Cara Yarzab from East York

We keep inviting Mike and Chris of Emerald City Design into our home for a few reasons: - they do good work and they do it themselves (very few subcontractors) - we trust them; we don't feel they need to be 'watched' - we like them; they are great guys with great ideas - they always tidy up! - they are polite and thoughtful. (When I was on mat leave they would bring me coffee!) So more about our projects. Front porch reno: We had a front porch that was enclosed, but not winterized. It had no permanent front door and the windows were screen. It was enclosed, but useless. Chris and Mike designed a functional front porch for us. It is now insulated, it has electrical and heating, it has an enclosed closet, new windows and doors and they created some functional storage items out of IKEA furniture. They helped with everything from design to colour choice and did everything themselves except electrical. (They used a great licensed electrician). Kitchen and backporch: This was the most disruptive of the jobs and during the reno they had a great idea. They would set up a temporary sink in our dining room to make our lives easier. We really appreciated it. We gutted the entire kitchen. We even reinforced floor joists. Chris and Mike had great ideas on how to maximize space and our budget. We used IKEA cabinets and they did the layout. They recommended where to get good deals on appliances and countertops. There were things we thought we wanted (like removing a chimney), but when we looked at the return on the additional cost we decided not to. Mike and Chris were able to help us through that decision and come up with a solution that works. Reno hit a bit of a snag when my husband discovered some asbestos, but Mike and Chris were cool, calm and collected. Did it take longer than expected? A little bit - but all delays were explainable (and often outside of the control of the guys) and I never felt that we were being put off. Did we go over budget? A little bit, but it was either because we spent more on materials than they had recommended, or we added an additional component that created more work/labour for them. It was all stuff we were willing to pay for. Two years later and the kitchen still looks great! We've also had Chris and Mike do additional projects for us: replacing old plumbing runs, insulating our attic, attaching our TV to the wall and installing speakers, 'customizing' IKEA built ins. Mike and Chris are professional and courteous and have great ideas. Keep in mind that they aren't a big firm so it may take them some time to get back to you. They sometimes run late at other jobs or finishing your job, but that is the nature of opening up and renovating old houses. When they are on your project you may not see them at 9am every morning, but know that they are working for you. (They are usually out and about on supply runs or getting permits. Perhaps they are out quoting another job, but they need to acquire new customers, and I didn't find they did it that often.) The quality of their work is excellent and we really enjoy working with Mike and Chris. We plan to use them again for a basement reno and some other projects. They know us, our family and our house really well. We would highly recommend them to our friends and family. (And we have!)