Home Improvement People Inc. reviews (570)

Hi Dan, My basement in Toronto was recently finished by the Home Improvement People and I wanted to thank Elia Touma and his crew for their excellent work. My wife and I were quite scared to hire a contractor after hearing a lot of horror stories about jobs that were not done correctly, took forever to complete or were not completed at all. I was surprised the very first day when supplies were delivered and framing started right away. This certainly gave me confidence with the Home Improvement People. As the work continued, Elia was there every step of the way to answer questions and/or deal with any problems we had. He was extremely accommodating to all of our issues. He even return our call on a Sunday! The trades were very professional and did a great job. I especially like the fact that there was an expert in each field coming in to do the job, not just one person doing everything. The Plumber, Tile installer and Carpet Installers were fantastic. The Painter and finishing person did a great job and is an extremely hard worker. One day he had started at 8:30am and did not leave until 10:30pm! I was very impressed that Elia himself with the help of his crew actually helped to move my freezer and washer and dryer back in place. That certainly shows the dedication that he has to his job and to making the client happy. Also, I appreciate the extra things Elia did for me, such as mounting my TV bracket and removing the patio stones from the side of the house. Elia always either answered my phone call or called me back right away. That certainly gave me confidence that I hired the right company. The basement looks fantastic and my wife and I are very pleased and we look forward to doing more business with the Home Improvement People. In particular, we will be calling Elia. Well done!

For those interested, here are some comments about our recent experience withe The Home Improvement People (THIP): - the kitchen renovation (including removing a wall, new cabinets, an island, new countertops and new flooring) ended up taking over a year to complete after signing the contract. (For some reason still unexplained it took over 3 months to get the building permit from the City.) - project schedule, tasks and timing were never provided (despite repeated requests) - status updates from the contractor seemed to be limited and generally were responses to our requests for "what's happening?" - understandably, work was performed by different trades who appeared to be sub-contractors to THIP, however not all of these trades appeared to take pride in their work (e.g., sinks improperly installed, cabinets dented / dinged, floors uneven and glue tracked liberally over floor etc.) - we had to spend an inordinate amount of time pointing out unacceptable defects in workmanship (which I thought would have been caught by the contractor) - when pointing out deficiencies we were told that we were making THIP jump through hoops to get paid (there was a pervasive attitude that THIP should get paid for work that was poorly done) - although promised before the contract was signed that any issues discovered during the renovation would be THIP's risk, this turned out not to be the case (we were asked for more money once demolition had been done) - mistakenly, we thought drawings of the kitchen cabinets (part of the contract) would be adequate - in hindsight it would have been better to have complete design drawings created (this would have highlighted some of the missing design elements, e.g., no handy power plugs on island) - it would have made sense to clearly articulate make/type of all products to be supplied and used by THIP rather than the "standard builder's samples" referred to in the contract (e.g., had never heard of Embassy Hardwood and was a little concerned by spelling mistakes on the packaging) On our renovation, we spent, what is for us, a great deal of money, only to have a kitchen that (admittedly) looks nice but on further review is below expectations (e.g., floors that are un-even and squeak more than before, a "Caesarstone" countertop that sits on plywood that is clearly visible etc.). More troubling is the feeling we ended up with that THIP were much more focused on their money than on understanding our requirements and delivering a quality job. So after our renovation would we use THIP for further work in our house - absolutely not.

I would love to tell the world that my experience with the Home Improvement People was absolutely great! It totally renewed my faith in being able to complete home renovations without worrying about hidden costs, unreliable contractors, and projects that take forever to complete. I have a beautiful kitchen now that I absolutely love! Anyone to whom I've shown pictures can't believe how great it looks, and that it was completed on budget and on time. I would definitely recommend the Home Improvement people to my family and friends. Thanks again!

I had the pleasure of meeting Elia in August, just a month after we moved into our two-year-old house. The basement wasn't finished and we wanted a recreation room for us and our three-year-old, plus storage space and an exercise area. We were also considering adding another bathroom, possibly with shower, where the rough-in exists. The first thing Elia did was talk us out of the bathroom as we already have 2.5 baths in the house. He saved us $6,000 and that enabled us to put the space to better use. Elia listened to what we wanted, gave suggestions and the benefit of his experience, and we all came up with a workable plan. He estimated the job would take between four and six weeks. Work started as promised on November 2, finishing on Dec. 4 -- five weeks. The workmanship was great and the few times we ran into minor challenges, they were quickly resolved to our satisfaction. Everyone was very friendly and respectful of our home. They even felt sorry for our dog whom we had barricaded in our bedroom to keep him out of their way when were weren't home. The price was exactly as quoted, not a penny more. We would absolutely not hesitate to recommend the Home Improvement People to family and friends and plan to use them again in the next few years when we have other home improvement projects.

