Tom in East York

My experience mirrors the other reviews here. Ours is a typical East York two story semi and the price shown is before taxes. Ghale Roofing & Renovations was first to respond to the Service Request that I posted. Smooth communications ensued and a fair pricing quote was provided. Lead time was roughly a month. The job was completed in a single day with good materials & quality workmanship. Dorjie and his team are professional and clearly take pride in their work. They don't take shortcuts and will gladly show you the differences. One example being the roofing vents; they use metal rather than the common plastic ones (better durability over time and no chance of animal penetration). I was even given the option of black or grey for the flat section! Dorjie cares, is easy to work with, and I'm pleased with the job.

After submitting my quote request online Jeff replied quickly same day. He was personable and knowledgeable. We discussed the job (typical East York two storey semi, upstairs hall, no access to attic). His default recommendation was the 14” size tunnel for maximum light. A month later after a 2nd contractor’s estimate I accepted Jeff’s quote. He dropped by the following week to do a quick inspection to determine needs. Warned me that our lath & plaster ceiling may chip or break away a bit in cutting the hole. Being very familiar with this I understood and told him I would take of any patching myself as necessary. Without access to the attic we were unable to determine the ceiling joist spacing & direction, so it was decided to bring both a 14 & 10” kit. About a week latter, arriving exactly as scheduled, Jeff set to work. The ceiling did indeed chip away as expected but not a lot. Despite having no access the attic and thus working somewhat blindly, Jeff did a great job. I had already decided to go with the 10” size and boy is it bright. My wife and I love the organic look & feeling this free light creates. Best bang for the buck improvement ever. I have nothing but good things to say about Moore Skylights Inc. and highly recommend Jeff, he is a class act.

This spring during a windy day with strong bursts, I noticed the ground lifting slightly at the base of the large spruce tree in our tiny backyard. I contacted two local contractors for estimates, hoping to keep the tree. Both were knowledgeable and provided similar pricing quotes. Anson the owner was very knowledgeable explaining spruce bud worm, and the importance of the underground root structure & health. He recommended topping the tree by about 8 feet but assured me he could prune the top decently to keep a good shape. This to reduce the height & wind resistance, along with clearing all deadwood and strategically pruning with goal of improving the tree’s health and lessening the wind load. A couple weeks latter their team (Eric & another worker) arrived on time to prepare. Anson showed up a bit latter and did the job. Climbing the tree, clearing dead wood on the way up, pruning away some branches, and cleanly took about 8’ off the top. It was surprising how much old wood and other crap came down. Great guys and very professional. My only regret was not having them reshape the top a bit better. But Anson was a long way up, and it was cold up there, so I deferred to their judgement. I didn’t want to keep him up there any longer than necessary. Overall though I am pleased with the work and would definitely recommend this company.

After accidently chipping our Caesarstone countertop loading the dishwasher, I wasn’t in the doghouse, I was pretty much taken out back behind the barn. Luckily for me I found this company online. I sent them a picture and Peter quickly provided a quote with the good news that the chip could be repaired saving my marriage. A few days later Vadim arrived with two large toolboxes of special tools. With his attention to detail and skill he repaired the chip to nearly invisible. Pretty much unprompted he also repaired a minor imperfection on the other counter at no extra charge because “our chip was small”. I would give them an 11 if I could.

We chose Congoleum Duraceramic luxury vinyl tiles for our new kitchen renovation in Dec 2013. However after only two years our new flooring developed many small “chips” on the surface. The chips are unsightly and not what we expected from Congoleum. The flooring retailer Alexanians put me in contact with John Crisafi the territory manager for Kraus Flooring whom I assume is the Canadian distributor of this product. John's initial follow- up service was prompt requesting pictures and submitted a claim but then tailed off. After many follow-up emails and 3 months delay John advised they would supply the material required & cover the labour to repair the issue. Being concerned that replacing the chipped tiles would not address the fundamental problem that the product is clearly not durable enough I requested another option. Rather than replacing tiles, re-grouting etc, I requested a monetary adjustment. He could choose the $ amount, perhaps 10% less than it would cost to put a tradesman onsite plus materials and I would sign a release against future claims. John replied he understood and would "run the idea through the claims department and see what solution they have" and get back to me soon as he had an answer. That was last summer (July 2016) and the last I heard from him (despite a follow-up email). We have no children or pets in the house and are as careful as the next person. We understand normal wear & tear but this tile is clearly not durable enough for kitchen use. We are severely disappointed in Congloleum tiles and Kraus’ after sales service.

