Jan Toronto Leslieville

This work was done back in Dec. 2019 I had just bought a replacement dryer. Once delivered the plug on the dryer was in a different location and too short to reach the outlet. Home depot since me 3 referrals, I select BigGuy Electric Inc. Very glad I did. I contacted Steve, told him the issue, as well as the basement is unfinished, emailed him photo. We setup appointment to come out the next day. The very old outlet was uninstalled as well as the wiring. Install brand new 30amp dryer outlet, ran the wiring into the electrical panel. I would definitely hire BigGuy Inc. again.

Mid July one evening, in the basement saw a long tail hiding behind the sink. Next morning called Pest Zone Pest Control and arranged for Gancy to come later that same day. Gancy was prompt, professional, inspected the basement, found evidence of rat being in the basement. Gancy set up two traps in the areas where the rat had been. Gancy advised to wait a week, keep all doors closed to upper floor and check the traps. Success. I would recommend this company.

Using HomeStars I searched for Appliance Repair Services, put a quote to repair our top loading washer as the wash/rinse cycles caused a burning smell. Vince promptly called me. Quoted his rate – which I thought was reasonable. I explained I’m flexible with time to service the washer. Currently he was at another customer’s and maybe able to come same day. Vince was able to fit us into his today’s schedule. He examined the washer, ran a few tests, and took apart the washer, all the time explaining everything to me. He replaced the belt, tightened and placed screws into the control panel for us which now no longer shakes, leveled the washer for us, oiled the motor parts. Once the washer was back together, the washer was working now better than it had been. Even the agitator works better. If needed in the future I would hire them again.

Our front door lock was broken, I researched Homestars for a lock smith, I found 3 different companies on Homestars, next I checked these companies’ names with Better Business Bureau, results some had complaints, while Locksmith Care Inc. had no complaints and in good standing with BBB. I selected Locksmith Care. I’m very glad I did. This service call was done in April 2018. The service rep was Rado, he was very knowledgeable, very professional. When he was here, he also replaced the grip set for us, as well as installed a new lock and made additional keys for us. I would highly recommend Locksmith Care.

A friend had recommended the Home Service Club to me, thought it would be a good service to have as they double guarantee the work (I was so wrong in thinking they would stand behind the guarantee). This electrical work on the kitchen was done a while ago as my first experience with the Home Service Club I felt compelled to write this review. The kitchen was being refaced and I only had two existing outlets – one was in use for the fridge, the other outlet free for such things as toaster, coffee maker. The job: - Add 3 new electrical outlets (one to be a double outlet) - Install light under kitchen cabinet to be connected to wall switch - Existing outlet will now be for the fridge (we moved fridge from one wall to another wall) - Connect a dishwasher to electricity - Move up existing outlet by 5-6 inches Note: the basement is unfinished, installing electric cables through the wall to the electrical panel was easier as the basement is unfinished, totally open to feed cables to electric panel. The service club put the order in, had 3 electricians come and gave me their estimates. I didn't go with the cheapest, nor the highest price, did I go with the middle estimate. The electrician I had selected said he was a master electrician. The electrician didn't come when he was scheduled. When he did come I went through the locations of the new outlets, and where I wanted a double outlet, he told me the outlet would have to be GFIC outlet as it just above the counter top within so many cms of the water taps. The electrician did the work. That evening the lights in the kitchen started flickering (the lights had never flicker before the new electrical work). Also when I plugged in the vacuum the outlet stopped working, the switch at the electrical panel didn't go to off I had to reset at the electrical panel manually, , so I called the electrician and he came back few days later to resolve the issue. Once completed I told him I wanted all the all the electrical outlets he had worked on certified. He gave me a long song and dance act, trying to get me not to have his work certified. I demanded the work be certified. Then he told me it would be an additional $75 for the certification. Once he agreed to have the certification of his work, then he told me the double GFIC outlet would not pass certification, it is not allowed. I said well you put the double GFIC in. He would not admit he did underhanded electrical job. He said it would have to be uninstalled and a single GFIC outlet would have to be installed. I said I paid for a double, what about a reduction in the bill. He just complained that he had to do extra work that was not accounted for on the bill!! I can't believe what I was hearing. After I called Home Service Club to complain about the electrician. They said they have no complains on file for that tech and they would have to call him to speak to him for his side of the story. Nothing was ever done. What I can tell you is that the lights in my kitchen still flicker once in and while depending on what is being used electricity wise in my kitchen. Also when electric outlets stop working in my kitchen as well now in dining room (beside the kitchen) at the electrical panel the switch no longer cuts to off! The electrician moved connections around in my electrical panel. Also when the dish washer was installed, the electrician did not leave much in length of the electrical cable to connect to the cable connection on the dishwasher-it almost did not reach, tech was cheap with his cable run. He should have at least left a minimum of 6 inches of cable for the hook up, not ¾ of an inch! Note: For Electrical Certification if the job is under a certain amount of outlets, the electrician just fills in and sends in the forms, they don't physical come out to check the work that was done if under a certain count of outlets. I did have another electrical job to get done, I called Home Service, told them to look up the last guy's name who worked on my kitchen, do not send him to me. The electrician who did come to wire in two lights in the basement and then install a wall switch for the lighting, he was really good, professional, on time and did a good job. I gave five star as they did a better job on the second job. I would give a one star only for the first job! All I can say is - it’s a crap shoot as to who you get/hire from the Home Service Club.

