Philip Jessup

Our backyard lawn was more or less destroyed by a well-loved family dog. After we gave Frannie away -- we couldn't care for her any more given our advancing age -- we turned to Gardenzilla to refurbish the lawn. Mike came up with an economical plan to resod the worst half of the lawn while reseeding the second half. That done, the racoons and squirrels moved in and rolled up the new sod, so chicken wire came down to secure it. That was last year. The wire came up this spring, and additional seeding is now creating a lovely lawn. Highly recommended. These folks know what they are doing.

John and his team installed an excellent EnergyStar roof on our 1910 Riverdale house several years ago. Thanks to the new roof's low emissive rating, our attic cooled accordingly during the summer compered with our old roof. However, on two occasions over the past year shingles came loose on one dormer. I called John both times, and he showed up with a long ladder and reattached the shingles, no questions asked. He did not charge us. The guarantee on the roof proved solid. I would highly recommend John and his team, especially for roofing jobs in the east end of Toronto.

In 2018, Aiad and his team replaced insulbrick on the east side of our wooden 100-year old house with insulation covered with stucco in a colour matching the brick front of the house. It was a marvellous result (see my previous review). Recently a wire attached to the stucco came loose, leaving a strip devoid of stucco on the side of the house. I got in touch with Aiad, and within a week he was at the house making a repair with new stucco matching the existing colour. A few weeks later, he revisited and patched a larger section of stucco that was torn off as a result of deck construction. His team again did a beautiful job, taking care to closely match the older stucco in colour. He didn't charge me for either visit. He and his team not only do great work, but retain old fashioned values. He is such a pleasure to work with and have around.

We engaged Gardenzilla to do two jobs: installation of a new garden in front of our house and upgrading of the backyard garden with new grass sod and plants. The front garden was a challenge, as we had already commissioned a detailed design, and we had a desire to keep a large rosebush and some evergreens that had grown over the years. Gardenzilla did a marvellous job integrating the new plants into the space, adapting to the formal design and improving the appearance of a prominent evergreen by pruning it. In the backyard, Gardenzilla resodded an area that had gone to dust because of dogs and added plants here and there to fill out the garden and make it look even more natural. The Gardenzilla team also pruned a 100-year old apple tree without asking (or charging). Now that we have lived with the backyard for several weeks, we are going to make some adjustments and Gardenzilla is ready with options. My wife and are are extremely pleased with Gardenzilla's work. The team was courteous and efficient, and not a scrap of refuse was left. Communication with Michael was excellent. Overall, the long wait we had was definitely worth it.

Business partners Geoff and Kosal were a great team designing, procuring materials, and building a deck in our backyard, immediately followed by a second improvised project, replacement of a side porch off the kitchen using the same composite True North decking material. Throughout the project, Geoff was a terrific communicator and advisor. As the lead on-site builder, Kosal implemented the design very carefully -- the project took a week, though not complicated. I was particularly impressed with how Kosal melded the deck into the back of the house, which now looks like a natural extension of the first floor, our key aim. Highly recommended and well worth the wait and cost.

Gareth and his son Liam did a terrific job painting exterior trim on our 1910 heritage house and the interior of our kitchen and dining room. We had used them twice before on interior jobs, and received just as excellent service this time. Indeed, Gareth went beyond the call of duty in painting historic wooden escutcheons attached to our front porch by removing them carefully and then replacing them. This is so the darker green colour of the escutcheon would stand out clearly against the white of the porch. He also repaired some rotted wood on the exterior with metal and made a baseboard repair in the kitchen. These folks take great pride in the work, and Gareth as a good feel for design and colour. When we eventually sell the house we'll go back again for a fourth time for staging. You cannot miss with this team, though you'll have to wait for them!

Over the past three years Jon Chapple and his team have renovated three bathrooms (one incorporates a laundry centre) and a basement kitchen with Ikea cabinets in our 1910 Riverdale home. Jon's unique combination of assets includes: a strong flair for interior design; a mastery of wall and ceiling repair, installation and plastering, creative applications of LED lighting; excellent carpentry; and code compliant electrical contracting. He is the complete home renovator and contractor. He certainly added significant value in our home and was attentive (best to text him) and personable, despite challenges uncovered during renovation, like knob-and-tube wiring that posed a fire hazard in one bathroom. Because of his excellent work, Jon is in very strong demand and typically has several projects going at once, so he appreciates being managed tightly. As a project nears completion, to do lists with remaining can be helpful. Jon is a perfectionist, so expect him to take time and care with your project. You won't be disappointed in the end.

Among the firms I approached, Len was first off the mark to come and provide an on-site estimate. I hired the firm to restore about 360 square feet of clay tile that was grimy from dirt, dog pee, and a previous finish that had mostly peeled off (first pic). His team of three did a superb job, working until 7pm in the evening. A secret sauce applied to the grout worked extremely well. Since the clay tile itself is natural, I only wanted it cleaned, nothing applied to its surface (second pic with baseboard). I had questions about the potential toxic nature of chemicals used, and Len provided all the info I needed to assure me. Highly recommended.

