Ellen Davidson from Pickering

We moved to Hamilton recently and bought a turn-of-the-last-century duplex in the Durand. Being over a hundred years old, we weren't surprised to find asbestos. In our case it was the heating pipes for both units in the basement ... miles of them, it seemed. I got busy with Homestars on a Friday, looking for someone who knew what they were doing to help us. I contacted a few companies but it was Manny who offered to come that weekend to evaluate the situation. He could have tried to take advantage of our relative ignorance, although we'd read up on asbestos, but he immediately outlined all the options once he was here. His recommendation was not the most expensive one; our asbestos wrapping was in remarkably good shape so unless we were planning to finish our very unfinished basement, he felt treating any slightly broken or abrased parts would be more than satisfactory. We checked a couple more companies but remained most impressed with Manny. His crew came 3 days after we agreed to go ahead (by the way, no deposit) with hazmat suits and respirators, and tarped and covered everything in the basement. They were here on time both days and once finished, did a great job cleaning up. In fact, the basement was cleaner when they finished than it had been when they arrived! A few days later, a foundation expert was in our basement and commented it was the best job he'd seen. We are more than happy with Manny and his crew and recommend GreenStream wholeheartedly. We can't fault Manny or his company in any way ... perfect!!

Just before the really cold weather hit, a couple of battallions of bats invaded both the attic and basement of our old Edwardian duplex in Hamilton. Dodging them while sorting laundry wasn't as much fun as it sounds. Being new to Hamilton, we only had Homestars to rely on but since it worked so well for us in Toronto, we looked to it again for this problem. That's how we found PPC Services and its owner, Jim Petty, and associate Chris. They came first thing the next day and we set up a mutually agreeable time to stage the attack. Within hours, we were bat-free up and down, plus wired internally so that no more bat refugees could make it into our shelter. The next day, they took on the house's exterior at our request ... wiring and caulking any space (and there were many) that might give entry and that might not have been visible from the inside. Chris and Jim found a few entrances that squirrels had been using as well and wired them up too. None of this was easy; the outside of our house is uncomfortably high. I would certainly recommend Jim and PPC Services highly. They were quick, expert, and very efficient. From batty to batless in 2 days, and with a great guarantee for a no-charge and immediate visit to remedy anything they might have missed ... what more could we want?!

About 6 years ago, we bought a house in midtown Toronto where there was already a brand-new, beautiful, and beautifully functional, Binns kitchen installed. It was certainly one of the big selling features for us. Recently, we had a little problem with the piston in one of the bifold cupboard doors. We were perfectly willing to pay for a replacement but I wasn't all that hopeful that Binns would be helpful, given the time lapse and the fact that we were not their original client. Call me cynical but experience has often shown that companies and their follow-up customer service policies can be pretty limp, especially when there's no real money in the pot. Lo and behold, Patrick Farrell, Project Manager for Binns, was right on the ball. Not only did he track down the piston, he delivered it to our door. There was no fee for the piston or the courier service. It's such a simple problem that we assured Patrick we could install it ourselves, otherwise I'm sure he'd have arranged that for us too. What a great company and what a great employee!