Peter Lee in Toronto

We hired a contractor to install our island range hood, on the recommendation of my in-laws. The decision was made for expediency. The result was a disaster worthy of a Holmes on Homes episode. Our kitchen and exterior wall was left in shambles. The ductwork was faulty, with air leaking at all the joints (which were misshapen or poorly connected). Joints were sealed with duct-tape! The duct was held by makeshift strapping-an excess length of electrical wire, screwed through to the joists at both ends! The vent on the exterior wall was adhered to 2" of spray foam - no fasteners used, no caulking applied. Bricks were broken and left to fall into a heap on our garden hose below. Drywall dust covered our kitchen. Fortunately, we found Laith on the recommendation of "chinnie". Laith was responsive and reassuring throughout the whole process, always keeping us up-to-date with his schedule. He repaired the mess with exterior vent-choosing a low profile vent with colour to match the brick. The duct work was clean, properly strapped and sealed with foil tape. Laith returned after the ceiling was repaired and completed the installation of the range hood. Excellent job, fair price and responsive throughout the process.

We were looking to install an island range hood in our kitchen. Noel Samson, the owner of Semi-tek met with us and told us that he could help. The job involved the installation of the range hood with 6" round ductwork, across 6' between ceiling joist and vent to the exterior brick wall. The work turned out to be a complete disaster - i.e. it would make for an ideal episode for Holmes on Homes. When Noel left, the dimmer switch on the wall and the electrical circuit in our bedroom was dead. The ducting was shoddy - at the bottom of the elbow duct, the elbow was clearly dented at the lip. With the range hood on, air would be exhausted between the joists. The 6' length of duct was held up by half-stripped electrical wire, screwed into the joists. The hole in the exterior wall was crudely drilled, leaving brick fragments on our garden hose below. The exterior vent was not even properly installed. 2" of spray foam was used as an adhesive and the vent was "stuck" on the foam. I took apart the range hood because I couldn't trust the installation. Found loose screws between the canopy and the flue. The angle mounting brackets were installed with half the fasteners required. Each bracket was mounted on to one instead of the two required mounting locations. Four extension brackets were missing. Only one set of brackets was mounted on the top holes of the range hood. All the non-ducted parts were also missing. It's fine that we don't need them, but the least he could have done was to ask us for permission to take them. All debris and garbage that wasn't left just laying around was stuffed into the range hood box. No debris was cleared. Absolutely outrageous - I'm not sure how he could be in business. If he didn't know what he was doing, he should have told us. Even his electrical work is suspect.

We first met Geoff Aucoin in 2009. Being naive new home-owners back then, we called Geoff to get a quote on replacing our old deck before realizing we had so much other work to do on the house. A new roof, a new boiler, basement water-proofing, chimney replacement and drive-way re-paving later - it was finally seeing carpenter bees and ants destroying what was left of our tired 20+ year deck that pushed us to replace it. During our correspondence in 2009, Geoff was always helpful and never pushy. He followed up by e-mail a couple of times over the next two years. When we were ready to replace our deck, Geoff was the first person that we had in mind. His professionalism, courtesy, know-how, honesty had left such an impression on us that even 5+ years and experiences with 1/2 dozen contractors later, we thought of him first when we were looking to replace the deck. And 6 months after the completion of the deck, we know that we made the right decision to have signed with Geoff. It was a great experience from start to finish. Geoff walked us through the planning process, working through iterations of the design. He pointed out to us which ideas would require an application for variance from the City, provided multiple options for materials, set everything up on the quotes as options. He was patient and helpful throughout the process. We decided on a composite deck with cedar trim. The professionalism and courtesy of Hickory Dickory Decks was outstanding - not just Geoff, but it was evident with every one of the entire team: Ibrahim, the lead, and his crew, Kosal and Sheldon. These guys are not just good at what they do, they are good people. The entire build took about 4 weeks from taking down the old deck to completing the final trim. The completed deck is absolutely beautiful. Ibrahim showed great attention to detail, and accommodated our modifications to the design of the steps as we went along. We could see what we were paying for in the workmanship and materials. The workmanship is evident in the substructure to each joint to the hanging of the door to the final sanding. The material quality is visible in the deck boards to the lights to the trim even down to the post caps and fasteners. During the build, my neighbour's tree fell over and covered the newly laid substructure of our deck (thankfully no damage). It also destroyed our fence. It was looking like its best days were behind it already and we had really wanted to replace it despite our neighbour's reluctance. Well, the fallen tree sure helped my neighbour to give the go-ahead on the project. And HDD did a fantastic job building us a solid fence with 6x6 posts and deck boards for the fence screen! I am 200+ lbs and could hang off the completed fence without any noticeable give. During the ice storm in December, another neighbour's tree branch fell on the fence. The fence still looks great (except for one cracked post cap). HDD is not for those who are looking for the cheapest price, although they are very accommodating with options to match a realistic budget. But if quality work and solid materials matter to you, it's tough to beat Geoff and Ibrahim and their team.

