Kathy in Bloor West Village

For some reason, my house had no porch light and it was difficult to find the key hole in the dark. I wanted a porch light and an outlet so I could also have Christmas lights or vacuum my car in the driveway. I called several electricians and I was impressed with Burton Electric because they understood what I needed and didn't try and sell me something I didn't want or need. They gave me a detailed quote and I also liked that I was getting a certificate from the ESA for the work being done. I heard that it was a good idea to get a certificate from Holmes Makes it Right. Burton was the only one to offer it. The work was done on time and efficiently and at a reasonable cost. The only thing that I didn't anticipate and no one could, was the kind of insulation I had inside the wall in my foyer that had to be drilled and Burton had to make a long gash in the wall that I needed repaired afterwards, but we didn't know until a hole was initially made. I would use them again because they're licensed and they know what they're doing.

I found this company through Kijijideals and have learned my lesson. Do not buy home improvement or maintenance services through group deal sites! Realize did not come on the day and time that we had arranged beforehand and then they claimed that they did and that they did the work! I called them several times to discuss why they didn't show up when they were supposed to and for proof that they did the work. They never returned my calls. I was home the whole time and my neighbour was fixing his porch roof so we would have noticed if someone went up on my roof to clean my chimney! I am tempted to go to the media about this company and to give consumers a warning that they should not buy services through Kijijideals or other such sites. Kijijideals refunded the $39 I paid and that's the only good thing I can say about this experience. Stay away from Realize Home Improvement because they just take your money and then don't do the work!

I had an issue with rain runoff at the back of my house. Whenever there was a heavy rain, the water would overflow at a corner and come down like a waterfall. This caused damage to my deck. I made sure that my eavestroughs were cleaned twice a year. I called Master Metal Men and Italo came promptly and assessed the situation well. His crew installed a bigger eavestrough and downspout, fixed the slope of the eavestrough and installed a deflector at the corner. There have been several heavy rains since the work was done and I'm happy to say that the problem has been fixed! I also appreciated that Italo could fit in this work after another job which meant that I didn't have to wait long for the work to be done.

I have been dealing with Downtown Gas for several years now to have my furnace cleaned and serviced. They are polite, prompt and clean. They do a great job for a competitive price. I also appreciate their advice. They really have their clients' comfort and well-being at heart without being pushy. They recommended that I replace my old dried out humidifier attached to my furnace with another. I had been noticing that my daughter's allergies had been getting worse and my eyes felt dry and we had static. They put in a new humidifier at a great price and we are much more comfortable now. The product is a great improvement over the cheap humidifiers you can buy yourself which easily break or dry out.

I took advantage of a recent group deal for Weed Man's services. I have a packyard the size of a postage stamp and I had so many dandelions. I would pull them up by the roots with my Fiskars weed tool, but they still kept coming back. Weed Man came once to treat the grass. They followed up with a call. I wouldn't have even known that they came had it not been for the little sign they left on my front yard saying they had put on a chemical treatment. I was told that the dandelions should have turned black and shrivelled up. They were still green. Weed Man came back and treated them again. They died and didn't grow back right away, but they do still grow back. Weed Man is relentless in trying to get people to sign up for a program for the whole season, but for a lawn my size, it's too expensive.

White Shark advertises itself as a window cleaning company when in fact it is only a glass cleaning company. A window is more than just the glass pane. When you buy a window, you don't just get handed the glass. A window is made up of other components and when you ask for window cleaning, it goes without saying that you would like the entire window cleaned - sill, frame, all of it. White Shark doesn't do this. They also just show up after you request a job without settling on an appointment date and time with you. When I pointed this out to the first crew that showed up out of the blue, they told me that the owner doesn't even have to be home when they come. Well the owner should be home because they don't do a good job. As already mentioned, they only cleaned the glass and even that was done with only a squeagy that kept being dipped in the same dirty water over and over again. I won't be calling them again or referring my friends and neighbours.