After being so impressed by Pioneer Nursery on my first visit (http://homestars.com/reviews/87251?company_id=2641294), I returned to buy a strawberry plant and thyme. The staff (different from the last) were quick to help and go through the different types of strawberries. They always take the time to show you where each plant is and what the differences are. I absolutely love this place.
We are reclaiming a lawn gone wild. One of the plants I'd like to experiment with is Lavender, perhaps as a field plant. After not finding lavender plants in most nurseries, I went to Pioneer Nursery. The place has everything and at very reasonable rates. I looked everywhere for lavender and found a Sea Lavender. The woman at cash had known that I had been looking for lavender and upon seeing what I had picked up offered to scour the nursery to find the right plant. She found and brought back the last three plants and proceeded to share maintenance issues. When the owner, Alfred, also saw what plants I had, he continued to provide even more in depth advice. If you want to find unique plants and great expert service, Pioneer Nursery is for you!
We recently hired Stan - again. This time, he came to cut a door under our stairs, so that we could access the space for additional storage in our older home. Stan and his son, Mike, used the existing wainscotting to create a hidden door - that opens just with a little push. It's fabulous. And better yet, the gentlemen cleaned up after themselves, and I suspect the place was actually cleaner after they left. We're very happy with Stan's work and will hire him again.
We hired Rick to clear some overgrown acreage - with some 10 years of neglect. He takes care to explain the facets of land stewardship, what to expect and how to manage and maintain farm land and gardens. Rick provides excellent advice on gardening, and has been an invaluable resource to us in starting a garden and orchard from nothing.
Install of Washing Machine & Dryer
Eric and his apprentice installed a washing machine and dryer in a pantry under the stairs in our old farm house. We had been without since moving here, and given the cellar stairs and the lack of space elsewhere, housing the appliances had been a problem. Eric and Shane installed the plumbing into the closet and set up the machine - even finding a solution where we could vent the dryer into the basement during the winter to use the heat. They are hard workers and charge a fair rate. We would definitely recommend them.
Putting electrical outlets where there were none before.
We hired Kurt to install electrical outlets in our pantry for both the washer and dryer. There had been no outlets there before, and Kurt had to run the wires and everything up from the basement. He is a very thorough and conscientious worker, asking at ever step how we would like things to be done. We would definitely refer Kurt to others.
Repairing Joists, Cleaning Basement, Fixing Roof
OK, I'm making a lot of exceptions these days - but these craftsmen are just too great not to commend. Stan Bernard is a local (Spencerville) carpenter that can do just about any job, and he does it well. In the old school tradition of carpentry, Stan is a true master. To date he has fixed rotten joists in our basement, adding extra support as well, took out all the nails in our steel roof, adding screws instead - there really is little that Stan hasn't done to help us restore an 130-year old farm house. We are very happy with Stan's work and will continue to hire him wherever needed.
Custom Wood Hutch for the Kitchen
As a HomeStars team member I am usually pretty hesitant to post reviews, but for Garnet I must make an exception. Garnet Carmichael recently agreed to make a custom reproduction hutch to fit our old country kitchen. We had looked at prefab cupboards and another custom builder, but felt that both were too modern for the complicated 130-year old room we were trying to complete. Fortunately, we ran into Garnet and his wife Maureen at the Spencerville Fall Fair. Knowing that we were about to have an open house, Garnet made the hutch in less than three weeks and delivered it the day before, so that it would be here and ready for the party. Garnet was so great to work with in the design planning, asking what our plans were and drafting proposals. He even used the same accent paint we had used on other areas of the kitchen. The hutch looks so authentic and has already begun to transform our kitchen - of which all future plans have been charged to Garnet! We would definitely recommend Garnet to anyone looking for custom pieces.
Very nice of you to post this review . I admire the fact that you are restoring your old home . I too think that historic homes like yours deserve a second chance . You won't find a new home with nearly the character and warmth . Thank you very much for your post and I sincerely look forward to being a part of any future projects you might want from me.
Respectfully: Garnet
Furniture for Staging of Home Show Booth
Having been working with the team at the Gendron Antiques on the 20.4.20 Designer Day Marathon fundraiser, they offered to let us use some of their wonderful pieces at the Ottawa Home & Design Show. We opted to use one of Marc Gendron's own creations, a beautifully hand-crafted side table, as well as several blue decorative stars. These pieces helped bring a more comfortable and homey touch to our booth. As always, the Gendrons and their manager Kim, were fabulous to work with. I look forward to further cooperation with them all in the future.
Staging of Booth at Home & Design Show
We had Blu Dot Interiors stage our booth at the Ottawa Home & Design Show. From the beginning, Badr was extremely easy to work with, closely consulting with us as to what the function of our booth should be and incorporating our ideas of how to promote various things at the show. She helped make our first booth in Ottawa comfortable and inviting. I look forward to working with Badr again.
We needed the best we could find for a power of sale home inspection, and Mel Argun of Focus Home Inspections fit the bill. Having an architectural background, Mel is exceptionally thorough, knowledgeable and, perhaps more importantly, patient in walking clients through all of the intricacies of structures and whatnot. He even takes into account what your future plans for additions or changes might be, offering insights and advice.
In order for insurance to approve on a power of sale recently, we needed a WETT certification for what appeared to be an older wood burning stove. We engaged Victor Button of Fire Box Inspection Services to do the inspection. Victor was great; exceptionally thorough and patient in explaining to us wood-stove initiates what were the problems with the stove (that turned out to be high-end and ultra-efficient model, no less). He even cleaned it up a little so that it suddenly looked like the stove it actually is. We would definitely recommend Victor to others.
thanks for the nice comments . call me if you need any further assistance.
We recently purchased a 130-year old farm house as a power of sale without records on the well. As one of our conditions was a well and water inspection, we engaged Moe Rayes of Canadian Water Inspection Services to do a thorough investigation of what was in place. Ordinarily, most buyers, at best, just have the water tested - we really wanted to know what we were getting into before we finalised the purchase. And Moe was our man. He was extremely thorough and great at explaining everything from what was wrong with the pump and filtration system to how the well had been drilled and when. We definitely recommend Moe to anyone in need of water and well inspection.