Found some efflorescence on inside basement side wall spring of 2010 and called Collen from BFR to do an assessment. We decided to have a 13' section of the wall waterproofed for $3500. On June 14, BFR dug down, sealed the wall and backfilled w/i the day. On June 27, we had heavy rains and water seeped into our basement, leaving us w/ about an inch of water to clean up. The efflorescence was bad, but this was a nightmare. Turns out that the dig had just created a new path for water to enter the cinder block foundation (probably from underneath), even though it was freshly sealed. I had asked for weeping tile installation b/c we live in an old house. Turns out that there was no weeping tile, and BFR backfilled after sealing. They returned in late July to do a warranty repair. Dug up the same area and checked the sealing, which seemed OK. They decided that we would need a weeping tile installation. We scheduled their recommended plumber to work on a drain connection which cost $2600. In addition, the front of the house needed waterproofing and to complete the weeping tile system around the house - this was an additional $4500. We ended up spending over $10K that summer to waterproof the house. I expected the job to be done right the first time b/c they are a Holmes on Homes contractor. And I did expect them to call me the first time when they dug down and found no weeping tile. But, I would recommend them b/c of their responsiveness. Everyone prefers work to be done right the first time - but one thing I did appreciate is how BFR followed up w/ the warranty dig and came back until the problem was fixed. In the 2 years since, we have had no further water issues.

There's a reason why this company has so many favourable reviews. They really do live by their motto, delivering what they promise, and then some. I live in a semi: my neighbour and I needed to have our 40+ year old chimney rebuilt and some tuckpointing completed on the exterior walls. We agreed to A&A after finding them via Homestars. A&A Masonry has been a pleasure to work with - right from the initial estimate with Pierre, to having the guys (Joe and James) on-site performing the repair, to dealing with Andy for the contract and payment. Pierre has always been reachable and responsive - I haven't even had to use his voicemail - the guy seems to pick up his phone any time of the day. Joe and James are a fantastic crew. These guys are true professionals: knowledgeable and excellent at their trade, thorough in their work, communicate well, courteous to the neighbours. After tearing down the chimney to the roofline, they found 8 courses below the roof that needed replacing. Not something we expected, but they took and sent us pictures to show us the problem. They picked out a nice, solid red clay brick to match the house and built separate chambers for our chimney flues (which were not done on the previous repair). The cleaned the roof after the rebuild, and tarped up the chimney every night until the flashing was fastened and sealed. They wire-brushed a terrible DIY repair job on the side wall done with cement by the previous owner, and did a proper job tuckpointing and repairing the window sills around the house. A great experience overall - I would recommend these guys for any future work. In fact, I recommended them to my in-laws who just signed a contract w/ them.

An employee from Spring Masters Canada was just making his rounds w/ his aerating machine in our neighbourhood (Mt. Pleasant & Eglinton in Toronto). We had him aerate our lawn this past May (2010). Work was completed in under 30 minutes. I was OK with the work, but found out from neighbours that he charged them less.

We bought our house in May 2008 and the boiler was on its last legs. Our home inspector had suggested that we replace the boiler. We found out about Aire One through my in-laws who just had their A/C and furnace replaced. We were walked through our options and available government incentives, finding the right fit of price point and efficiency level. We had our boiler replaced by Aire One in March 2009. The installation and cleanup job were great - wouldn't have known that someone had been in the house save for a hole cut in the bulkhead in the basement. (This was done to provide clearance for the exhaust duct.) The Lennox boiler works great and the installation looks clean - we've noticed the difference on our gas bill since.

Andre is honest and hardworking. He spent an hour cleaning out the mud, shingles, nails and other debris left behind by my roofer, Better Contracting Services. This was a job that should have been completed by BCS as per the clean-up portion of the contract but neglected. After cleaning out the eaves and downspout, Andre made sure that any debris that had fallen around the property was also cleaned up.

If there is one contractor that has tarnished Mike Holmes' reputation for me, it's Better Contracting Services. The only thing that this company does "Better" is taking your money and never being accountable for it. I have withheld my comments for almost a year now, patiently waiting for BCS to turn it around, but they have only disappointed each time. I signed a contract with Murray Collins on October 16, 2009. Work did not start as promised, but was delayed until the week before Christmas. The crew left a mess on the property, with shingles and a glove hanging out of the front gutter. I called Murray and someone returned to half-heartedly do a cleanup. I spent a weekend in the spring sweeping and picking up roofing nails. With the storms this past summer, I noticed water overflowing from the eaves on the S/W corner of the house. Called Murray in July, with no response. Called multiple times again in mid-August including his cellphone, and finally got a hold of him. He seemed surprised that nobody and addressed it and said it would be taken care of - mentioned that Sue would schedule the work. Still no response for two more weeks. Called and left messages but no one returned my call. Drove to BCS office on Sept 3, 2010 - spoke and shook hands with Jan (co-owner) and Mike Graves. Both seemed genuinely upset and appalled that no one had addressed my issue yet. "We can't do anything about the storms we've been getting, but we can certainly give our customers a better response." I believed them. I gave them my contact info as they promised that they would send someone out and have Sue schedule the work. Still nothing. I called an eavestrough contractor to come by for an estimate b/c I couldn't wait for BCS anymore - they found that the downspout was clogged full of shingles and debris from the crew last year. Meanwhile, my neighbour's backyard has been flooded with the overflow from the eaves and his lawn destroyed. I chose BCS b/c of Mike Holmes and I have come to regret it. If you are reading this review, please save yourself the grief and choose another roofer. BCS has received an overwhelming amount of business b/c of Mike Holmes, but they have failed to adapt - they neither have the resources nor management skills to properly run their business. There is a good reason why the Better Business Bureau gives them an "F" rating: http://www.bbb.org/kitchener/business-reviews/gutters-and-downspouts/better-contracting-services-in-york-on-1038717. You might luck out and have no problems with them - but if you ever do, you won't be able to count on them to come back. Don't take that chance, it's NOT WORTH IT!! It cost me $4000 to find out, you don't need to make the same mistake and pay for it.