Greg in Toronto

I vetted several paving companies through HomeStars before settling on Woodbine Paving. Their quote was reasonable (unlike many who overprice their services). There are two owners, and you can expect at least one of them to be involved, supervising on the job site to ensure a quality job. Both owners and their staff are very friendly, and they did an A1 job.

We had 3 sets of windows replaced in Aug 2023, and were so pleased we decided to subsequently do a 4th set in Oct 2023. The salesman (Jimmy) was superb, friendly and patient in addressing our needs/questions. The chief installer (Chris) was also superb in addressing our questions and, in particular, ensuring a quality 1st installation, with which we were very pleased. The 2nd install was done by a different crew, who were equally friendly, but the trim was dirty/scuffed, and the caulking wasn't quite as professional. The owner (Tony) is very polite and truly cares about rectifying any problems however minor. He inspected the work and agreed that the window trim and side panels had not been adequately primed. We decided these were cosmetic issues that would be rectified once these areas are painted. He even offered to re-caulk the window (which we may take him up on once it cures). Overall, given that we vetted at least a dozen contractors before settling on Ambia for their reputation and highly competitive price, we are very pleased with their product and workmanship and would definitely highly recommend them.

We dealt with David (the owner/operator) and one of his assistants. They cleaned all of the gutters, and placed the debris in a large paper bag for our disposal. The owner captivates the meaning of what it is to be a gentleman... he is sincerely friendly and polite. He even agreed to inspect a few roof vents because we are concerned about rodents gaining access to the attic. Their prices are more competitive than most.

We researched multiple contractors on homestars and elsewhere, many of whom overcharge for what amounts to a high-profit margin item already. Michael's price was at the low end, and he has great reviews on homestars, so we went with him. And we are very glad that we did. He was very knowledgeable, and convinced us that we needed h-seals on both sides and bottom of the door. He also treated the inside of the glass door with a chemical shield (most places say you don't need this b/c the glass is already tempered, but it has nothing to do with strengthening the glass). Rather, the shield is vital to ensure the glass doesn't haze over time unless you are willing to clean it regularly with rain-x. Michael is a very nice man, and did an excellent job on the install, to ensure that the door fit perfectly plumb and snug. We plan to hire him again next year for another shower door install.

Jim from Stumpking is a 1-man operator of a powerful Toro stump grinder that will make clean, minced meat out of any stump, no matter the size or hardness of the wood. Jim is very friendly and reliable, and he charges fair prices. We had received multiple quotes to grind 2 small stumps (one of which was a very hard wood), and some of the arborists wanted anywhere from $450-$700 CAD, which is ridiculous. It would have cost at least $200 or so to rent and deliver a stump grinder that is nowhere as powerful as the machine Jim uses. Also, his machine leaves no mess because grindings are prevented from being dispersed in the air, making clean-up a breeze. He even assisted with packing some of the grindings into bags. Just go with Stumpking and call it a day!

Top Flight operates a single team consisting of the owner (Landrit) and 1 assistant. Hence they are better able to pay particular attention to details and to quality, unlike competitors that operate several teams. They were very knowledgeable and friendly, and had the most competitive (lowest) bid amongst half-a-dozen contractors bidding for identical work. They use proper "outlets" to join downspouts to eavestroughs (some contractors forgo them to cut corners), and even spray painted the outlets to colour-match the eaves. They use only preferred flat colours (black in our case). Was very pleased with their work and highly recommend them if you want to avoid getting unnecessarily price gouged by the competition.

We hired Norris based on a referral, but wish we had vetted them first on Homestars! Jason and his crew were super nice and did an A1 job. However, in hindsight, the co-owner Jon engaged in deceptive practices. Norris breached the contract by failing to inspect/rework sagging deck boards over the garage (which continue to cause the garages new roof to sag) and by failing to supply/install the new eaves/downspouts (causing 8-months undue delay, forcing us to hire someone else). They neglected to inform us about no-brainer upgrades to galvanized steel air vents and a drip edge that would have prevented costly damage due to squirrel attacks and offered better protection for the fascia/soffits against leaks. They refused to make warranty repairs for missing metal step flashing along a wall edge (they merely caulked the edge that doesnt meet code). We are suing them to recover all damages because they refused to cooperate or communicate further after rejecting our $325 settlement offer.

We needed a bathroom stink pipe relocated because it was right in the centre of a valley in the roof. No one wanted this messy, difficult job because it requires going into the attic. Caldwell took the job! They sent Dale, who was very friendly and knowledgeable. He did an A1 job, and carefully cutout the existing drywall in the bathroom so as to preserve the wallpaper. He also gave us some free advice about another plumbing issue. I would definitely hire Caldwell and request Dale again. We were very pleased!!!

Plumber (Peter) was very professional, knowledgeable, experienced and friendly. He did an A1 job in removing an old toilet and in installing the new one for $200 + tax. He did not charge extra to remove the old toilet (even though it could have been left behind for free disposal by the City of Toronto), and provided free advice so we could fix an AC/furnace drip line issue ourselves. Overall, we would highly recommend Tornado if you want the job done right!