Shirley Neuman

Ryan and his fellow worker did an excellent job cleaning my windows and skylight, inside and out. Special kudos to Ryan's fellow worker who cut back vines and did the outside work in miserable weather. My only caveat with Clearview is that the crews nearly always arrive later than they say the will: this crew was scheduled for 10-12:00 and arrived at 1:30. Ryan did call, twice, to say they'd be late.

Fuller was hired by my drapery designer to devise a solution to covering windows where the traditional solutions would not work: for a floor-to-ceiling window and two glass doors, both arched at the top, and both facing a public park. There was no room for pleated drapery, and the cord at the top of roman blinds would have been unsightly given the arches. Mike at Fuller Draperies went out of his week to find hardware that: 1) would allow me to raise roman blinds manually from floor level, thus avoiding a cord across the top; 2) would make it easy to remove the blinds for laundry/cleaning; 3) would have cords sturdy enough to withstand frequent lowering and raising by hand; and 4) could also be installed on the doors. The drapes are beautifully made, the hardware is elegant, and, best of all, Mike was engaged and excited by the challenges of the project (where others had told me 'it couldn't be done').

I am very satisfied with the work Arrow Renovations did for me. Chris and James are very professional, the work was well done, and, when a problem arose, they corrected it willingly and without argument. Chris stands by his estimates; extra charges are for what really is extra work. Both men are courteous and punctual; they do NOT disappear for days and weeks at a time as do so many renovators. Chris has a good network of sub-contractors (electrician, plumber, floor finisher, roofer, painters) who come when he needs him and share his professionalism and courtesy. When he had to sub-contract a cabinet-maker with whom he had not worked before, and the man turned out to do excellent work but proved a difficult person, Chris stood up for me with him. I lived in the house for all but three weeks of the work and I especially appreciated the care that Arrow took to protect furniture from dust and debris, to clean up every day, and, once the furnace vents had been cleaned, to ensure dust did not get into the venting system. I also especially appreciated the fact that James, who did much of the work, was a most courteous, soft-spoken and unobtrusive presence in the house; he made it endurable to live with someone working here for close to three months. Chris and James avoid all the behaviours that make one want to strangle contractors: they do NOT set their cell-phones to god-awful tunes, let them ring endlessly, and conduct long conversations on them in one's home; they do NOT smoke near the house; they do NOT play their radios in the house. In short, I wish I had discovered these two brothers years ago. To give you an idea of the work they did: In the basement they partially dry-walled the laundry room, built a 20+ foot bookcase, replaced flooring, and partially renovated a small bath; on the main floor they refinished the floors and partially enclosed a staircase; upstairs they took down two walls and built one, built in a closet, installed doors, built in a skylight and four transoms over doors, and contracts for 21 feet of closets and drawers. They painted all three floors of the house. They also did outside repairs to window frames and brick and painted. This was all fine work.