Better Contracting Services

I chose this company because Mike Holms uses them on all his shows. I should have done more research. It took 4 dates to get them to do the roof (1 day they came out after I called and complained that they still hadn't shown up. They said they didn't know how long they could stay because it looked like rain. They stayed 10 minutes then left; it didn't rain at all) When they finally showed up on the fourth date, the work was sloppy! The shingles were crooked; the vents didn't line up with the holes; and they didn't install the smart screens. The salesman came out to inspect the roof at my request (demand) and noticed they re-used some flashing that should have been replaced. The office staff couldn't understand why I was upset and became very condiscending. The shingles arrived on the originally scheduled date and sat on my driveway for over 2 weeks. The dumpster showed up on the second scheduled date and sat (in the middle of my driveway - no parking) for four days, not to mention the clean up - they swept the driveway where they laid the tarp, but didn't clean the back patio. I had to go around picking up garbage which included fishing shingle wrap out of my front tree. I haven't heard anything yet from the company since the salesman came to inspect 3 days ago. Suffice it to say I will NOT recommend them to anyone! UPDATE - A few weeks ago I received a phone call from B.C. saying they would be out the following week to make any corrections and repairs; no show again but I received another phone call saying they would be out to install the smart screens...I wasn't holding my breath. The following Wednesday (and to my surprise), the B.C. truck showed up at my door. Two gentleman were here to install my smart screen. I voiced my complaints again with them; they seemed to think it was probably a subcontractor and explained they sub out work when they're busy, but promised to take back my complaints to the office. The next morning, another B.C. truck arrived with one gentleman to make repairs. He was also very kind; he apologized for my trouble and said the smart screens (approx.$350) would be free and could I update my review on Homestars. He spend almost 2 hours fixing, repairing, and caulking. Before he left, he asked about payment and I said it would be on credit, but I was still waiting on my copy of the contract that I never received. Within an hour of his leaving, I received an email with my contract attached and within an hour of that, I received a phone call regarding payment. I was told they don't take final payment on credit and the saleman that said I could was wrong. For some reason, she changed her mind when she realized that I live in Milton. That was on Thursday; the following Monday I was contacted because I still hadn't updated my review...I told her I was waiting for payment to go through first. So here I am. I guess the moral of the story is to make sure the contractor you hire is actually going to do the work and not subcontact it out. I would have been happy to wait to have the company I hired do the work; after all, it's their reputation I was hiring in the first place.

My roof presented a challenge - it is low-slope (2/12) plus mansard. Several contractors declined to quote on the job because of these challenges. The PROFESSIONALS at Better Contracting Services explained their recommendations to me clearly and then implemented their plan EXPERTLY. Willing answering all my questions.
My wife has a garden often on garden tours and the workmen were very careful to protect everything and clean up thoroughly afterwards. Even coming back for a followup inspection and to ensure that I was completely satisfied. They had the proper equipment and expertise to ensure a topnotch quality job. (I can't recommend them to my mother since she is dead) I would certainly recommend them if you want an A-1 QUALITY job done efficiently by professionals.

In mid-December we had a major failure in our roof with water cascading down a bedroom wall during a heavy rain. We called Better Contracting Services, did some research on roofing, and were able to get a major repair to rotting roof boards and a new roofing system installed before Christmas. We were very pleased to be rescued during our time of need and are very happy with our new roof. However, there were a couple of concerns that we had. The holidays intervened and unfortunately we had serious family issues to deal with for the next few months. In late April I contacted Mike at Better Contracting Services and explained our issues to him. He could not have been more open to our concerns even though much time had passed since the job had been done. His approach was "What can we do to address your concerns and make you a satisfied customer?" His offer was too generous for the issues that we had. So we settled for some things being done which addressed our concerns with a little extra service and product thrown in at Mike's suggestion. Despite all the rain we had this spring, Better Contracting Services kept my job at the top of their list. Rob came out today and spent the morning making things right. He was conscientious and diligent through the heat and humidity. Like all the staff at Better Contracting Services, Rob is representative of the professional, courteous, and respectful approach that makes this company stand out. We are very happy with the performance and security of our new roof over the past 6 months. We are also pleased with the new look it has given to our house. This is our second job with Better Contracting Services. We consider them as one of our partners in maintaining our home.

