Shane (Leslieville)

As part of major basement reno, I needed to move furnace. It's a big job, involving a lot of duct work. I got Steve's (the owner of TBM) name from another contractor and met with him to get estimate. His crew arrived early on the agreed on date and began work. There was a glitch in the placement of the furnace that I didn't notice until the end of the day. To correct it would mean a whole day's work to be redone. I anticipated a battle (or at least, an attempt to 'pad' the bill to make up for the additional labour). When Steve showed up the next day, he told the crew that it had to be corrected. They moved trunk and I enlarged furnace room - a compromise that I was fine with. No additional charge; no arguments. The project grew (I added a gas furnace, for example, and they added gas line for new water heater) and additional costs always seemed reasonable. I've referred the company to a neighbour and they are as pleased with the service as I am. I'll be keeping the contact info for furnace and A/C maintenance in the future. Steve is relaxed (to say the least) about record-keeping but I was glad to not have someone who was constantly trying to 'upsell' services. A straight-up, honest guy. The crew (Eric, Goran and another guy whose name I've forgotten) were always good at explaining process and trying to accommodate my wants.

Shay's company (Shaype) was recommended to me by my real estate agent after an (unsuccessful) effort to sell my house. Like many home-owners, I felt my house was in top-notch shape and did not need to be staged in order to attract prospective purchasers. Like many homeowners, I was wrong. After taking the house off the market for several months, we decided to list again, but this time I accepted my agent's advice and hired a stager with whom he had worked in the past. When Shay walked through the house, she quickly determined that I had gone overboard in my attempts to declutter, resulting in a sterile and unappealing atmosphere. She drew up a plan for each room of the home and was always conscious of the fact that I was not anxious to remove my furniture and replace it with rental items. She has a very pragmatic nature and combined a fairly small number of rented items with many small items from her own collection of decorative objects and created a much warmer and more inviting feeling throughout the house. She was able to use lighting and some screens and cleverly-hung fabric to create a comfortable "man-cave" in a very utilitarian basement. As an (unexpected) extra, Shay rolled up her sleeves and helped dust, polish and scrub certain areas that had previously been overlooked. Her enthusiasm for this type of work is infectious and I really enjoyed the time she spent in my home. The house sold for well above asking during the first open house and I truly believe that the interest and positive comments from prospective buyers and their agents was at least partly due to Shay's work. I was rather ambivalent about the idea of hiring a stager, but I won't hesitate to enlist her services when my new home needs to be looked at with a fresh pair of eyes.

My second time with this company. Lowes sold me the solid countertop (LG Hi-Macs) and contract the installation to Uniform. Both installations were flawless. In each case, the installer made a perfect template and explained options for dealing with imperfections in cabinetry or other issues to be dealt with. In each installation, the final product was installed quickly and the various counter pieces all fit the spaces "like a glove". It's a pleasure to watch craftsmen who can work quickly and confidently. Installation company is HIGHLY recommended as is the product made by LG. I should also mention that the product was exactly as paid for; installers arrived on time and cleaned up every speck of dirt.

I recently purchased a house with high-end window coverings that vary in age. Just before former owner moved out, the cord broke on a large (3' by 5') Silhouette blind. The owner of the house took the blind to the retailer and was told it could not be repaired; she would have to buy new blinds for that room. I decided to shop around to find a company who would try to repair it. Most calls ended with similar response: this type of double fan-fold blind can't be repaired. The owner of ArtVenetian told me he could do it and quoted a price that sounded very reasonable. When I picked up the blind, he said it was one of the more difficult blinds he had ever worked on, but he got the job done in the time promised and honored the price quoted. Great service; but at time of writing, he doesn't accept Interac or credit cards, so make sure to arrive with cash!

I recently moved (house to house) in Toronto using Tome Cartage & Moving. I've never had particularly bad luck with movers, but have read some horror stories, so I read plenty of on-line reviews and spoke to many friends/co-workers before booking my mover. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. The crew showed up exactly on time and after a walk-about with the crew leader, they set to work. Large items, including 2 heavy oak armoires, were manoevred down a narrow staircase with confidence. The truck was fully loaded in not much more than 2 hours. At the new property, I asked the crew to move existing appliances from the upper floor to the basement. Again, they were happy to oblige and got the job done quickly. I was disapppointed to learn that the narrow winding staircase at the new house meant that the queen box springs couldn't be taken upstairs. I asked about getting them through a 2nd floor window. The crew leader did some measuring, discovered that if casement window was removed, it would be possible to manoevre a box spring through the opening. I borrowed ladders from neighbours, and they got the rest done. Amazing attitude and ingenuity! After about 4 hours, 15 minutes, move was complete. I think I was paying by the hour, but watching the way these 3 guys worked without taking a break (even at my request) made me think it was a flat rate job. Bottom line for me: I paid much less than any other company who gave me a quote and the final bill came in at less than what the company owner had estimated! Not one scratch; not one broken item. I've been raving about this crew to everyone I know at work; to my real estate agent and to anyone who'll listen. Highly, highly recommended!

This countertop was actually ordered through Lowes Canada. The fabricator/installer was Surfacing Solutions located in Brampton. The contact person (Bob) arrived (as promised) at exactly 7am to do measurements. He gave plenty of unhurried advice. I required an installation date when I had a day off. Exactly as planned, the installers showed up. Installation as quick; kitchen was left cleaner than before the installers arrived. The product (LG-Hi-Macs solid surface) is beautiful. I'll certainly recommend to friends that they try to get Surfacing Solutions to make the countertop if they purchase through a major building-box store.

I bought a small quantity of oak plank flooring to match existing floor. I brought with me a (stained) sample of old floor. Salesperson told me which wood to buy. I bought that, installed it, resanded entire floor and then stained. The new floor didn't match the old floor. It turns out I needed red oak and was given white oak. I brought back samples of newly stained pieces of both old and new floor. I was hoping to receive new floor and was resigned to doing the job all over again. When I explained to (manager?/owner?) what had happened, she immediately arranged for an installer to come to my home in downtown Toronto and rip out the new floor and reinstall the proper kind of wood. Work was completed within several days. Needless to say, the 2nd installation was done better than the first and I didn't mind that I had to resand and stain. I actually felt bad that I had bought only a small amount of material from this company but I will surely remember this kind of customer care when I am renovating my next house!

First warning signal: I received a call at work (30 km from home) saying that the flat roof was entirely stripped and that unless I paid installer to replace the subroof, they were going to walk away from the job 'immediately'. Shoddy work caused aluminum downspouts to fall off house, exposing fact that the connection to gutter was punched with a screwdriver instead of being but out properly. Membrane on flat roof went part way up the curb of skylight resulting in leaks/damage to interior ceiling. Skylights were not sealed when reinstalled, simply ped there and installer used roofing nails in place of the heavy-duty wood screws that originally held it in place. While trying to drive roofing nails, he whacked aluminum frame, breaking a section of it off. Installer refused to accept any responsibility and will not even return calls. Avoid this company.