Hands down I recommend ExpressRooter Plumbing and hire will them again in the future. Just a bit of background this winter/heating season our family has been sick with flu like symptoms, including the family dog – throwing up, headaches, etc. and been through numerous medical tests which the doctors couldn’t explain why. Finally I hired Environmental Services group to see if it was our house was causing our symptoms. Environmental Services found high VOCs gases coming from our kitchen sink using PPBrea monitor and those gases spread through our first floor. After reading the reviews on Homestars I called ExpressRooter Plumbing told them what Environmental Services had found. We also have been having odd intermittent plumbing issues - experiencing slow drainage in the bathtub, basement toilet had completely dried out (there was no water left in the bowl), lower water levels in 2nd floor toilet. ExpressRooter Plumbing arranged to send someone to our house just to give us an estimate and take a look at our plumbing. Jason from ExpressRooter Plumbing came. He was very professional, polite and knowledgeable. He explained every step, as well as each test he had done and why. He suggested that we may want to view the waste line through the camera as at times, the connection to the city from the house can have tree roots, or the pipes connecting together may have shifted, allowing for waste to come back into the house giving off gases. I agreed to have Jason run the camera through the waste line. I watched on the monitor to see for myself, the line was pretty clear. Jason also did flush tests from the toilet in the basement, then from our second floor bathroom. The test resulted in fast running waste water straight through, no gurgling, nor degradation in the flow. He explained there isn’t any blockage in the waste line and venting was good as well. He also said the plumbing waste stack was in good shape. He also checked over the kitchen drain. His findings were the pipe under the drain was leaking, as well as the clean out in the trap is leaking, which would explain why gases are coming through the drain. On inspection, once everything was removed from under the sink, appeared to be water stains between the wall and under the cabinet flooring causing mold – which may also have contribute to the VOCs monitor high ratings. Jason also recommended that we cut into the dry wall above the sink, in order for us to see if there is an existing plumbing air vent connected to the main stack or see if there is a wall air vent (sometimes call add on air vent) that maybe failing and needs to be replaced. Making the drywall cut at this location is easiest place for us to make the opening to check behind the wall and to patch the dry wall back up. Jason also suggest I may want to in the future use drain care to clear the drains, as it won’t harm the pipes, and will help to clear the build up inside the pipes. He told me never to use baking soda and vinegar – which I have been doing, as it will leave a buildup of baking soda inside the pipe. Jason gave me his recommendations, estimates on the costs if I want ExpressRooter Plumbing to do the work on the kitchen drain and to cut the dry wall out. He also showed me what needs to be replaced on the kitchen drain, how to do the replacement if I want to do the repairs myself. The end result for me was a bit of peace of mind, as I thought the whole plumbing stack would need to be replaced, air vents installed to the stack through the house. He also found what was causing the gases leaking out of the kitchen drain. I would definitely be calling this company back in the future.

I called Valentin as our only working toilet was clogged up. Valentin arrived within 1 hour. He was very pleasant and professional. Valentin was able to quickly diagnose the problem and explain the cause of the clogging as toilet is very old (show me the date 1989) the diameter of the trap is getting smaller (caused through years of usage) my toilet will continue to clog, solution is replacement of toilet. For now, he cleared the clog. Valentin educated me a bit on replacing my toilet; I will need to know the distance between the stack and wall when going to purchase a new toilet (not all toilets will fit the 10.75 inches I have in my bathroom). We have another toilet in our basement, which was leaking, so we turned off the water, haven’t used this toilet in years. While Valentin was here, he had a look at the basement toilet, determined where the leak was coming from, and replaced the pipe. Then installed new shutoff and tested a few times. Now we are able to use this toilet. We are very happy and pleased with the service Valentin provided. He also went out of his away to give an estimate to include getting the new toilet and installing (as we don’t have a car). I would recommend Valentin to others, as well as use his company again when needed.

I hired Denver Drains Service of Etobicoke to put in weeping tile system, my house was built 1910 and no weeping system existed. The owner Lloyd N. came out to do the estimate and I agree to the work to be done. Denver Drains, dig up between my house and my neighbor's house (theirs was dry before this). In the summer of 2009 after the work had been done, the weather wasn't so great, there were many rain storms in Toronto - results neighbor’s house had a steady stream of rainwater down the side Denver Drains did, their basement is now wet. My house, mid corner, house extension was wet. Called Denver Drain, interior mid corner they did a bandage job as well as put 6 inch piece over my neighbor’s ground line (which was installed backwards -the revise side on the outside). For the work I had paid them to do on the extension of the house and corner - they have not done anything, I discovered after the corner mid section had only a 22 inch piece of membrane - no water proofing liquid rubber. The extension of my house buckled, from Denver Drains adding additional gravel in the extension,this was to cover up the work - they had never done, as well as changing the grade to run into my neighbor's house, this resulted in a mud slide in basement. Denver drains did not return my calls. Hired a contractor to repair my house and my neighbors. When they excavated the extension and mid corner I took pictures of the cover up that Denver Drains did but they sure charge me for the work that was never done.