Better Contracting Services

This company was hired to redo my roof in May, they showed up May 11th. They came to pick up the cheque within 2 day...I had noticed issues and relayed them to Sue..who took pictures and told me they would be out to fix it..nothing, I called them almost daily, nothing...they then told us they would send the crew out to inspect, they were apparently there, but nobody told us even though we had asked to be present when the workman showed up to ensure the work was done..we then noticed further issues worse then our original complaint and called them again..nothing. Got a hold of Paul who came out and looked at the roof..with my husband up there with him and he said it was a bad job..and reading other reviews, he apparently does this often, good cop bad cop I guess...he said he would put in a work order...nothing...I continue to call...no response, nothing again...I finally get a call from Sue, once I wrote Mike Holmes a 4 page letter, which I encourage all of the unhappy customers to do...I received a call from Sue...may have nothing to do with the letter, I was just happy to get the call..she claimed that there was indeed a work order and that they intend to fix the job..that the manufacturer supplied them with a less than perfect part. There were several e-mails..and it was left that they would call me prior to sending out a crew...that was over 2 wks ago..the saga continues, still waiting..I will only wait so long and then its court. Again, I encourage all of you to do the same..we can't let this type of crap continue...taking hard hard earned dollars and then not living up to their contract, it is disgusting. My rating may change, depending on the next 2 wks.

Still waiting and still very unhappy at 15 Shangarry Drive, if anyone wants to come and see the mess...feel free before you hire these folks....honor the contract Better Contracting, I have given you more than enough time.

We initially contracted Better Contracting Services to conduct extensive repairs on our house in April 2008. The work was conducted during July 2008.

Some months thereafter, upon witnessing the first severe rainstorm, we noticed the new eavestrough at the rear of the house was not working properly; water was flowing behind the eavestrough and down the side of our house.

When we inspected the problem area more closely, we noticed several problems. The eavestrough was installed with insufficient grade to properly remove rainfall from the roof. The eavestrough was attached to rotten wood which should have been replaced in accordance with the contract. There is a significant open gap behind the eavestrough exposing our attic to the elements, thus allowing moisture, rot etc to develop in the attic.

There is rotten plywood left at the corner of the roof which has lifted away from the main structure, creating another problem area for moisture and the elements to enter the attic. When we phoned the sales representative, Murray Collins, to inform him of these problems, he came to the house, inspected the problem and agreed that our complaints were valid and assured us that he would endeavour to have it fixed.

After several promises, no-one showed up to conduct the repairs. After repeated phone calls to Murray over the course of several weeks, he eventually handed me over to Sue who is in charge of scheduling, as he told me he could provide no more assistance than what he already had done. This was approximately July 2009.

Since then, we have contacted Sue on numerous occasions, and on every occasion she has promised to send over a team to inspect and conduct the repairs. Several times she even gave a firm date as to when the team would show up. We are still waiting.

Our overriding concern is that my roof is rotting at an accelerated rate due to the exposure to the elements since the original repair. During the last phone call approximately 2 months ago, we agreed to pay for materials if they would simply agree to come and finish the repairs. This was not even enough to get them to live up to their promises.

At this point, it seems obvious that Better Contracting Services is simply hoping our phone calls will eventually stop and that this problem will simply go away. We have been treated completely unprofessionally, obviously due to the fact that our original payment was paid in full (and in fact in advance of this repair) and they feel we are no longer a priority. It is clear that repeat business from former customers is not in their business plan.

Hired Better Contracting to reshingle my roof. Picked them due to their affliation with Holmes..sorry I did so far. They showed up real quick to quote me, real quick to pick up their money and cashed it the next day...but the job is sloppy and I called them 8 times, never once got a call back until my husband called the fellow who came out to quote on his cell phone. The entire front and back by the eaves is lifting and looks a mess, there are nails on the roof still and several shingles throughout are lifting. This work was done over 2 wks ago and they still haven't come out to fix their sloppy job. I have left their sign on my lawn, as I wouldn't want to admint I did that work, apparently, they have their money, so don't mind. I may change my rating, depending on whether I am satified with their redo...we'll see. First they have to come and do it. Unreal to me that they would come out, do a job, get paid for that job, $6,700 and then not honour our contract by coming out to fix the mess they made. The quote fellow did come out and even admitted it wasn't a good job, so let's hope he can save the day...the jury is still out. I have had neighbours use them and they were pleased, but I can tell you...I have looked around my area and nobody has a mess like I have...disgusting. I wait for this problem to be solved, at which time I may be writing another review.

Had my roof re done 3 years ago and was satisfied with the results, fast, competitive, and clean. A few minor issues but nothing to cry about. However when it comes to dealing with something small, like a minor change (adding a roof vent or repairing a downspout) they just don’t seem to have the time to come out or call back. So if you have a large job to do you’ll be just fine, everything after you’ll have to call someone else. Had I known this before I may have given the contract to someone else, someone who could come back for the smaller things.

