Gillespie Handyman Services Inc.

I had a great experience with Gillespie Handyman Services. The work was for a repair of a siding that strong winds had displaced. They provided work estimate promptly which was very reasonably priced (and much cheaper than another company I contacted). The scheduling of the work went very smoothly. The handyman that did the work was very professional and friendly, he was very detailed in explaining the work he was getting done. Overall I had a great experience and will recommend their services.

Jan. 2 2024 start for 8 - 10 week renovation their estimate not ours.
Concerned about us living in unit with our furniture while construction going on, this was pointed out to them before the start and could not would not be changed.
Demolition started and trailer here first day, took away after end of second day not to return.
Worked progressed slowly after this as waiting for bathroom to be prepared and flooring of kitchen to be removed. Debris piled up and moved from room to room until we insisted that it be removed so that we could move furniture around to suit their needs.
Sub contractors came in completed kitchen cabinets and installed vanity in main bath, and plumber prepared for plumbing fixtures.
At this point even though there was a lack of space garbage from demolition kept piling up and was shuttled from room to room instead of being disposed of.
As whole unit had been painted it was time for flooring. Moved furniture in living/dining room area and flooring started. Furniture shuttled around and flooring progressed to kitchen and main bath.
We prepared(my wife and I) the second bedroom for flooring emptied room and pulled up old flooring, in one evening. Flooring completed in second bedroom. Move bed and small furniture form main bedroom and this room was prepared for flooring one evening, heavy furniture put on casters for easy movement. Main bathroom vanity and kitchen cabinet and plumbing completed and main bath back in service.
Flooring in main bedroom stalled as it could not be continued into en-suite bath, as this bath had not be dismantled and prepared for plumbing and vanity, required to install flooring. This became a sticking point as the worker at this time decided that the base boards were more important than preparing the en-suite for plumbing and vanity. He complained that he did not have enough room and we suggested that he remove some of the demolition waste instead of moving it from room to room.
Mid project inspection week 10, notice the discrepancy. Boss came in and instead of inspecting attacked my wife and I asking if we were tired and wanted to quit. Of course this surprised us as we felt that the end should only be a couple of weeks away. We asked at this time if it was normal for his staff to start 45 min after 8 am, starting time we were told and leaving at 4 or earlier.
After the "inspection" we were informed that the worker who had been on the job since the beginning was being replaced and would let the next worker know what had to be done and help him dismantle the en-suite bath.
This was on a Friday, he spent Monday and Tuesday, painting two doors and putting a few pieces of baseboard down and removing his tools which took up most of the main bedroom.
The replacement worker started on Wednesday, and even though the original worker had not started the dismantling of the en-suite he sent the replacement worker to replace the flooring in the foyer closet. While this was being done he started the dismantling of the en-suite and was just about complete when the replacement worker was finished with the flooring. The help he needed to dismantle the bath was not necessary as far as his actions showed.
The replacement worker started the pocket door in the en-suite bath and prepared the floor for the plumber and vanity cabinet installers. The tub that was delivered was too wide for where the pocket door had been installed. It was returned and replacement was there the same afternoon but the plumber was gone and would not be back for a week. Cabinet installers came in the next day and installed the vanity minus kick plate flooring not installed and cabinets in the en-suite and one wall cabinet in main bath installed.
Main bedroom closets being prepared took another week, and pocket door was worked on, no where near completion.
I had knee replacement surgery, Tuesday March 19th, and was in hospital until March 21st.
Came home and was surprised to see that the second bedroom closet doors were changed even though it was crowed with main bedroom bed, which still could not be moved because flooring was not complete and did not operate correctly. There was also damage to the freshly painted bedroom wall and ceiling fan that had been installed the week before. I had specifically asked that the worker be careful around the fan, which he wasn't. As far as care of work completed they were not careful at all, they worked in the main bedroom without putting anything on the new flooring to protect it from nicks scratches and mar.
At this point I decided after over $85000 and 13 weeks where in my opinion at least 2 and 1/2 weeks were wasted. I was done! I agreed to receive any material already paid for and ordered. I was informed that the worker would be in on Friday March 22nd to pick up his tools and clear out. This did not happen and instead he came in on a Saturday to remove his tools.
The following Monday a third worker came in to deliver two doors and supposedly give us a proposal for completing the work. I told him it would not be necessary as we were finished with Gillespie and would not be having any more of their workers in our home.

