That guy from Aurora

We hired AGM renovations to do our Master Bedroom Ensuite renovations. Our Designer's initials were YR, our Project Manager's initials were AL. The subcontractor assigned to our job's initials were AN. The work started in December of 2021 and ended in early Feb of 2022. The work was delayed at various times (work was also being done during the Christmas holidays of 2021, with our consent, of course. We just wanted it to be over by that stage). Our original star date of Nov 2021 was pushed to Dec 2021 due to supply chain issues (the jacuzzi tub we selcted was on backorder. They still sent the wrong one to our house and we were delayed again for another 2 weeks halfway through as they sorted that mess out....we still did not end up with the original tub; but settled on the one we got as something comparable and in our house). For anyone still considering using AGM, you should be aware that each person who uses AGM and is willing to provide a 5 star review is given an extra 6 months on the AGM warranty. We put in a warranty claim within 6 months; so even though they offered us the 6 months extra, we did not feel, in good conscience, we could accept it (mainly because a 5 star review was never going to happen. The initial stages of our job went pretty smoothly. You are assigned a designed who will help you pick and choose your finishes from their available options (anything extra is either at an extra cost or at your own cost and risk). Payments are made with initial deposit of 5% or so and then 3 payments are made along the way. We gutted our bathroom and replaced everything. We did get the wrong tub, even after the initial delay to try to avoid a tub issue. There were many defects in workmanship with multiple tiles broken, scratched or split within our new standup shower. a broken shower faucet that was broken and then caulked together to make it look like it was fine (and had to be corrected using the warranty route) along with scratched nickel plated faucet and a discoloured drain in one of the 2 sinks. The bathroom is a major improvement from where is was before; but the lack of honest workmanship and care was very disappointing, especially after we had such high hopes from reading all the glowing reviews in early to late 2021. At the time, we did not know that some may not have been honest 5 out of 5's. My honest review would be somewhere between 3.5 to 4. I would have loved to have given a 5; but when you get a new bathroom and there is a coating of dust in your garage and all over your new bathroom such that you cannot see the cracked and damaged finishes until you clean it yourself, something is wrong. AGM did respond to my warranty claim; and, repaired all of the defects. It took 4 or 5 separate visits to do so which finally gave us the use of our bathroom, fully in the summer of 2022 (way too long, in my opinion). I think you can get better workmanship that what I got for the price. It may be difficult to find; but any time you spend on the front end finding someone that cares about quality work will pay dividends in the finished product. Do your research. Don't trust every review you read, either, unless you can find out if it was incentivized in some way.

From my first call with Roger M on December 10th, to our meeting at my home on December 14th, everything went as planned. Roger answered all of my calls and emails to make sure that I was clear on the expectations for the project, from start to finish. I had to delay this project due to other repairs (an Ensuite renovation) that was running a bit behind schedule; and lamia in the office was able to assist in this regard. She was the one that took care of scheduling and payment. She also arranged for the crew to send me before and after pics of the insulation project. The crew of 3 showed up on Jan 31, 2022, as scheduled, to complete the work. They cleaned up any dust and debris as if they had never been there. Everything was completed as expected without any errors or delays. I can aleady feel the difference in the house from the insulation upgrade. I would highly recommend this company. They only use cellulose which my research suggests is the better insulator. Apparently they make their own cellulose which was appealing to me also.

I knew I needed a new roof (and for this reason, I never called my insurer…if you are reading this, you may want to consider calling yours, especially if there is sudden/accidental damage to your roof). I also purposely waited until later in the year; as, I knew all the roofers were very backed up this past summer from the storms that affected the GTA. When I finally started calling around for quotes, Edward from Sign Roofing, was one of 2 people to ask me to text him my address so he could get things moving. He was also the first person to provide me with a quote (by text also). I called 10 to 15 other roofers (including 1 that is literally around the corner from my house). I got 5 written quotes. Sign was not the cheapest; but they were very close. I have some experience with roofs; so, I knew almost exactly what I wanted. Sign quoted the Owens Corning Oakridge shingle. Reviews of this shingles are very mixed; but, the weight of this shingle and the easy nailing feature made me consider this for my roof. You should do your own research before making a decision on your shingle. There are 2 Cdn manufacturers that will be pushed on you by many. My suggestion is you ask some roofing professionals for their opinion. Many I spoke with were very convincing; but their reason for supporting one brand over another was questionable, at best. Read, Listen and ask many questions. Also, consider why they are recommending one brand over another. Back to Sign Roofing. When I was finally ready to move forward with Sign Roofing, I sent Edward a text to schedule an appointment. He was scheduled to meet us between 12 & 2 PM on a Sunday afternoon. When he did not arrive by 2:10 PM, I texted him to follow up. Within a few minutes I got a call from Yong Cai, who was now going to step in for Edward. Edward also texted me to advise me of this. This was really the only thing that was disappointing about the whole experience; and, the reason they do not get a perfect score. I would also recommend you look into the need for Ice and Water shield. Low slope roofs (not mine) require IWS over the bottom 3 feet as per code (which is not very clear if you are looking for it btw). I did not get ISW on my roof but I did upgrade to a synthetic material for the whole roofing surface. I was surprised to learn that my roof never had any IWS. I still wonder how this is possible if this is a code thing (maybe someone more familiar with Ontario’s building code can let me know?). The IWS should be installed under the shingles, at the perimeter of the roof edge (lower edge) and at the valleys. I do not believe Sign Roofing installs IWS (and Yong did discourage me from adding it when I asked him about it). The logic being that ICW sticks right to the roof deck; and, getting it back up is virtually impossible without replacing the deck itself (which makes sense). On the day of install, the crew showed up at 8 AM, as promised. They were scheduled to finish around 5 or 6 PM; but, completed the job around 2:30 PM (they had another house to do that day). I got pics of the roof, mostly during and after install, as I had requested. I should also recommend that you get copies of their Insurance information, as I did, just in case any one gets hurt. You do not want to be responsible for anyone’s injuries. I will also tell you that I paid 10% down and the balance at completion. The whole thing was paid in cash (so do not expect other options). Overall, Sign Roofing did a good job and they were very responsive, especially when compared with everyone else. No one else could provide both the response time, the quality of work and the price that Sign could provide us. As you can see from the very brief responses they provide to these reviews, they spend their time doing roofs, responding to questions instead of writing a lot of BS. Thank you for a job well done. To Yong, you did a good job (even when I tried to give you a hard time).

One of my Garage door springs broke. Of course, like the dummy that I am I tried to open the double door with a broken apring. Needless to say, Angela took my call, made the appointment and my door was up and running the next day. I decided to replace both springs on Angela’s advice. I think my installer was Will, who called me before replacing my sensors (eyes). The door was functional that same day. Very professional, attentive and reasonably priced.