Carole in Bloor West Village

Sam (Saeed) has done many different jobs for us - big and small. Everything from installing pot lights to waterproofing and sanding our decks, building shelves, laying carpeting, finding and repairing a leaking pipe in the wall, putting up artwork, installing drywall and smoothing out the joints and bumps from work badly done by others, and a multitude of other tasks. Sam really pays attention to detail -- his work is careful and meticulous, and he does everything possible to avoid mess.

Kris and Pete painted all of the dark wood trim in our home white. This was a bigger job than I realized because once trim is painted white all sorts of gaps show up -- all of which they caulked so well the wood now looks fantastic. They quickly painted two rooms without a drip and even touched up some extra areas without charge -- just so things would look good. They plastered our old lumpy ceiling that now looks pristine. These guys know what they're doing -- and they're great guys who were a pleasure to have around the house.

You never saw such a bunch of hard working young people who worked non stop in the heat to transform the garden I'd written off into a vision of order and tidiness. Judith's advice on what needed to be done, for example on transplanting instead of purchasing new plants, was inspired.

We needed to have 3 locks replaced quickly after a break-in and Jorege was very responsive. He made great suggestions so we could feel safer quickly and at a reasonable price.

Rob completely gutted our 75 year old bathroom and built a completely new one with infinite skill and patience. Some components were delivered late, one was not the right size and one was defective (none of this was in any way Robbie's fault) but he stayed cheerful and saw the job through right to the end. Robbie had really creative solutions to the little challenges that come up when you're putting an ultra-modern 21st century bathroom into a small space that was built in the '30's. We now have a gorgeous bathroom that belongs in a magazine. Robbie did some additional painting in the house afterwards and I can say that he is the cleanest (drip and splatter free) painter I've ever seen. We plan on hiring Robbie to do more work as soon as we're able. I'll mention also that he was a delight to have around the house with his great attitude and we had no qualms whatsoever in giving him the run of the house whether or not we were around.

Today I went in to Taps with the serious intention of purchasing everything for a complete new bathroom other than the tiles (which I would get next door at CIOT, where they were great!). After waiting about 20 minutes for someone to become available to serve me, the guy obviously could not be bothered selling me anything. I asked if they had any 23 inch vanities. "I don't think so. No. I don't think so." OK. How about bathtubs that are 60x32? "That's this one" (he says pointing to one that is 60x34). OK. Still, I persevered. Then I wanted to know what different components of Grohe valves, etc., I should get to go with the shower head I had chosen. No matter what I asked, the salesman kept saying "Well, that's going to cost you more money." So, how much? He never did answer my questions about what components are needed and complementary and he never did tell me the price of anything. He obviously couldn't be bothered calculating it and seemed to have decided that as a customer I was not worth the effort. I went back to my office and made an appointment to go back to Ginger's to order what I need from there instead.

We walked in to Yarrabee on December 12, 2007 to see what was on offer and ordered a Ceasarstone kitchen countertop on the spot. It was installed on December 17 and 20 -- yes, before Christmas!!! -- and the only reason the whole thing wasn't done on the 17th was that we weren't finished building the peninsula part of the counter would go on. Unbelievably fantastic service from Jessica Bolton and Kevin Benoit as well as the measuring and installation crew. The installation guys could have made some small adjustments to make the counter completely level but, really, in an old house there's only so much you can do. They even took the time to consider and vote on which faucet we should install. Highly recommend.

Matt was great! He was creative, conscientious, hard working and totally honest. We wanted to open up the wall and build a peninsula between our kitchen and dining room and update our kitchen but wanted to do some of the work ourselves to save money. Matt was willing to work with us to make this happen. He had great and practical ideas for the crazy challenges that come up when you are trying to update an older home (and are buying faucets etc. off eBay) and he was incredibly patient when we would change our minds about something. With Matt's guidance and hard work we completed a kitchen reno in 11 days right before Christmas on a very reasonable budget and everyone who has seen it has been wowed. Photos will be uploaded soon.