Daniel Ford from Ajax

I needed some specialized storage to keep some occasional seating, pool equipment and bikes, and I also wanted something that was suitably stylish as it would also serve as a privacy barrier adjacent to my pool. I didn't want a traditional large shed as that would overwhelm the space. I started to look around and found Bin Solutions. They have some unique storage solutions which were perfect for my intended application and I requisitioned 2 extra large bins in black with a custom horizontal design which reminded me of a mid-century modern approach. Zion at Bin Solutions was highly responsive and worked with me to come up with what was needed and made several excellent suggestions along the way once he understood the intended use. Zion also ensured that the Bins were produced in a very timely fashion notwithstanding the challenging COVID-19 environment and the installation was perfectly executed by Kal and his team. Overall I had an excellent experience with Bin Solutions and can very much recommend this outfit to those folks who are looking for some out of the box storage options.

I needed to have a large cedar pergola replaced which was adjacent to my pool area and home (i.e., a tight space) and also served to support a custom outdoor canopy and drapes. The pergola was constructed upon custom stone piers, with embedded electrical and lighting, so any new pergola had to account for those elements. I had heard positive things about Franmac Construction through word of mouth and did my research on Homestars to confirm that their performance reliability was excellent. I obtained an estimate from Franmac which was very competitive and Frank from Franmac suggested improvements to the Pergola replacement which would enhance longevity. The key critical factor was that the new pergola had to be exactly the same in dimension as the old pergola or the custom canopy and drape hardware would not function. Frank and his team did not disappoint. Not only did they build a beautiful cedar pergola replacement which accommodated the canopy hardware perfectly, Frank employed more substantial framing timbers which added to the stability and longevity of the new pergola structure. They also did the job very quickly which allowed my family and I to enjoy our pool area that much sooner. In summary, Frank and his team at Franmac Construction did an outstanding job, and we would not hesitate to hire them again.

We had 4 bathrooms renovated by The Home Improvement People. These were high end and significant renovations and while one might normally default to one of those expensive turn-key design and renovations studios for this nature of renovation, having seen the excellent reviews posted for the HIP here on Homestars we decided to give them a try. Ben responded to my initial request for a quote within a day and came out the house a couple of days after that to walk us through the estimate, with practical renovation ideas and suggestions. The quote by the HIP was far and away superior to two other quotes we received and we decided to proceed with them. Gerhard, Nucu, Alex and the rest of the team showed up on the agreed start date and worked continuously with complete dedication and professionalsim until the job was done. Change orders were dealt with in a responsible and professional manner and the quality of the work was absolutely "top drawer". We couldn't be more pleased. We had previously had our kitchen renovated a number of years ago by one of the well known turn-key design/renovation studios in our area and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that anyone considering a high-end renovation should not think twice about hiring The Home Improvement People, as you will save yourself tens of thousands of dollars. You do have to do more of your own legwork in choosing tiles, countertops and bathroom fixtures (and those hard costs are in addition to the costs under the HIP contract) but, quite frankly, my experience has been that you end up doing that work anyways with the fancy design/renovations studios and pay a significant mark-up to boot! The HIP folks made excellent recommendations on where we could source those materials and gave us the benefit of their contractors discount, saving us more money. Each one of the 4 bathrooms we renovated was done a first class standard and our master ensuite is to a standard which is as good as any five star/five diamond hotel that we have been in. So I would say, if you are prepared to do a bit of your own leg work (which is not much more than you would do with the turn-key outfits) and you want to save a ton of money and receive an excellent product in the end, don't be hesitant to try The Home Improvement People. They are every bit as good as the well known turn-key design and renovation studios, at a far better price!

On the recommendation of a friend, we retained Torwin Industries to provide 3 sets of new Terrace Doors and 2 custom wood entry doors. The Terrace Doors were aluminum clad on the exterior and wood on the interior with each set being 67 inches by 96 inches, with glass centres and decorative mullions at the top and bronze Baldwin hardware, including large flush mounted bolts at the top and bottom of each fixed door. The custom wood entry doors were a main entry door of 42 inches with beveled glass side-lites (70" X 96" total ) and a side entry 36 inch door (36" X 80" total). Both doors were entirely custom in every respect and made from 2 1/4 inch African Mahogany with Baldwin hardware. The Terrace Doors were sourced from Golden Windows and Doors out of Kitchener and the Entry Doors were made by custom millwright/carpenter, Brad Gilker. Our sales person at Torwin was Rob Lawson and he was assisted by Nick Figliano and Cassi Crevier. From start to finish, our entire experience was nothing but professional and the products supplied were of the highest quality. Torwin and Brad went out of their way to ensure that we were satisfied in every respect and in every detail. We sought other quotes for the work but Torwin was, by far, the most competitive compared to traditional suppliers of comparable products (i.e., Pella and Anderson) and the pre and post delivery service was prompt and reliable. We would not hesitate to recommend Torwin to anyone needing custom entry or terrace doors and our doors are now the envy of the neighbourhood.

We called Control Appliance based upon the excellent HomeStars reviews we had seen. We had a Beverage Air BB72 Bar Fridge that needed repair, so not your run of the mill project. We called for an appointment late in the afternoon and Joe came out first thing the following day. He diagnosed the issue right away, made the repairs (including some improvements to ensure the problem didn't happen again) and charged up our system and had it running after a couple of hours work. Everything that has been said about Joe on this site is absolutely true! He was pleasant, knowledgeable and you simply knew that this was a professional that you could trust. We would not hesitate to recommend Joe and Control Appliance to anyone who needs an appliance repair.

We contacted Inline Fiberglass to obtain a quote to replace all of the windows in our fairly large home (7,000 square feet) as they were of wood construction and were rotting and moldy. After having done a fair amount of research, we came to a conclusion that fiberglass windows presented the best performance and longevity characteristics and Inline, being one of the better known suppliers in the GTA, we called them for a quote on a "full frame replacement" basis. Dmitry came out to provide the quote and it became apparent that he was very knowledgeable and had a number of helpful suggestions. The quote came back and was very competitive over a couple of other quotes we had received, as we had expected that these windows (being superior to wood, vinyl and aluminum) would be very expensive. We signed with Inline and Dmitry stayed on top of the project throughout to ensure that all elements of production were completed and that our desired installation timeline was maintained. Installation was done by Mike and Tony, who are true craftsman in their trade, and they worked tirelessly in less than ideal weather conditions to get the job done, while being respectful of our home and a real pleasure to deal with, and the whole job was completed in 1 week! From start to finish our experience with Inline was nothing but professional and the product itself is truly excellent. We would not hesitate in recommending Inline Fiberglass to family, neighbours and friends and, indeed, have already done so.

We had Durham Doors install 3 high end Richards-Wilcox Garage Doors and 3 high-end Liftmaster garage door openers at our home in Ajax. In a few words, they did a fantastic job, from ensuring the product was exactly as ordered, to installation, to the completion of hardware and trim finishing. They were reliable, trustworthy, responsive and practical to deal with, and we found their pricing to be competitive. We would not hesitate to recommend Durham Doors to any of our friends and neighbours. We were very pleased.