Darren from North York

Brent is by far the best contractor we have ever found. Period. We hired him to take down four trees, trim two and remove the stumps. Not only did he and his team do all of this very well, he went well above and beyond. He trimmed our hedge, took down a number of additional weed trees, spent an hour moving the wood chips to the back of the property for us, and got rid of a large metal tank that had been left behind by the previous owners.

UPDATE: Given all the red flags with the "triple mix" and with Van Beek's not willing to be upfront with us, we decided to get the soil tested at an accredited lab. The result is horrifying: Arsenic at 569% of the allowable limit in Ontario for agriculture, Cadmium at 212%, Lead at 296% and Tin at 17480% of the Canadian CCME agricultural guideline. ORIGINAL REVIEW: We purchased 12 cubic yards of what was supposed to be top-quality triple mix from Tim, the owner of Van Beek's. We were assured the soil would be ideal for our organic vegetable garden. Tim claimed: - Triple mix is screened with a 1/2" screen to ensure fine soil quality - 30% locally sourced soil from Mississauga. He wouldn't say specifically from where but assured us that they test their soil for heavy metals since the City of Mississauga is their largest customer and they are required to do extensive testing for the City - Balance of the triple mix is from composted horse manure and peat loam - He would send us a copy of the soil analysis since we had heard horror stories in the past about bad soil In reality: - There were large boulders of soil, some even over a foot in diameter. We had to spend many back-breaking hours breaking up all the larger pieces - There were chunks of wood, the largest being about a foot long (no way this made it through a 1/2" screen) - The soil contained a concerning amount of shredded plastic bits and plastic twine - There was a significant amount of gravel with some rocks as large as 2" in diameter - There was a clump of long, black hair larger than a fist (!) Just prior to the delivery, Tim claimed he couldn't find the soil analysis and we made the mistake of going ahead with the delivery based on his assurances that they've been in business for so many years and would never do anything to harm their reputation. It also helped convince us that he talked a good talk about the quality of the soil. After seeing the soil, we decided we needed to see this soil analysis for some peace of mind. I called four times. Coincidentally, I could never again get a hold of Tim. The folks that picked up the first three times (Frank, Phil and then Elena) each time promised to send or have someone email the soil analysis "soon" or, in the case of Elena, a few days later because they were too busy to deal with me. They never did. On the fourth call, Frank suddenly changed his tune and claimed he couldn't send it because it was "proprietary information." I had to pay $600 if I wanted it. In desperation, I reached out to the appropriate department at the City of Mississauga as per the guidelines in the Municipal Freedom and Information and Protection of Privacy Act and was told they had no knowledge of such a soil analysis and they in fact had not done business with Van Beek's for a while. I now have to get my soil tested by an independent lab to make sure the "triple-mix" that Van Beek's sold me is not contaminating my vegetables and harming my family.

We hired Angelina a few months ago to take three samples of our ceiling popcorn stucco for asbestos testing. She was very flexible and courteous (my fault for changing the appointment last minute too - sorry!). She came with an assistant and the two of them also walked us through the house, top to bottom, to inspect it for asbestos and mold while explaining to us the different types of asbestos and what to look for. Despite having to courier the samples to the US for testing, we received the written report within a couple days (no asbestos - YAY!). Angelina runs a top notch company and is a pleasure to deal with. I recommend her without reservation.

We initially were interested in dealing with Royal Stone because they were advertising a very good price at the Home Show - a flat all-inclusive $/sqft (depending on the stone chosen). We were told this of course included everything: sink hole cutting, removal of the old countertop. After choosing the slab with Melissa in the showroom, there's now a charge for cutting the sink hole ($150, I believe) and $150 for removal and disposal of the old countertop - the person that told us this was all included at the Home Show was "new" and wrong. I also apparently wasn't able to use the sink I had already bought although no one was able to really explain why. Communication was a real issue. I ended up still going ahead with the countertop after some haggling since the total price was still not too bad and I just wanted to get it done after way too much back and forth. I had them come back a second time to measure because I had a feeling they had measured the right edge against the oven incorrectly (I was right). The people that came to measure and the installers were punctual although their English was very limited. The space was left reasonably clean and they generally did a good job. The no name 18ga sink they provided for $200 was also better than expected. My only gripes were that one side of the countertop was of a larger depth than had been agreed upon, resulting in a 2" gap between the edge of the cabinet and the inside of the ogee edge. I also found out right after I started using the countertop that the granite had been really badly sealed (or not at all). Melissa was courteous and responsive and sent someone out to take a look and to apply more sealant. Of course, the person that came didn't bring any sealant! After another call, it was clear that they didn't have the time to send another person out to seal the countertop for some time. I ended up doing it myself and Melissa agreed to a small partial refund to address the other issue. Overall, I was happy with the actual granite itself and the price. I would not say there was any intentional deception but there were far too many miscommunications. For those considering Royal, I recommend being very explicit regarding what you want and get *everything* in writing (ALL dimensions especially - double check their measurements yourself) and seal the countertop yourself before using it.