As a note the closet doors installed in the second bedroom, were cut off as we were told they would be, but the filler at the bottom of the door was not reinstalled, we looked for the cut end but it was gone. I prepared and installed filler and inspected doors for why they did not work properly. Turns out that instead of having matching rollers on each door instead of a #1 and #1 on one door and #2 and #2 on the other, there was a #1 and #2 on each door. I fixed this and the door worked properly.

In conclusion I would not recommend this company to my worst enemy, they may be good on small jobs or one room renovations but they should not be hired for any type of large renovations or complete condo renovations, they do not have the expertise to do this. They should not be trusted to charge by the hour as they can drag those on until every last cent of your deposit is gone, as well as drawing from your line of credit until you have paid more than you had initially estimated.
Talking about this the scope of work(SOW) had included crown moulding in the living/dining room and just before stopping work we were given an additional estimate of almost $9000 to complete this work.

I have included photos to demonstrate how clean they did not work and how we have been living since the second week in February.

Wow what can I say. It started off with a fantastic phone call to Sarah. The ease of this call that left me feeling great is the reason I went with Gillespie Handyman. Work was thorough near and clean. And what left me speechless was how my house looked after they left...... It's as like no one was even there.......

Nothing but great things to say! Friendly staff, quick to respond to inquiries, provides quotes in a timely manner and their jobs are always completed effortlessly. Would highly recommend Gillespie.

Appreciate the efficient work which was done with courtesy and professionalism. Key. Strong work ethic and attention to detail

Gillespie has proven themselves time and time again to be one of the best General Contractors that I've used over the last 20 years in the Ottawa Area.

Tracie provides immediate response to my requests within 48H , Ryan provided very fair prices with above and beyond quality craftsmanship and Sarah makes sure all details have been accounted for.

I contacted Gillespie Handyman Svs under recommendation from a local retailer. I am so happy to have been recommended them. From initial contact with the office team to meeting the installer doing the work to having the work completed...everything was a breeze and done so professionally and with a smile! Would highly recommend them any time to my family and friends. Thank you Gillespie!!

I had a list of repairs to be done including camera installations and a major paint job. Christopher did amazing work, provided great communication and ensured I was happy with each of the jobs. and Gillespie Handyman Services was a great company to work with!! Jennifer and Tracie were a pleasure to work with. Would recommend this company!

We hired Gillespie Handyman Services to repair a wall of shelves that had broken away from the wall. The company responded quickly to my email request and a date was set within one week of my initial contact (I had tried other companies, but they were booked up for weeks). The technician arrived as scheduled and immediately set to work assessing and then fixing the problem. He explained what he was doing and kept the workspace clean. He also was mindful of COVID protocols. Payment was easily done by credit card on the company website. I would not hesitate to call upon Gillespie Handyman Services again.

A couple of sections of soffit under my second floor roof had blown away during a windstorm. I contacted several companies that specialize in eavestroughing, to replace the missing soffit. No one would take on the work, because most eavestroughing cos don't do soffit work! Others would not do the work because it was "too small a job". It was urgent for me because I was worried about rodents and birds coming to nest inside the attic. I emailed Gillespie attaching a PDF containing photos. They responded the very next day with a professionally prepared quotation. They asked for 25% down to be able to book me into their work schedule. The work was done to my satisfaction two weeks later and I paid the balance electronically as well, via their website. Their front office staff are very professional and competent. The repairman came prepared with the right lift equipment to do the work and was fast. The only concern I have, was that I had asked to know whether he saw any sign of vermin inside the attic (in which case, I might need an exterminator). The repairman left w/o letting me know. However, the repair work has stood up for the past few months. I would definitely use Gillespie again in the future. Thank you!