Wendy & Peter in York

The newly opened Toronto Tool Library offers an excellent selection of tools for DIY projects at a reasonable cost. Instead of hourly rental fees, the Tool Library allows you to borrow many tools for a few days at a time for an annual membership of $50 (for an individual). The tools are well maintained. I have borrowed a compound mitre saw, nail gun, compressor and hose, tile cutter, hedge trimmer, and much much more. There is an east end and a west end location. The tool library is run by volunteers and is open a few days a week. I have tackled a number of projects that I would not have undertaken without affordable access to these tools including tiling a bathroom, trimming a door, and building a walkway.

We hired the Duct Cleaning Specialists to clean our ducts and our dryer vent after a major renovation. We hired the same company a few years ago and we trust they are thorough and offer a quality service. We were pleased with their work again and we continue to recommend them.

Pompeo (the owner) is friendly, efficient, reliable and a life saver. We had a hot water tank and a furnace (along with air conditioner) replaced after being left in a dangerous situation by another company. Pompeo returned our urgent phone calls and texts with minutes and he made service calls within a couple of hours. He sourced and supplied the new appliances quickly, neatly and safely. We were in good hands.

We inherited a rented furnace and hot water tank from the previous homeowners. We have had an unpleasant and dangerous relationship with Direct Energy. Here are the lowlights. 1) A service man from DE was checking the furnace and he bumped the hot water tank thermostat. An hour after he left, hot water started spouting out of the emergency valve on the tank. My basement was filling with boiling water. I couldn't reach the tank nor the water main without scalding myself. Direct Energy's Emergency response call centre was rude but dispatched the same service man an hour later. Fortunately, I flagged down a Toronto City worker who had insulated boots and could shut the water tank off. I owe him big. The Direct Energy serviceman told me it was a dangerous situation. Thanks for that. 2) We had the furnace checked under the annual maintenance agreement for rentals. It passed so we bought the furnace out. It conked out 6 weeks later. We hired a reputable company to replace the rental and he was shocked that the rental had been approved. IT was cracked on the inside and melting parts. Looks like it had been that way for a few years. 3) Had tank checked 3 months ago. Two weeks ago we smelled gas - evacuated house called 911. Firefighters found the house filled with carbon monoxide (170 ppm - lethal is 100 ppm). The alarms did not sound (another story). The hot water tank was the source. When DE came, they couldn't explain WHY it was letting off CO but tried to avoid liability by saying it must be our fault. Could not explain why it was giving off CO nor for how long. Direct Energy just gets the job done fast and with little expense to the company as possible. We relied on them and our safety was at risk. We have replaced our air conditioner, furnace, and hot water tank with a reputable and responsible contractor. UPDATE - DE has posted a response in which they ask for my contact info. However, they did not include their contact info. Do I just call customer service and hope I get the right department? Are they assuming I will post my contact info on Homestars? I'm happy to talk to someone from the company (yet again) but who do I speak to?

The owner/operator of this company, Paul, arrived on time and was extremely professional and courteous throughout the job. He spent 4 hours at our home and was very careful to wear slippers and keep the disruption and dust to an absolute minimum. He was pleasant to deal with and he did a good job. He even took a few minutes to discuss life in semi-pro hockey with my 7 year old.