Fin in Toronto

Chris and Drainworks have come to our rescue on multiple occasions now, Im always amazed how friendly, quick and efficient they are. Highly recommended.

Sharyn did a plan for our basement renovation and we are very happy with her work. We wanted a designer who was willing to work for a flat rate but most designers wanted to bill us by the hour. Sharyn came out to our house right away and really listened to what we wanted. The proposal she sent us was clear and concise and she delivered exactly what we agreed on, on schedule. It was great to get help with exactly the parts of the reno we couldn't do ourselves without having to commit to doing an entire project together. We plan to use Sharyn again when the rest of the reno finally gets completed. Highly recommended!

We had a bad experience with Spencer Contracting. We hired them to extend our chimney and install a liner during a second storey addition. We had some small issues with the mason they sent but Gordon Coleman sorted it out quickly and we thought all was well. Months later we discovered during a routine chimney inspection that the mason had installed a part which did not appear meet building code standards (the base support). It turned out it was made of the wrong kind of metal and should not have been in a wood burning fireplace where it would be exposed to flue gases (as it could leak toxic fumes). When I contacted Spencer they looked into it right away and their mason assured me the part was safe and was 'listed' even if it did not meet the building code. However I contacted the manufacturer of the part directly and they emailed me back confirming that the part was not meant to be exposed to flue gases. I gave Spencer the chance to come back and fix the problem, as long as they used another mason, but they told me it was not necesssary and everything was fine. We then were not able to pass our final building inspection due to the presence of this part. I met with Spencer contracting and told them I would be hiring another company to replace the part as I had given them a chance and they had refused. I also told Spencer that I would like them to cover the $1200 cost of replacement. They refused this offer as well and at one point actually said to me that the 'building code was out of date' and the part was fine. We had another company come in and do the work and have now passed our final inspection. I am surprised that on a contract worth $10,000 Spencer would quibble over $1200 on a potentially toxic issue, but this was indeed the case. I would not recommend Spencer Contracting and we will not be using them again.

We are very happy with our phantom executive screen. It was pricey but well worth it for the uninterrupted view out our balcony and the convenience of being able to lift and lower the screen before opening the doors (great in summer with insects about). Mike Phillips and his installer were lovely guys, very friendly and quick to come back for an adjustment when the shape of our balcony threw the screen off after a couple of days. We have had no problems since and would use this company again.

We needed bathroom window shades that would give us privacy but also plenty of natural light. Q design had an amazing selection and the Hunter Douglas shades we went with look fantastic. Lindsay helped me choose the appropriate shades and pleat-size for each window and she even checked them against the Benjamin Moore palette so we knew they would go with our future paint colour. The measurements were all precisely done and everything fit exactly. We will be using Q Design again, their attention to detail is excellent and I would certainly recommend them.

We had a corner lot bungalow in East York and wanted to add a second storey that would match the original, not stand out. We shopped around for a contractor and we are very happy we went with Modular. The speed and efficiency of the renovation was a huge plus, we only moved out for 10 days. In our case we contracted Modular to complete the renovation to the point of closing the drywall (finishing touches we sub-contracted out ourselves later on). Although our project was more complicated than a 'typical' addition Dmitry and Dule handled it wonderfully and I was often amazed how many people they had working on different parts of the house at the same time. The coordination was remarkable and was the main reason the work went so quickly. Dule was always available at a moments notice and I felt like I was well taken care of by all of the Modular team. The Modular workers were very friendly and polite and cleaned up after themselves thoroughly every day. My only issue was with one (sub)contractor whose work I was not happy with and Modular arranged to have someone else come to fix those issues. All in all we had a great reno experience and the fact that we did not have to move out of our house for a year was amazing. I have recommended Modular to several friends and will continue to do so. Our house looks fantastic and is exactly what we wanted.

We had a second storey put on and also renovated our main floor foyer so we needed rather a lot of painting done. I had three companies in to quote and we chose PTI. I'm glad we did, Lucas and his team were very polite and professional, on-time everyday and actually finished the project early. We are very pleased and will have them back for future work.

We are very happy with the work Jason did for us. He was able to meet all of our needs; handling the steam proofing of our shower using Kerdi board, installing our in-floor heating, a carpet-effect marble tile mosaic, everything was done precisely. He is one of the rare contractors we had who actually spotted issues before they arose and asked me about my preferences throughout the whole project. He is also one of the very few who I felt comfortable giving keys to and allowing him to work when I was not home. I would highly recommend him, especially if you want the job done 100% properly.

I am extremely pleased with the work Richard and Paul did for us. We had three companies in to quote on doing the woodwork in our new second storey (we needed it to match the 90-year-old trim on our first floor). Richard and Paul were easily the most professional and provided us with a detailed quote after taking precise measurements. The project was finished on time and on budget and they showed up everyday exactly when they said they would. They sourced all the wood for us and also took the time to ask us about our preferences throughout the whole project. They are meticulous and the wood and MDF trim all looks fantastic. They were also amazingly clean and treated our house as though it was our own. We have already had them back to do more work and we think ourselves very lucky to have found them.

We put a second storey on our 90-year-old bungalow and wanted the inside to match the original woodwork we already had. I had several companies in to quote and Paul and Richard were the only guys who knew exactly what they were talking about. They had a box of samples and were able to match our existing pieces without any guesswork, on the spot. They measured everything, asked a lot of questions about our preferences and provided us with a detailed quote, room by room, so that we could decide exactly how we wanted to proceed. This was a huge project for us, we were investing significant funds, and with Paul and Richard we felt completely confident that it would be done right. They sourced the materials for us as well, whereas some of the other trim contractors expected us to do that ourselves. I would not have had the first idea where to start ordering solid oak doors or trim, nor would I have known how much to get. Paul also found us beautiful door hardware and took care of so many small details that would have consumed a great deal of my time. The guys were on time every single day they worked here and so clean and neat I couldn't believe it. They are very considerate and treated our house as though it was their own. We had dozens of contractors working on our house these last six months but there were only three I felt comfortable giving our keys to and allowing them to work while I was not home, Paul and Richard were two of them. People visiting our home are amazed at the precision cuts, angles and installation of our wood trim and we feel that the overall effect has added to the value of our home. These guys are absolute gems and we are so grateful to have found them.

Star Tech Stucco did the exterior of our new second storey and we could not be more pleased. The work itself was beautiful and the attention to detail amazing. Each layer was carefully applied and checked with a level continually. They managed to blend the new stucco with our existing stucco so well you would not realise we'd had any work done. Sean also patched a few old cracks we had and blended them in too. The crew were friendly and very polite, they cleaned up after themselves and even made sure our neighbour's property was cleaned up too. We could not be more pleased, the work was finished on time and we feel it was worth every dollar we spent.

We used to be very happy with Reliance (back when they were Voxcomm) but since the takeover we have been very disappointed. Reliance employees often seem to be unclear who is on our call list and what steps they are to take when an alarm goes off. Recently I received a call for my sister's alarm a full half hour after Reliance had received the alert and they could give me no explanation as to why they took so long to call me. By the time I got to her house (2 min away) the police had already attended and discovered that it was the dog walker. My sister will now be billed for the police attendance which could have been avoided if Reliance had called me earlier. We recently had problems with our phone line and when I called Reliance and asked them to check if they still had our house on their system they told me that I would have to be in the house and physically test it in order for them to tell. I would like to think that if our phone and backup line disconnected they would know without me calling to tell them! Back when they were Voxcomm they were very reliable but now it seems like a roll of the dice every time we deal with them. Their technicians are great but the actual monitoring seems useless now. Our contract is up for renewal and after three years with them we will be looking elsewhere.