cocoa Woodbine & Danforth

Biny just knocked at my door; I had been worrying about maple trees growing in my eaves, so we agreed on a price and he started. I was impressed that he has a ladder with safety wings for my 2 storey house. I also agreed to have windows and screens cleaned. What a difference -- crystal clean windows, and very clear screens. The eaves were very full and some were challenging to access, but he did very well for both my house and separate garage. Minor roof and eaves repairs were also well done, as was cleanup. My understanding is that he prefers to work in the East End.

Mark Spencer from DMS is an electrical contractor and Master Electrician. He does quality, efficient work and deals well with Hydro and local governments at getting permits. He follows up quickly with email questions and is prompt and courteous. Last fall, Hurricane Sandy hit my house. A huge tree limb pulled down the hydro line and everything in its way. Thankfully, only my garden and electrical stack were wrecked. I tried three different electrical contractors to fix the temporary stack placed after the storm. It was clear that they weren't interested -- this job requires a permit and cooperation with Toronto Hydro -- and it was a small job. Thankfully, a friend recommended DMS. I would happily recommend Mark and his company to anyone needing electrical or network contracting.

After the big downpours in the summer of 2012, It was clear that I needed to cover the door to my basement with a canopy. At first, I was going to go with an aluminum canopy to match the ones over my back windows. However, when Rusco looked at my house, they suggested a clear canopy because it would have to cover two windows in a shady side of the house. The clear canopy is absolutely lovely and goes well with my Edwardian clapboard house. The light still shines through my dining room window and the south window in my kitchen. The canopy's clear material is a polycarbonite and did very well in the fairly heavy rain the day after it was installed. Rusco's front office is very nice to deal with -- I am hard to get during business hours and this was not a problem. My canopy was installed very well with an excellent clean up.

My low slope kitchen roof was leaking every time there was a rain with an East Wind. I like their assessment process. They sent me pictures of what was wrong with the kitchen roof and the dormer roof. When I OK'd it, I had them put insulation in. I got pictures of that too. This is the second time I have used this company and I would recommend them to anyone. Sue

There was an expensive part in an old boiler that was acting up again. I knew I wanted a High Efficiency boiler AND if I kept the old water heater I would have to later the chimney and get a new chimney liner. I decided on a Navien Combi boiler / water heater and Ontario Energy Source. Things took some tweaking. Some of my pipe work is from before 1930. There were 3 service calls -- no charge at my convenience. They come weekends and evenings. The best thing of all is my gas bill. I am paying 1/2 what what it was last year!

I got mad at Rogers and got an antenna. Some of my buddies laughed but I get better HD than cable. V & E installed the unit well and safely. We've had some storms and no troubles. My only wish is better service afterwards with minor problems.

The store is fairly new; we missed the old Home Hardware that burned down at Woodbine and Danforth. The people at the new one are very helpful. I have bought plumbing fixtures there, painting supplies and everyday hardware. My only complaint is that I wished it was bigger with more decor items.

My front porch used to be a rotting eyesore; now it is a very important outdoor room and I love spending time there. I used to never spend any time there, but with the new extended porch roof and the floor and steps built from scratch, my west side is shaded. He is a stickler for paint and primes and preps everything right.

My boiler furnace stopped working and I called Sal-Air because they were recommended here and nearby. Well. They did the repair -- with, I was told, a 300% markup on the part -- but instead of giving me an estimate for work that needed to be done OR recommending a new furnace, they red tagged my furnace. This means that after I paid them $750, I had 45 days to take care of MORE repairs or my gas would be turned off. I hired the firm that takes care of the furnaces where I work. I could have had a bit of time, some courtesy and some options. Red tagging because I had hot water registers in the basement is not good customer service. For Heaven's sake, don't get these guys near your hot water furnace.

I found out about G & G and its December teacher sale. They aren't kidding, there were great deals here. They are very heavily into SONY and don't have all that much of other brands, but they really know their products. Because Sony HD TV's are so well rated, this would be a good place to start. They install too. My sister and my buddy bought stuff too and were very happy.

My brother has wanted a new bed, so I got him what he wanted. At Sears Clearance, you have to watch for sales to get the best price, BUT 30 to 40% off of 30 to 40% really adds up. I was able to get everything -- head and footboards, rails, mattress, boxspring, sheets and quilts for about $600. I watched the sales since September to look for the deals. Try flyerland.ca for the Sears Clearance Markham outlet weekly flyers.

I purchased a blender during the Christmas season. With all the Christmas stuff, once it worked a few times, I tossed the box and the receipt. Who has room, eh? Two weeks ago, the bottom section fused to the glass part and I couldn't get it off. When I brought it to the store, neither could the Customer Service clerk, so she gave me a new one. I like the way that customer satisfaction is a priority.

This company does what it says. It shows up when it should, the estimate is very close to the finished cost and their different trades know their stuff. I also contracted Avonlea for a complete bathroom reno in my other house 5 yars ago and they were great.

In November, my dormer window started leaking so much that we needed 5 buckets everytime it rained. I called other companies (including Alpine, who said that I needed to get the 8 year old shingles on the north side of the house replaced. That was unnecessary, would not have fixed the problem and would have cost me $5000!) Gable Roofing did explain that they were swamped with work and bad weather, but would get to my dormer as soon as they could. In mid-December, in the middle of a snowstorm, Gable sent a very able man to start fixing my dormer. It took a couple of days and needed new wood and new siding, but it now looks great from the street and it is water tight. My bill was within $50 of the estimate. All of the staff that I dealt with were friendly and courteous. I would recommend Gable Roofing to anyone.