Had the flat roof completely re-roofed in 08, very satisfied with the work.
Called in May of 2010 for a 'roof inspection' to verify the roof integrity etc. as attached neighbour was planning a re-roofing and wanted to ensure that I had assurance that my roof was in perfect condition prior to that work being started.
I was provided with images for my records as well as a written statement verifying that my roof was in perfect condition. I am very pleased with their work and their professionism at Better Contracting.
Thanks so much again!

We live in a 40 or so year old home that was not very well maintained. We knew that some of the sheathing and all of the shingles needed to be replaced. We did not realize just how bad things were until their great work team got up on the roof. We needed to replace the whole roof and brace some broken beams. This should have been a nightmare but with the guidance and knowledge of the team from Better Contracting it was a breeze. Everyone from the salesperson, to the crews, to the office staff (Mavis and Sue) were wonderful to work with. The quality of work (experienced and professional), customer service, and cost are all the best. Any questions we had were promptly answered by Sue or Mavis through e-mail or by the crew themselves on site (they walked us through everything). In our opinion, there is no other company you would want to hire.

I have an 86 year old home which had a raccoon problem over the winter. The damage was substantial enough that the shingles needed replacing. As the roof was on the tailend of it's shingle lifecycle, I decided to have it replaced. From placing a qoute to completion only took 1 week, and the work was professional and the guys on site were polite and explained to me all the steps they were completing. My only concern was that clean up could have been a tad better, one downspout to my "old" gutter was still accidently left on the side of my house. Nothing major, 5 minutes with a screwdriver and I was done.

I had a 10AM visit with Murray scheduled for Friday April 16th to come to the house. He called just before 10 to tell me he was running late. I told him not to worry, that I didn’t need to be home for him to get a look at what we needed done. About 25 feet of 3x3 aluminum downspout needed to be repaired and replaced after we removed the rain barrel from the side of the house. I then let him know this, and that he just needed to call back with the quote before starting the work.

He never called back.

After dropping $14,000 on a whole new roof, skylight, and gutters, Better Contracting didn’t have the courtesy to get back to me on a small job like this. And I felt that I had to call you guys because I couldn’t find at Home Depot or Lowes the 3x3 downspout they installed.

In the 21st century with Facebook, Google and public home renovation website discussion forums, it amazes me a company such as yours would risk the inevitable bad publicity that comes with taking my money for a big job, but blowing me off when I need follow-up assistance.

This is no way to run a business.

NOTE: After posting the above to my Facebook account, a friend reported he had the EXACT SAME PROBLEM with being blown-off for follow-up work.

Quality, service, and cost are all the best. We are undertaking a number of renovations to our home and now have considerable experience with contractors. The folks at Better Contracting are simply the best. In all honesty, everyone from the salesperson, to the roof and siding crews, to the owners, to the office staff were wonderful to work with. In my opinion, you can't go wrong in hiring these guys. Everyone was respectful, clean, qualified, knowledgeable and the crews were quick while maintaining quality excellence. They are definitely not the cheapest contractor you can get but they also are not the over-priced ones...I got 10 quotes so I know! Their prices are fair and very competitive...and they are the best value for the money. They are such a respectable company that they even returned to my house a couple of times after the job to take care of some minor finishing touches. It was never a problem getting them to come back quickly and I had already paid in full. Trust these guys with your home and family. My wife and I are glad we did. Sue and Mavis are a real pleasure to work with in the office. Owner brothers Steve and Michael are always around to be sure everything is to the family standard. Tom and his roof crew are great and the siding crew were really artists. Good luck with your own renos.

The following is a recommendation letter sent to Better Contracting Services:

April 15, 2010

Better Contracting Services
66 Clarkson Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
M6E 2T6

Dear Sirs,

Blake and I would like to take this opporunity to thank you for the excellent job your company performed for us during the past few weeks.

We were impressed with the complete and professional service your company provided to us.

The initial visit was from Murray, who we felt was very experienced, professional, courteous, and informative. He answered all of our questions, which there were quite a few, and pointed out many important details and suggestions to us. Thank you, Murray.

We are also most sincerely grateful to Rob, whom we extend our deepest thanks for his unselfish kindness and his solid & reliable, professional work ethic. Rob came to our rescue and took the time from his long Easter weekend on Saturday, when he should have been relaxing, to help us out when we needed work done quickly. We were very lucky to have Rob here, as he is extremely experienced, and his workmanship is impeccable. Thank you, again, Rob.

The final visit was from a crew to install new eavestroughs, downspouts, etc. The crew included Gary, Mark, and Dave, who were all very polite, professional, and careful. We were most impressed by their experience and how carefully they maneuvered & installed the eavestroughs and downspouts. The men continually conducted themselves in a very hardworking and courteous manner at all times. They were extremely careful around the back patio and their quality of work was excellent.

Blake and I would like to thank Mavis, who always answered our questions over the phone in a professional, courteous, and kind manner.

Once again, we thank your company for your excellent services.

We will highly recommend Better Contracting Services because we think you're the best!

Sincerely,
Bonnie and Blake I.