SUMMARY: I am a happy customer of Canadian Rooter for over 10 years across 6 different projects. In every case I found Naz and his team to be professional, get the work done on time and in budget, and with high quality. The price is not the lowest, but it is fair considering the quality of service you get. Canadian Rooter is my first choice after all these years. I have written a more detailed review below for each of the jobs, beginning with the most recent.
DETAILS OF JOBS
1. Kitchen Sink Drain Repair (2019)
On a Saturday, found water leaking out of the drain under the sink and quickly found the drain pipe was cracked. Called Naz that afternoon and he promised to come by on Monday. He was nice enough to say that if we had called him in the morning, he would have come that day! Good to know for future. Naz came by on time (as always), rebuilt the entire drain, and replaced the water lines with new ones. Rock solid quality job and done in a few hours for the agreed upon price (approx. $600).
2. Replacing 3 toilets (2017)
Moved to Mississauga and immediately wanted to replace the 20 year old toilets. Called Naz who came by to give a quote and take a look, especially as one bathroom had a bad smell. Naz recommend a good quality toilet that was on sale at a good price, but we couldn't secure 3. I always appreciate the recommendations he gives on quality and deals. Got 3 American Standard toilets and Naz explained why the models we got are still good toilets with bigger traps. Arranged for an install date and Phil came onsite. Phil did the install and also investigate the smell. He gave us an honest recommendation that didn't cost us anything and the issue was resolved. Very happy and toilets have been fine for the last 3 years.
3. Bathroom Renovation (2017)
At the same time as selling our house in Toronto, an upstairs bathtub cracked and leaked water to the main floor. Called Naz and we obviously decided to repair the tub, but because of the way the bathroom was tiled, we had to the floor and wall tile as well. It was another bigger job, but two of Naz's team came by and spent about a week gutting and rebuilding the bathroom. Again they kept themselves mostly upstairs and were very professional with my entire family. They also kept the worksite so clean and organized at the end of each day that I was able to walk into the site with my kids and look around perfectly safely. Very impressive! Naz also went to a lot of effort to secure matching tiles for the broken ones we needed to deal with. Job was done on time, on budget.
4. Repair basement wall crack (2015, approx).
My deck was being completely replaced. He noticed a large crack under one basement window and asked if we wanted to repair or take our chances that the deck would protect it. Given the past issues with basement flooding (read on), we played it safe and called Naz. He came by, did an assessment with a bit of digging, and next day two of his team came out. The job was done in one day for the agreed upon price.
5. Second Basement Flood (2012, approx.)
After a few incredible rainstorms in Toronto, we ran out of luck one night when the backwater valve overflowed and water came back into the house. Even with the sump pump working over time, and my brother and I bailing water out, we could not keep up and the basement flooded a second time. So, we called in Naz for the bigger job of replacing the valve and fixing the slope of the lines leading to the valve and pump (see the project below). This was a messy job requiring the concrete floor of the basement to be broken up and the lines dug up. Naz did an initial assessment and then sent a crew of about 7 to our house and they were there for a week. They taped and plastic sealed off the basement from the rest of the house, which really kept the dust down. The team was very professional, keeping themselves to the basement and not getting in our way and always being professional towards my mom, wife, and myself. This was a big job, but it was completed on time and you could see the quality difference with the new valve right away and our flooding issues never arose.
I will also say there are some reviews here complaining about staff not speaking English as a first language. For this crew of 7, while English was not everybody's first language, I never had any issues communicating in English with this or any of the different Canadian Rooter team members over the years. In this project, yes, there was a worker who we spoke to and he gave instructions to others, but if I had any need, I just called or texted Naz and it was cleared up. This goes with any contractor...keep communication open and expectations agreed to. Naz also came to the house every day to check up, so no concerns at all.
6. First Basement Flood (2010)
Our home in Toronto was equipped with a sump pump. The home was a 2019 new build. My son was in the hospital for an extended period and so I did not pay attention to the fact that the sump pump hadn't pushed out water. Of course, the float had gotten snagged and water filled the weeping tile and eventually came in through the basement walls. As part of the overall renovation, we were referred to Naz by our general contractor. Naz came in, did the evaluation, and recommended replacing the sump pump with a better technology and a battery backup. He also noted that the installation of the backwater valve was old and that the slope of the weeping tile lines was probably not ideal, but that was a bigger job. Of course, it was eventually addressed in the example above.
