible) seams in the doorways and advised me not to drag furniture across them. I felt like they respected that this is my home and they did careful work. This carpet crew gets 4.5/5 stars.

I bought a re-sale end-unit townhouse with a long-neglected yard and gardens, and it turned out to be a bit more than I can look after myself. Thank goodness somebody recommended that I call Brad from Blooms & Blizzards. In the past several weeks alone, Brad has removed an old hedge, taken away some ugly patio stones, cut down stumps, and more. He’s even replaced a rotting deck skirt. He’s also cleaned up the lawn, edged the gardens and mowed the grass. Now I don’t know what I would do without Brad. He’s a hard worker and a problem-solver who goes “above and beyond” to get the job done. When I need help, I know I can call on Brad. I’m slowly figuring out what I want to do with my new yard, and bit by bit, it’s looking coming back to life, all thanks to Brad. The icing on the cake is that Brad cleans up and takes away the debris, whether it’s tree stumps, dead hedges or leaves. I’m always happy when Brad has been working in my yard!

Having bought and sold many homes across the country and in the U.S., I’ve never witnessed such a thorough home inspection as that performed by Pat Auriol. I’ve now witnessed two of Pat’s home inspections --- mine and my daughters --- and saw firsthand how focused, detail-oriented and knowledgeable he is in his work. Pat takes all the time needed to fully inspect the home. His inspection report is detailed, clear and concise. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Pat to anyone who is buying a home.

I hired Green & Spotless several months ago to clean and repair the grout in my shower. They did a great job. They were careful and clean while working in my home, and once they’d finished, my shower looked renewed. So I asked them to come back to clean and seal the tile grout in my hallway, kitchen and dining room – a huge, ugly job. Before, the grout was dark and broken up in places, but after Alec and Devon worked on it, it looks amazing: clean, bright and light. The missing grout has been fixed. The colour looks great. What an improvement. The overall effect is that the house looks “updated”. Again, Alec and Devon were careful (putting “booties” over their feet to keep from tracking in mud or snow) and efficient. It feels good to know that my floor are clean and looking better. I plan to get them to come back to clean my basement carpet.

On April 14th, I ordered a knife and a peeler from Linda, paid cash and then, for the next eight weeks I waited for my products to arrive. Finally, on June 8th, I sent Linda an e-mail inquiring about my order and received her response indicating that my order had been lost. Linda asked me to give her my address so that she could send my order to me “ASAP”. She also wrote “I have your order here at my house.” I immediately sent her my mailing address, but by June 16th, I had still not received my order nor had Linda responded to my e-mail. So I e-mailed her again. This time, Linda wrote that my order had been “sorted out”, that the order would ship from head office and that I should receive it in “1-2 weeks”. 1-2 weeks?!? I e-mailed Linda that I was disappointed. After waiting so long and e-mailing her three times, it seemed that “ASAP” and “I have your order here at my house” were not exactly accurate --- apparently my order hadn’t been placed until after she had received my THIRD e-mail. Linda’s response to my disappointment? She wrote: “Too bad you waited so long to look into it!” That quote is copied and pasted from her e-mail to me. Yep, she lost the order and delayed getting back to me, but she was actually putting it on MY shoulders. All the quotes are her words --- I have all this saved in my e-mail inbox. I finally received my order on June 21st – nearly 10 weeks after I placed and paid for it. My recommendation? If you want to buy Cutco products and would like to receive them in a timely fashion without having to chase the sales rep (and getting blamed for her errors), then I would contact the company directly and tell them you’d like to deal with some other representative.

Following a bad experience with another window company, I noticed that several of my neighbours had bought their windows from our local Home Hardware store, so I gave Phil McAllen a call and ordered a new glass sliding door for my kitchen walk-out. It was a good decision. Phil answered all my questions and helped me. In the end, I got a solid product for a reasonable price with an easy installation. I was so pleased that, a few weeks later, I ordered another glass sliding door for my basement walk-out (as did two of my neighbours). Our new patio doors look good and are noticeably more weather-proof. We are all more than satisfied and are now looking at ordering more new windows. I don't hesitate to recommend Phil McAllen and Aurora Home Hardware to friends and family who want new windows and doors.

I had a number of plumbing leaks upstairs and about a third of the ceiling in my living/dining room was totally messed up. It was truly a wreck. There were also a few smaller scrapes across the room. "Les" from Mr. Stucco showed up, covered everything with plastic and tarps and proceeded to do an amazing job fixing it. By the time Les was finished, the ceiling literally looked like new. I am SO pleased with the results! (And it cost less than I expected) Les cleaned up, so there wasn't any mess left behind and now my ceiling looks fresh, white and perfect. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mr. Stucco to my neighbours and friends.

I had three windows that were showing their age. One would no longer open and the mechanism could not be repaired. The others were rattly and old. My neighbour had seen Moncada Windows at the Home Show and was impressed. He ordered his windows from them, so I did the same. There was a delay in getting the windows installed, but when they finally arrived, the workers were fast and neat. I am happy with the results. My windows look nice and perform well. The room is cooler in summer and warmer in winter. UPDATE AUG 2012: I had previously been happy with the three windows and installation from this company a few years ago, so I recently ordered three more. This time did not go so well. While the installers seemed efficient and personable, after they left, I discovered large gouges that had been badly filled with rough caulking in the interior window frames. It looks terrible! On one side of my living room window interior frame, there is a 2.5-inch gouge in the wood that has been inadequately filled with caulk. The nails had not been countersunk and the wood edge is crooked. UPDATE (Sep 2012): After seeing my post here on HomeStars, I was contacted by Anthony, who came to survey the window. He then sent someone to fix the sloppy work, but overall, I am still not satisfied. Both Anthony and the man who came to fix the problem blamed it on the type of window I bought. This is not acceptable. At no point prior to installation was I told that my “new” window would end up looking like a bad repair and that I should be paying for something else.

For five years, I have had Aquabon visit and service my Reverse Osmosis system once a year. The technician is friendly and competent. He checks and replaces the filters, replaces the membrane when necessary (only once) and repaired a valve and a drain when it was leaking. It's handy to have a local company take care of my system.

I've owned a number of homes in the area and have used Aurora Overhead Door for each one. I have purchased a new door, a new opener and had keypad entries installed. I also called this company when my cable broke one morning, and the technician came by in less than an hour to help me get my car out safely so I could make it to work. While I was at work, the cable was fixed for a reasonable price. I would recommend this company to anyone needing a new garage door, opener, keypad or even just a repair.

My house is full of appliances and furniture from Sears Canada --- refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, microwave, washing machine, dryer, hot water tank, central vac, canister vacuum, sofa, chair and footstool. But when Sears Canada’s outsourced delivery people set down my new Kenmore stove and cracked my tile kitchen floor, they denied doing so and claimed my floor was faulty. It is plain to see. Out of 500 floor tiles, only two tiles --- right in front of the new stove --- are cracked, yet the delivery company claims that the damage is due to “flexing of the subfloor”. Two contractors who have come to look at the floor laughed when I told them the delivery company blamed the floor for the damage. Once the “risk management” company hired by Sears Canada learned what replacement of the floor would cost, it quickly accepted the delivery company’s assessment without sending out an agent to look at the damage. I’ve since learned that similar events have happened to others. I will never buy another piece of furniture or appliance from Sears Canada and I show my damaged floor to family and friends so that they can be warned as well.