We chose to have Congoleum Duraceramic luxury vinyl tiles installed for new kitchen renovation in Dec 2013. However after only two years our new flooring developed many small “chips” on the surface. The chips are unsightly and not what we expected from Congoleum. The flooring retailer Alexanians put me in contact with John Crisafi the territory manager for Kraus Flooring, whom I assume is the Canadian distributor of this product. John's initial follow- up service was prompt requesting pictures and submitted a claim but then tailed off. After many follow-up emails and 3 months delay John advised they would supply the material required & cover the labour to repair the issue. Being concerned that replacing the chipped tiles would not address the fundamental problem that the product is clearly not durable enough I requested another option. Rather than replacing tiles, re-grouting etc. I requested a monetary adjustment. He could choose the $ amount, perhaps 10% less than it would cost to put a tradesman onsite plus materials and I would sign a release against future claims. John replied he understood and would "run the idea through the claims department and see what solution they have" and get back to me soon as he had an answer. That was last summer (July 2016) and the last I heard from him (despite a follow-up email). We have no children or pets in the house and are as careful as the next person. We understand normal wear & tear but this tile is clearly not durable enough for kitchen use. We are severely disappointed in Congloleum tiles, and Kraus's after sales service.

Recommended by our kitchen designer. I was not expecting "jobber" grade quality with exposed screws. They are also totally inflexible with time lines and I had to keep on them to barely meet it. Big letdown.

Had two estimates, one from a very old established company. Spring Home's quote was slightly lower but went with them primarily on the strong reviews in here in HomeStars (and because they are located very close to my workplace in case anything went wrong!). I need not have worried, Cy was both down to earth and professional. I can't say enough good things about him and his technicians. Suffice to say I am very happy with the outcome and definitly recommend them. I will surely use S.H. for repairs and maintenance should the need arise. I also wish to thank HomeStars for this venue that allowed me to find this company.

Just as the reviews said. Our house is a typical East York 2 storey semi with 9 ducts (including bsmt) The owner Joe quoted me over the phone and was very familiar with these type of houses. Another company on Homestars with excellent reviews did not respond to the "Request Quote" I logged online at their website. Josh arrived and explained what he was going to do: tape all the heat registers & cold returns, then blast compressed air down each register to "loosen and push" all the dirt down to the basment. Once completed, down in the basment he cut two large square openings and two small openings for the "air whip" technique and vacuumed it all out. Openings were then closed back up nicely. Professional and business-like, I think Josh did a terrific job. Company was a pleasure to deal with, from the initial phone call through to the service. Easy recommendation, the 10's are legitimate.

