Reviews

0/10

I e-mailed several contractors here regarding eavestrough cleaning, of the leaky eavestrough joints, installation of a new downspout, and some ivy removal in late Nov on my elderly mother's house. The other contractors wouldn't do the job as it was too cold for caulking. Andrew of Just Clean Windows And Doors responded and showed up a day later, Nov 22nd. I thought that he would give a free estimate, but he insisted on doing the job right then and demanded full payment for it, claiming that he came all the way from Mississauga just for this job. My elderly mother gave him a posted-date cheque, which he disliked. He came on Dec 11th to do some caulking on the roof and some eavestrough cleaning. He said he would return to do the rest of the work (caulking the eavestrough joints, ivy removal, and the downspout installation), but he said that the snow on the roof prevented him from completing the work, as it was too dangerous. So he still hasn't returned, despite my mother leaving numerous voicemail messages. He just took the $675 and ran. The eavestrough corner still leaks right above the front door, creating hazardous conditions for my elderly mother. I had been calling him and so has my mother for weeks, but he keeps avoiding our calls. She finally had to call him on a payphone and then he answered. He assured her in several phone calls that he would show up on Fri, Jan 26th to do the remaining work, but he never showed up. He showed up a few days later, but he said he did not have a heat gun, so he could not do the job that day. He never returned after that.

Approximate cost of services:
$675.00
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10/10

I initially hired another contractor last November to waterproof the basement front wall and install the window wells for a legal basement apartment at my house in the Sheppard-Morningside-Wickson Trail area. However, they took far too long to complete the job and it stretched into January. Dominic and his crew returned in mid-May to correct issues with the Bilco plastic window wells sagging as they were backfilled by the previous contractor in late January and they sagged and pulled away from the wall with the thawing a few weeks later. I had to dispose of the Bilco window wells and went with TecSteel galvanized steel window wells instead from Edmonton. Dominic and his crew did an expert job patching the dimple board after removing the old plastic Bilco window wells and installing the TecSteel galvanized window wells. I would highly recommend A+A Masonry for future masonry, tuck pointing, basement lowering and basement waterproofing jobs. Dave

Approximate cost of services:
$4,500.00
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Company Response

Thanks Dave! I'm glad we could provide what you needed. --Andy


First Review

10/10

I learned of Linus through a fellow contractor who recommened him to me in Dec 2008. I initially used him in June 2008 to install French doors and oak trim on my living room opening and to install two Safe-N-Sound doors on two bedrooms with oak trim. He initially installed the French doors swinging outwards and the first set of doors were warped. I bought him a new set of French doors, and he reinstalled them, swinging inwards, as I initially wanted, all for another $100 more! I then used him for a basement bedroom renovation in October. I gave him my specs and he did the job according to my specs. I insisted on vapour barrier on the concrete floor, followed by 1" styrofoam, and then 5/8" plywood, all screwed down with Tapcon screws. He then laid 12mm Austrian laminate flooring. He also installed fire-rated 2'x4' CertainTeed ceiling tiles, as I needed the accessability to the basement ceiling. Now the basement bedroom is warm. Unlike other contractors, he never demanded one third or one half up front. He only asked me for around $1,000 or $1,500 per week, enough to keep him going. He didn't mind my purchasing all the supplies at RONA (to eliminate any markup). He had to purchase some of his own supplies at Home Depot, but he presented the bills to me, and I paid him for the supplies. He initially didn't accept credit cards, but he set himself up on PayPal last fall, so new takes VISA, MC and AMEX. He also went shopping with me to RONA or Home Depot every Sunday in the fall. He laid the same type of flooring and ceiling in the basement den in November as he did in the basement bedroom in October. He also remodelled my basement bathroom entirely starting in mid-Nov. Again, I laid out the specs and he followed them. I insisted on CertainTeed mould and moisture resistant drywall, along with Schluter orange Kirdy fabric behind the shower tiles. Again, I bought the supplies for him at RONA, and I bought the tiles at Sole Ceramics (far better quality and selection than Dufferin Tile or Profile Tile). He did a beautiful job on the basement bathroom. When I showed the basement apt to prospective tenants, they were amazed. All in all, I'm very satisfied with Linus. All I ask in the future is that he use drop sheets on the floors and clean up better, but most contractors are like that.

Approximate cost of services:
$20,000.00
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First Review

5.8/10

Jake of JAD Contracting came last June and got the job done in a timely manner-a few days. He cut a lot of corners, neglecting to prime the walls or patch the dents and dings prior to painting, installing stair railings right into the drywall-not the studs! He didn't hang the bedroom doors right either. Although he did the job within my tight timeframe, he cut a lot of corners

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Company Response

Dear Dave Thank you for your review, I believe that you have forgotten to mention some very important items, please let me remind you of them, this particular job is what we call in the industry as a clean out job, this house had been rented by people for x-amount of years the walls were damaged and painted numerous times and you saw that it was virtually impossible to make them as smooth as you wanted, and I believe that I told it would be cheaper for you to replace the drywall, as far as not priming the walls you are incorrect. I tint the primer to match the color of the wall, a common practice in the industry. From the day we met I had a bad feeling about working with you, but when I met you at a plaza and you were reviewing your tenants application in the parking lot, you told me that you promised these people they could move in within a week, I sympathized with your situation not knowing what I was in for, but I believe that we helped you achieve your project even though you had your tenants sleep in the dining room while you decided to make up your mind on what to do, correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the electrician almost sue you. I can go on and on but one thing I did learn from this is that as much as we tried to help you, you did not know what you wanted and expected far too much for what your budget consisted of, perhaps you were the one that cut corners.

3.3/10

I gave John of The Renovation Team a $7,000 deposit on Fri, March 16th for a basement and upper house renovation. They arrived on Mon, March 16th and began demolition of the basement. After a couple days' work, he demanded another $4,800. I added a major rewiring of the house and gave him another $8,000 deposit. He quit the job after that. He never got a permit from the City of Toronto for the renovation work, and he didn't get an electrical permit from the Electrical Safety Association for the electrical work, as he was supposed to. After that, he said he was sick and doesn't return my calls.

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