With a HELP loan (Home Energy Efficiency Loan Program) from the City of Toronto, we engaged Aiad Habashi company to install 2" exterior insulation and stucco on top of that, as a part of a larger project to make our home more energy efficient. From start to finish, Aiad did an excellent job communicating with us, addressing coordination issues with the window installer, and adjusting his schedule to meet our needs. HIs team was very professional and the final result is beautiful! I can't recommend Cosmopolitan and Aiad highly enough.

We hired Sam to fix plumbing fixtures, remodel two closets with vinyl flooring and gypsum board, install interior door "baby" gates to control pet movement, and build a cat sandbox for you know what in our backyard. He was efficient, creative, cheerful, procured all materials, and presented us with a reasonable bill. He will be coming back for sure! Even our yappy spaniel liked him! Book in advance. His reputation proceeds him!

Through Bath Emporium in Markham, we purchased double and single vanities with counters and sinks from Rock Solid. We were attracted by the quality -- dovetail drawer joinery -- and the timeless design of their Shaker line. Prices are a good deal lower than U.S. made cabinetry, and we support jobs in Ontario. We have been pleased with their products, and the firm quickly exchanged a medicine cabinet that had been scratched. Highly recommended!

Managing our own bathroom renovation, we shopped extensively for quality bath equipment and fixtures, including whirlpool bathtub, vanities, sinks, toilets, etc. We found the best prices and a broad selection at Bath Emporium in Markham. Though we are in Riverdale, the showroom was easy to reach off the DVP. Selection and service were excellent -- though email responses were sometimes slow. Highly recommended.

Recently, I purchased a variety of bathroom fixtures and accessories for two bathrooms we were renovating. I always received good, timely, courteous service. Sometimes email responses were slow, but they were able to speed up delivery of a shower door unit so my contractor could compete his work on time. The showroom is well stocked, and discounts on some fixtures are usually available. Highly recommended.

Carpet Mill staff installed a carpet in our dining room and a stairwell to the basement. During installation, they found they needed to sew a border onto the stairwell so it wouldn't fray, so they took those sections back to the store and returned in several hours to finish the job. They didn't charge us extra. They did an excellent job, cleaned up, and even left us an extra pad from remainders. Highly recommended!

David installed an antenna and digital tuner at our house in the Riverdale area of Toronto. We now receive 15 channels -- all Canadian stations, as well as NBC, ABC, CBS, and PBS from Buffalo -- free. It will take 2 years to payback the installation cost, but worth it -- reception is usually superb -- we are particularly pleased with PBS reception. There were a number of problems to solve with the installation, including intermittent audio, which turned out to be a setting on the tuner. David didn't want to be paid for coming out again to clear up the issue, but we paid anyway -- he straightened out the wiring for our surround sound audio at the same time. Knowledgeable, hard working, attentive to safety issues with the antenna (needed grounding) made him a joy to work with. High recommended.

John Stewart and colleagues did a superb job installing a new Energy Star roof on our home. We were keen to have a new roof that would absorb less solar radiation and help with cooling the house in summer. John took us through the various Energy Star (U.S. rated) products available in the Canadian market, and we chose an economical one. He also waterproofed one of the windows on the side of the house. After the installation, a leak developed above the window. he returned himself on a weekend and made the repair -- no charge. You couldn't ask for better service.

Antonio and colleagues did a superb job installing new kitchen lights, a new convention oven, a 240 volt outlet for a cooktop in a basement apartment, an audio coaxial cable snaked through the walls, and a new Siemens breaker panel (the one replaced was rusty and dangerous). Antonio was responsive to phone calls, emails, and always showed up on time for appointments. A real pleasure to deal with. You'll be in terrific hands with Java and pay reasonable prices!

Re:Leaf trimmed the upper branches of a tree in a neighbour's backyard in order to let more sun into on our garden. They were prompt in arriving for the estimate and then later coming to do the trimming, gave great attention to safety -- another crew was rebuilding our neighbour's fence, and cleaned up superbly. Overall a great job and highly recommended!

Tony really impressed me on his first visit in August 2011 with his knowledge of hydronic systems and suggested ways to get two basement radiators working. He would come back in September with a low water cutoff valve to get our boiler to comply with municipal code and to get water flowing through the radiators. The first September appointment was cancelled when he got stuck at another job waiting for the city inspector to show up -- no problem -- I understood. He said he would call back the following week to rebook. He didn't call, so I called him and spoke to one of his sons, who said we would call back to reschedule, but never did. I called again -- the same thing happened. Having spent several weeks trying to book an appointment, I went with another service, as we must meet code very soon or have our gas shut off. Too bad. I liked Tony and his sons -- very affable and knowledgeable. But they seem disorganized when it comes to maintaining appointments and didn't follow-up on verbal commitments they made to this customer -- I had to keep calling them, to no avail.