A review for A-1 Quality Chimney (1986) Ltd

It’s been a long journey looking for an honest chimney cleaning company. A-1 Quality Chimney is the *fourth* chimney cleaning service that I’ve used over the years. The first three, without exception, tried to scam me by telling me that my chimney was falling apart and needed thousands of dollars of repairs. The last chimney company, which will remain nameless, really took the cake. They told me that I needed to pay them thousands of dollars to repair the chimney, that if I didn’t do these repairs immediately my house would burn down and, to top it off, if I didn’t hire them to do the work, they would report me to my insurance company when my house burned down for negligence. Three different reliable chimney repair companies later confirmed that my chimney was as sound as the day is was built. So! I hoped that A-1 Quality would be different. And they were! Sean was courteous, professional and did a great job. And told me that my chimney is fine. No scam! A welcome relief. So at long last I’ve found a reliable chimney cleaning company that’s on the up and up. It only took me eight years.

A review for Spencer N Contracting

I’ve dealt with Spencer Contracting on three occasions, but have mixed feelings about the experience. The quality of the work has been consistently good, but other difficulties came up in the last job. I had a minor plumbing problem (a leaking pipe behind a basement wall). A small portion of the wall had to be taken out, the pipe repaired and the wall reconstructed. The plumbing portion of the job took between two to two and a half hours. I was charged for half a day’s work (four hours). "Oh, that’s standard," said the supervisor. Is it? Maybe so, but there was no discussion of this in advance--only when I was handed the invoice at the end of the job. Had I known I could have easily found an hour and a half to two hour's worth of other plumbing chores to make up for the work I had paid for. No. When I complained to the supervisor he told me "Maybe you should have gone with a handyman." Maybe he should have discussed that with me before agreeing to undertake the project in the first place. So I've been happy with the quality of the work of Spencer Contracting. They use good people. But the communication has been poor and the pricing has been inconsistent so . . . . caveat emptor.

A review for ElectroPro Services

So I bought a new gas stove from a big distributor. They recommended a guy they thought was good. I needed a 220 volt cable (for an electric stove) converted to a 110 volt for a gas stove. Sounds simple. Not to the recommended electrician. I had to buy a "convertor" myself. After calling all the major hardware stores and electric stores (for more than an hour) I was really getting frustrated. "A" told me they didn't carry such a device and to call "B". "B" didn't carry it and told me to call "C". "C" didn't carry it and, after 15 minutes on hold, told me to call "A". You get the picture. "Fine. I'll try another electrician recommended by Homestars," I thought. So I found Jerry at ElectroPro, explained all of the aggravation and he got me on the right path. He summed up the situation in ten seconds, made an appointment for two hours later (of course, there's no guarantee they can *always* be that fast), he came over and took care of the job quickly, efficiently and at a reasonable price. That's why I like Homestars. I naively think that contractors that are recommended will be competent. When they're not and I'm disappointed, I go to Homestars and find good people. So if you're looking for good, professional electrical work, then I highly recommend ElectroPro.

A review for Toronto Clear View Window Cleaning, Inc.

I'm very happy with Toronto Clear Window Cleaning. The cleaner arrived on time, was courteous and I appreciated that he didn't rush through the job. His work was very thorough and the windows look amazing. I shouldn't have waited as long as I did. Beautiful work--I would definitely recommend them.

A review for Wilkens Contracting Inc

Everyone can see that the reviews on Homestars for Wilkens are glowing. And deservedly so. Ernie was friendly, incredibly efficient and, miraculously, didn't try to push unwanted or unnecessary services on me. I had been told by a less trustworthy chimney contractor that I had a couple of major (and very costly) problems that needed immediate attention. Ernie, with his 30 years of experience, proved to be honest and reliable in terms of the necessary repairs. The man is a gem!

A review for Leaside Plumbing & Heating Limited

I had two problems: a shower stall leaking into the floor and a blocked kitchen sink. For the sink I was told new pipes had to be put in (to the tune of $600). And I was given a quick quote of $5,000 to fix the leaking shower. I was told that the boss of the company would get in touch with me to give a more thorough and detailed estimate of the shower stall job. That was a week ago and I never heard from them again. Am I supposed to chase after them in order to get an estimate for a multi-thousand dollar job? No thanks. Good work, but pricey and poor marks in terms of responsiveness.

A review for Hygrade Chimney Service Ltd

Bad experience! Hygrade came to clean my chimney and did a decent job. But they told me that my chimney was falling apart and would have to be rebuilt. It would cost $2,700 to tear the chimney down and rebuild it. Well, when you get news like that, you get a second (and in my case third and fourth) opinion. I had three other chimney contractors come and look at my chimney. And they all told me the same thing: it's as sound as the day it was built. If I had listened to Hygrade, they would have torn down a perfectly sound chimney and charged me thousands of dollars. Not good!

A review for A1 Animal Removal, Inc.

Raccoons are cute, but I don't want them living in a disused kitchen chimneygrowling and squealing. I called Chris and he came the next day and took care of the problem. He really does deserve the great reviews he's received here on Homestars. The problem was taken care of (humanely, of course) and came with a guarantee. Service with a smile! I would definitely recommend A Animal Removal to anyone dealing with some unwelcome visitors.

A review for Taylor Moving & Storage Ltd

My real estate agent recommended Taylor Movers and I was reasonably satisfied. The consultant who came to give me an estimate knew her stuff inside and out. Her estimate of boxes needed was spot-on. The only problem was moving day. The three man team (or one man and two 18 year old kids) showed up 90 minutes late. When I asked the crew leader about this he said "We're not late! We left on time!" They're an hour and a half late and I get an argument over it? All in all this crew leader was rude and abrasive throughout the day. HIM I could have done without. But the move got done and it went okay.

A review for Greenwall Renovators

I needed a few rotten boards replaced on my back deck and was given a quote of $40 an hour and told it would probably only be two hours work (plus material). Sounds good, right? Wrong. Two assistants did the work and then took out a good board and left a rotten one by mistake. Then I was given the bill. $40/hour for EACH of the two workers (one of which did a bit of work, but mainly just stood around holding the tool box). The work took almost twice the time as I was told. AND I had to pay an extra 7% or so because I was paying by cheque and not straight cash. So the cost ended up being almost triple what I expected. They showed up the next morning and fixed the mistake they made. But they wanted an extra $50. It was THEIR mistake and I was overcharged and they wanted even more money? No way. So as a final “screw you” to me, they didn’t take away the removed rotten planks as promised. I have to admit that they quality of the work was very good. But I was deceived as to the price and left with a huge mess. Avoid at all costs!