Bill Barclay in Toronto

Where do I begin??? I contacted five masonry contractors for estimates/quotes re: tuckpointing on the outside walls of my 1907 home in the west end of Toronto. Four of the five gave me the usual blah blah about grinding out all of the old mortar, and replacing it. A couple of them wanted to completely replace the crumbling brick columns on my front porch; of those, a few said they could colour match the old bricks, but not all of them said so. So Mario Cantin from Invisible Tuckpointing was one of those whom I had I contacted. He showed up exactly on time, and gave me more details about the science behind tuck-pointing and old house restoration than I initially could absorb. His passion for the job was clearly evident in our initial conversation. During our first meeting, I had casually mentioned that I had always dreamed of restoring the front porch of this Edwardian workers cottage to its former glory. He was willing to take that on, at a very reasonable price. The end result is that he selectively removed and replaced loose mortar between the bricks on my house, and left the original in place where attention was not required. He colour matched the new mortar with the existing house. He rebuilt the brick columns on my front porch without having to demolish and replace them, as others had suggested. AND, he did the porch..This involved sanding the original wood pillars, sanding the roofing, the porch partition between my house and my semi-detached neighbour, and the porch floor. Re-painting, etc. Fixing up the loose balustrades on my front porch. It was a major labour of love. I realized through this process that Mario (and his wife Sandy) are passionate about restoring old houses to their historic architectural roots. Their work was meticulous, and detailed. Mario prides himself on being true to the history of architectural restoration. And he has the skills to do it. We are elated by their work. He is a true artist and cared passionately about restoring an old Edwardian cottage to its original condition. There are many other positives to say about Mario, some of which are mentioned in the various Home Stars reviews. Cleaned up every afternoon, prompt, courteous, kind. I have absolutely no reservation in recommending Mario/Invisible Tuckpointing to your attention, if you want to restore your home to original. Bill

My ancient octopus furnace, which I loved, died on Boxing Day 2019. Spent a couple of weeks reviewing quotes, and chose Mckinnon Heating. Michael (Owner) came out on a Saturday to assess. He recommended a recycling contractor, who dismantled the octopus. Gave me a couple of quotes for that. Chose one, and they did quick and fine work of it in 3 hours. Michael gave me a detailed Scope of Work, which was a deciding factor in my decision. Not the cheapest bid, but the right one. After that, the Mckinnon's crew showed up to install a new high-efficiency furnace and remove/replace old air ducts, over three days. The crew were totally professional, capable, courteous, etc. I am so impressed with their work. All done on time and on sked, as promised. Highly recommended. Bill

Two recent visits: Brian was totally helpful throughout. First visit: Brian came by first hand, to check out the eaves issues. Solved most issues just on first inspection. No other high-end contractor was willing to do that. Second recent visit: to clean 1950s era storm windows. I wish I had asked him about cleaning the storm windows years ago!!!! Derek showed up exactly at 12 noon as promised. Very efficient, very thorough, dealt with the stubborn ones with ease and experience, very pleasant, and very personable. He was done in a couple of hours or so while I tried to keep pace doing the inside of the inside window panes with my Windex and towel paper! (I hadn't asked them for this service). But I couldn’t keep pace! What he did in a couple of hours or so would have taken me days and several tubes of A535. Derek seems like a very together and impressive guy. Brian must have a good eye for people. Having contracted geophysical crews in the bush for 15 years many years ago, I get that he knows how to manage people and clients. I have no hesitation in passing Brian's and New Era's name on to any neighbours who ask. And his crew took care of a couple of minor issues as well. Very grateful for their attention. Highly recommended. It’s kind of like going to the optometrist and getting new prescription glasses! Wow. Highly recommended. Bill

David found the time on short notice for a small job relative to his more usual undertakings: replacing the corroded and pitted (and leaking) taps on an ancient claw-foot bathtub and similarly ancient pedestal wash sink. He was recommended to me by Jim Addison at Addison's Plumbing. He was courteous, professional, and gave me the advice I needed re: repairing vs replacing the fixtures. And he even walked around the corner to Addison's to select antique repro replacement taps after we had discussed what I wanted. I definitely would call David again, and highly recommend him.

Our fridge (10+ years?) stopped cooling in the interior, although the freezer compartment was fine. Peter Pambis contacted me within hours of posting his company on HomeStars project list (Sunday pm). He gave me interim advice, asked for make, model #, and S/N, and showed up as promised mid-morning the next day with all the needed replacement parts. His service was professional, informative, and courteous. Price was in line with other similar reviews. I will contact Peter again in the future when I need any other appliance repair. Sure beats phoning other companies or looking through ads in a newspaper. Thanks Peter.

The technician arrived after a minor re-scheduling mix up, and proceeded to clean and inspect my wood fireplace chimney quickly and professionally. He took care to block off any soot/dust from entering the living room. He was very professional and courteous. I'm looking forward to the first fire of the season reassured about the safety of the chimney. Bill

Paul and Jamie arrived on time as scheduled. They seemed to be knowledgeable, insightful and experienced technicians, courteous and professional. Like most furnace technicians, Paul was not familiar with our older Gilson Hermetic furnace (affectionately known to afficionados as an Octopus because it comprises an octopus of ducts) but he figured it out pretty quickly (quite simple really). With his expertise I received an effective and accurate cleaning. The customer service in all areas (Lina on the phone, Paul and Jamie on the ducts, was excellent.

I called Advanced Plumbing to undertake a camera inspection of my house drainpipe a few days after a heavy rain storm caused a minor flood (4") in my basement. I was quite concerned about possible tree root knots in the pipes or broken clay pipes for this 107 year-old downtown house. A friend and neighbour had provided a positive recommendation for Advanced previously, based on his prior experience with Greg. Greg and George both attended my home drain "colonoscopy", and we watched the camera probing the drain together. To my immense financial relief, there were no major problems: no tree roots, no broken clay pipes. Greg and George both were very professional, personable, courteous, and understood my concerns. Their advice was honest and straightforward; it was a simple job to them, and they did not push for any additional unneeded remedial work. They probably saved me a premium hike with my home insurance underwriter as well. Thanks guys. I will certainly call you again should I need any plumbing/drain work in the future. Bill

I'm the neighbour across the street from Yvonne (previous submission). Luc's Roofing did my house in stages 17-15 years ago. Just now had to re-do the flat roof and south-facing slope on a semi-detached, and the garage. As they were then, and continue to be with Ben (son of Luc), they are very professional. Clean-up was impeccable; I couldn't find a speck of left-over tile in the yard when I came home this afternoon. And I looked! Luc and Ben run a very professional roofing business. They have two crews who have been with them for 10+years: same people. That says a lot about the contracting business.. I recommend Luc's Roofing highly, and have done so over the years to neighboiurs. I think Luc's Roofing has done at least 6-10 houses on our street. And they are there, big time, in an emergency. Best wishes Bill

I found Luc's Roofing back in the 1990's, after I bought my 1907 era house in downtown Toronto. They did an excellent job then, and they have been there for me ever since. Luc and his son Ben are straight-up, honest, wthout BS, and they get the job done professionally, cleanly (no bits and pieces left on the ground) and quickly. I have recommended them to neighbours since the 1990's, and I think that at least 8-10 houses down the street have been done by Luc's since, and are happy with the results. I agree with all the positives in the other reviews I have read on this site. Not the cheapest (don't go there), and not the most expensive. I recommend these guys highly.