I initially found Bathroom Specialists via the Renomark.ca website. After getting several quotes from contractors and narrowing down to just a couple I ultimatly chose to go with Jerry. My decision was partly based on the excellent reviews on Homestars. My own experience is quite at odds with the reviews here so I offer this review not to hurt Jerry but rather provide some balance in hopes it may help others in their choice. Partial list of shortfalls: - Jerry takes way too long to complete, even though I expected this based on some reviews. Basically took nearly 2 months to complete a 2 week job. - He installed the new plumbing BEFORE reinforcing the floor joists. This resulted very ineffective reinforcement, this was a key request of mine in our contract aggreement - After replacing the plumbing supply lines in the basement we now have a "chugging" sound when doing laundry. Jerry tried to muffle it but never solved the source of the problem - After saying he would "straighten" the walls when applying new drywall, a critically visible wall that previously had been straight was made wavy. This in turn made the tiling look poor. Filling out with compound makes for a strange looking corner at the door. Overall his tiling work was a big disapointment to me - Shower water pressure weaker than before reno. There were many other defficiencies but I don't have the time to list them, and that's not even counting the ones I caught and had him correct. One of my main gripes with Jerry is that he is far from being a perfectionist; basically he counts on you to catch his mistakes. In the end our bathroom came out just ok (and only because of cabinets, fixtures etc that my wife and I chose). I cannot recommend Bathroom Specialists. (UPDATED POST) Nov 2010, re: Company Response 1. Regarding 2 months to complete, product delays were non existent so had nothing to do with it. During our renovation he worked on & off, with many half days & skipped days. Jerry clearly had other projects on the go. 2. Floor reinforcing. Because the tub was being relocated, the contract stipulated floor joists at the new location were to be reinforced by bolting in “sister” joists. This was not done. A joist was even cut (for the toilet drain) without adding a replacement. Mostly he simply added cross bracing haphazardly. Even that was done poorly, being restricted as it was because he had the new plumbing already installed. 3. Plumbing chugging noise. Upgrading old ½ pipe with ¾ is standard practice, at no time did Jerry or his plumber warn me not to do it. No water pressure reading was taken before starting the project so he should not state the pressure was the same after the work. We use the bathroom, we know the shower pressure is lower now than it was before. East York will be replacing incoming water lines in our area soon, shower pressure should improve by that. 4. Tiling work was very average. The tiles we requested be replaced were cracked or chipped, they should never have been left up. Why did Jerry not notice them? The wall he tried to straighten, he made worse by his poor workmanship. House age is not the issue, few houses have straight walls. My error was choosing large tiles, large tiles show very poorly on wavy walls. 5. I paid in full with the understanding that Jerry would speak with another plumber to get a second opinion causing the chugging noise. I clearly asked him to do so but I never heard anything back from him. I am glad they have warranty but baring a major failure I will not be getting Bathroom Specialists back. I have no desire to engage in prolonged repairs, much less start pulling out pipes & drywall etc. Finally, regarding payment, I paid when the job was done because it had been going on for so long and I wanted it over. I am sorry that Jerry is using my good faith full payment now to justify his quality.

I found YSR through my neighbour's recommendation. Vince came by within a day of me calling and provided an estimate for my flat roof to thoroughly "strip the old roofing down to the wood and replace". This was exactly what I was looking for to correct the poor job done previously by a general contractor 3 years ago. After getting quotes from two other roofers I decided to go with YSR as their price was the same as one and much lower than the other. The job turned out to be more than anticipated with the removal of three layers of tar & gravel plus the layer installed by the last contractor. They removed all and applied requested ice&water shield where the sloped roof meets the flat and installed the new roofing. I'm obviously no roofer but am very pleased with the quality of workmanship performed, very high level. I can't say enough about how good a job they did. Some tar staining was left on my shared driveway (maybe due to the massive amount of material removed) so I cannot give them a perfect 10 but if you're in need of a good roofer Yonge Street Roofing in Scarborough should be given serious consideration.

Three years ago I contracted Blue Door Remodeling & Construction to do a major exterior revovation of the upper level of our house: roofing, install siding and replace one old window with thermal. The house is a typical East York late 30's two storey semi. This February the back "flat" roof section developed a major leak while we were away. Water came through causing total damage to the back bedroom ceiling and destroying the hardwood flooring (buckled). I called Blue Door and had to leave a voice messages (always goes to voice mail) without giving my reason for calling. Within 20 minutes I received a call back from Bill, the owner and the same person I dealt with three years ago. I explained the problem and he made a comment like "oh, there's been a lot of that this year due to the weather" To make a long story short since that first phone call Bill has been impossible to reach. Blue Door does not return calls nor has anyone come by to inspect the roof as promised. When a warmer day arrived two weeks ago I borrowed my nieghbour's ladder and went up on the roof myself to try and see what was going on and was appalled by what I saw: 1) The flat roof had been applied directly over the previous tar & gravel roof. 2) One large section was of a completely different material and was falling agpart. My assumption is the roofer must have ran out of material. 3) Flashing around the chimmney and vent stack were horrible. 4) The peremter flashing that is supposed to be applied before installing the roofing was stuck on AFTER. Water now "pools" up there instead of draining away. 5) Where the flat roof meets the sloped roof, the lower several courses of shingles are not sealing. This I believe is the source of the water penetration due to ice damming. I have lived in this house since 1983 and never before had any leaks. My recomendation to anyone considering this company is to find someone else.