Stay away. Holmes or no holmes. After 5 contracts, 6 months, my roof is still not complete. We have had three leaks and I have gotten other companies to come back and fix it. I gave up on Better Contracting, they didn't supply quality service, quality product and I am completely dissatisfied. They left garbage everywhere on my neighbours lawn and roof, and with three leaks, the damage inside was a nightmare.

My dealings with Better Contracting

I bought a home with rusted gutters in late’08. In spring of ’09, I picked two companies, but since one only gave the quote via the phone, I went with Better Contracting from watching Holmes on Holmes.

Desmond from Better Contracting came to my house; walked around, and told me everything that was wrong with my neighbour’s eaves troughs—the neighbour did the work himself with a buddy. We sat in my kitchen, he wrote up what needed to be done, and gave me an estimate-$1900 and change. I provided my Visa for the down payment, a date was selected for the job to be done and we parted ways.

I was informed when the job was to be done, and I rushed home after work to see my new eaves. When I got home, the guys were still working at the front of the house, but I could see that the portion that was “completed” looked really good. By the time that they were finished, it was dark out and they left. The next day after I came from work, look again at my new eaves, and it looked great. The house looked finished with the new soffit, fascia and gutters. The area was clean, the openings were the old down spouts drained into the city line were capped and everything was perfect. I got a call to pay the balance of the work and did. I completed and gave a good review. Then it rained.

I had a beautiful waterfall running between the gutter and fascia of my new eaves. I walked under looking up, and could see straight through to the sky through about a ½ inch gap where the water poured down. I was going to take a video with my phone, but it was a bit difficult with the rain, so I went online to investigate so that I would be able to explain when I called. The investigation provided an explanation of what was wrong and including a picture which I cut and pasted onto an email which I sent.

Better Contracting came out, fixed the side where the gap and rain was really pouring, but there was still water leaking at the front part, so I emailed again and explained that the back and front was ok, but why did they not fix the front. The email reply was terse; I was told that the roof edge was cut too short and that they had to put drip edge on which by the way they charge for and I was getting it for “free”. (My feeling is if the roof was too short to begin with, they should have known that as my problem with my gutters was not because it was too short, but that the gutters were rusted through). The women then suggest to me that I should replace my roof. I responded by telling her that there was nothing wrong with my roof, and there was no other communication.

My expectation was still that they would come because their reputation was "on-the-line", seeing as there was an expectation of it “being done right” and that the problem was in the front of the house where anyone who passed by could see, but… Since they never showed up, I went to a big box store and bought drip edge and had a friend put it in for me, and it lessened the problem to drips. Over this winter the snow has shifted the drip edge because it was not secured properly and the leak has returned. I sent an email to Better Contracting asking them to came take a look when it rain (because I am suppose to have a 5 yr warranty), but this have been few weeks with no reply. Righ now, I have a window box which get very well watered when it rains, and I will have to hire someone else to fix a problem that I should should not be happening. My neighbour's which he did himself, has nary a leak!!!

Better contracting removed 3 layers of existing roof shingles and all associated debris, and reinstalled the base sheet, membranes and new shingles as specified. In an industry where prices and quality of work vary widely, Better Contracting stands out as a reputable organization that does good work for a fair price.

I had some new roof vents installed with old ones being replace with a better quality vent. Murray gave me a quote and it seemed reasonable. Jeff came in and did a great job and done quickly. I would recommend them to other people.

I have nothing but good words for Better Contracting. This is the second time in 3 years that I have used their services. The crew arrived promptly at the scheduled time and stayed on the job until it was completed. The pricing was very competitive and all of the materials and workmanship were superior to other companies I have dealt with in the past. You know you are getting quality when Mike Holmes himself uses this company to do projects on his show!

We had some siding and some facia replaced on the front of our home. The job was done on time and on budget. Overall it was a good service, however there was some garbage left on the front lawn after all was finished. Overall, the services provided were to my satisfaction.

Let me begin by saying we (my wife and I) had called another of Toronto's large roofing companies in September of 2009 to fix a leak near the front of the house. The job was never done right and dragged on for months and in the meantime we found leaks in other areas so it was time to get the entire roof replaced, and I was glad I had found out how bad this first company was, and I called two other companies, one of them was Better Contracting, and the other company we'll call company X. Company X had a good estimate but wanted to use aluminum for the flashing on the roof, and we found out that painted steel flashing would be better, for it's weight and heft, especially in regards to wind. We met with Mike Graves, one of the owners of Better Contracting, and he personally did the estimate. He took a long time on the roof. He had the most detailed estimate of all the roofing estimates we had obtained in the last year and a half. We bought the house a year and a half ago, and knew sooner or later we would need to replace the roof, and had many estimates done at the time. It is a low slope, flat roof, originally covered with a barrier, tintex, and BUR, built up roofing, comprising alternating layers of felt and hot tar, and gravel on top. Mike sat and chatted with us for almost 2 hours that day. His office manager had scheduled him early in the afternoon to make sure he had plenty of light to view the roof. The first of many occasions where they looked at every detail. I had good vibes from him, found him very personable, and I signed a contract within a few days. We had to re-mortgage our house to afford the roof. Flat-roofs are expensive to replace, and when you're spending almost $50,000, it better be done right. They had to arrange all the materials, then they would start. Our house is more than 3000 square feet, so a lot of metal flashing and eavestroughing was required. I think the contract was signed on November 18, and they came about 2 or 3 weeks later, which was fine, because I wanted the roof worked on when it wasn't raining, but before the snow, and early December was perfect. I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and I have my issues, and Mike took note of it and was very kind and helpful. He made sure a foreman was there when the materials were dropped off, as well as the 40 cubic yard garbage bin for the waste. They spent about 3 1/2 weeks on the roof before Christmas, and returned early in the new year to complete the job, about another week. During the first 3 1/2 week period, there was even a gentleman working on a Saturday and Sunday! He seemed like a highly skilled employee, and was torching down the materials used in the 2-ply Bitumen process. It was raining on one Saturday, and he made sure the plastic tarps were properly in place over any exposed places while it was raining. The $43,000 included everything, even unforeseen damage, including rotting wood that had to be replaced, extra roof vents (original roofing didn't have enough), and new skylights (covers), one had to be custom made in B.C. Also included were the downspouts, eavestrough's, and siding on a raised portion of the roof (vaulted ceiling). They also included 1" or 1 1/2" of insulation. The foreman was there almost always. The weather was very cold this past December, and the crews showed up consistently around 8:30 each day. They took formal coffee breaks and a lunch break and worked like dogs the rest of the time, often in bitter cold. Several times the Foreman, Randy, knocked on my door and offered me more choices, including asking me about embellishments to the look of the black flashing especially in the front. I was continually reminded of their attention to detail. Randy and the owner Mike always kept in touch. In turn, I could reach the company at any time. I could send an email and be contacted back within minutes. They have a woman in their office named Mavis who I could contact by phone or email. She was always courteous and efficient. Get this, we ran out of money, and they accommodated us. We were about $4800 short, we found another $1000, and they were willing to carry the balance at 2% per month, we just come in every month and give them a few hundred dollars. Very fair. Needless to say, there was a mutual trust between my wife and I and Better Contracting. Randy was unbelievably nice and extremely proficient, I'm pretty handy and technically smart, and every question I had about the process was answered patiently, in detail. They kept saying the job had to be done right, because it would be more expensive and difficult for everyone if they had to come back and re-do anything. Some days there were more than 7 or 8 guys there, especially when the old roof was scraped off. I have several drain cleanouts in the front lawn, one looked like it might have been damaged by them, I mentioned it, they brought a plumbing or drain company around, and put a camera down the cleanout to make sure nothing was cracked and that no debris had fallen in. Turns out just the top extension piece with the cap had come loose. So, overall, $43,000 later, we are very pleased. I expect there will be one or two 'tweaks' needed this spring, and I'm sure they will be very responsive. Look, we're all human beings and no one is perfect, but 99% of the job was perfect. I found the odd roofing nail/screw and a few pieces of gravel here and there, but big deal. They were working under very trying circumstances, wind, rain, and snow, not to mention cold, so if they dropped a few screws or nails, big deal. Plus, I'm very obsessive, so I was probably looking for stuff before they even had a chance to clean up everywhere. Don't get me wrong, they did clean up every few days. I bought a magnetic nail 'rake' from Home Depot and I'll sweep the lawn this spring just in case, because we have 2 dogs. I'm not going to nitpick over trivial details. My concern was that they got the roof perfect. Roof's, especially flat ones, are very tricky, and I'm sure if I notice any touch ups needed that they will work with me, they've assured me they will return at any time if any adjustments are needed. Randy the foreman, and Mike, the owner, and Mavis are all to be commended for their professionalism, and above all, they were all very nice to deal with. My wife and I highly recommend Better Contracting, they did an excellent job replacing our roof.