No Regrets Home renovations and horror stories unfortunately go hand in hand. We have little experience in renovating, but from our first telephone call to The Home Improvement People we knew the right decision was made. Our call was answered by a real person, and soon thereafter Ben himself returned our call. Ben was courteous, fair and pleasure to do business with. Our contractor Jerry was amazing! He was punctual and in our home on a daily basis, focusing on us 100% until the renovations were complete. Not only was Jerry polite and efficient he provided us with exactly what we had asked for. The quality of his workmanship was second to none. Right from the Home Improvement People's receptionist to their contractors and everything in-between, we would definitely call Ben a second and third time. We would recommend Ben to anyone looking for quality renovations at a fair price. Thank you for a wonderful experience and cheers to a beautiful renovation! Brad & Christine Campbell

We had the Home Improvement People come in to finish our basement. The job was done within the timelines Dan initially estimated. The crews arrived when they were supposed to and stayed until the job was done. Nick and his crew were AMAZING as they really paid attention to detail and quality of workmanship. The tilers did a fantastic job, especially considering the uneven surface they had to work with. The crews cleaned up after themselves each day. Everyone was friendly and respectful of our house. Larry was right on top of things and extremely responsive. This combination made our experience an excellent one! We have had many contractors come through our house as we have been renovating floor by floor. The Home Improvement were the best by far. We wish we’d used them from the beginning! And, their rates are very competitive! We love our finished basement and are very grateful to The Home Improvement People!!!! We would tell anyone looking to do any type of reno that with The Home Improvement People you will definitely get a quality end result and will actually enjoy the experience! How many renovators can deliver that!!!!!! Olga & Chris Forgot to mention the electricians...see, too many good things to say! The electricians that wired the entire basement were excellent. They came up with great lighting solutions for us and really helped us highlight the right things while also ensuring the light controls were convenient & functional! Ok, that’s it from us! Bye...O & C

Dear Danny & Mike I want to express my appreciation to you and your staff for the renovations done at my home throughout June 2009. The workmen arrived punctually each day and conducted themselves in respect and professional manner at all times. The quality of the materials and the skill of the workmanship were exemplary and I am quite delighted with the results. I have proudly shown my new basement to family and friends, all of whom have been impressed. Their comments are filled with praises which echo my sentiments exactly. Please convey my gratitude to everyone involved for making experience positive and thank you once again for exceeding my expectations. Muriel Wilde

I heard of The Home Improvement People through the ads by Dan Berkovits on CFRB. When we made the decision to renovate the basement, they were the first contractors we called. To my surprise, Dan was actually the one who came to meet with us and then came back again to write up the contract. The contract was perfect - it detailed all the work to be done and included the payment schedule. When the work began, I soon realized that specialized crew were handling each step of the renovation. We had framers, drywallers, tilers, painters, electrical, plumbing … all were very professional, knowledgeable and paid attention to detail. The laminate floor is fabulous! Special thanks to the plumber John for helping us decide about the shower. After speaking with him, we decided to ask for a custom built shower and Elia and his crew did an amazing job building it on short notice. We were so satisfied with all the work, that when the renovations were almost complete, we decided to have them install a new suspended ceiling. Elia was again very supportive and had his crew in there to get the job done. Elia did an amazing job coordinating the transformation of our basement into a beautiful living space. Although we added a few items to the original contract, The Home Improvement People did everything they said they would... and more ... on schedule! A couple more items – the receptionist (Haydee) is great to deal with and special thanks to Elia for always taking my calls! Thank you! Angela & Vince Woodruff

Heavy radio advertiser promising a team of craftsmen & adherence to quoted price. Even though quote was high we thought we would be getting better quality workmanship. We were completely conned by the hired gun radio announcer that did the commercial. The "Team" consisted of one single very good handyman, but not a craftsmen by a long shot, and when demolition took longer they increased the price by $1,000 as if it were our fault! Handyman couldn't install bathtub or cabinets so we had to hire other contractors to perform these tasks at additional cost. Handyman did not install ceiling fan to code, just connected it to roof vent. We got a decent overall job but very poor value for money. I don't know who I would recommend but I sure know who I wouldn't!

My 1960's kitchen was completely replaced by The Home Improvement People. Their excellent project manager provided everything and everybody on time. The "crew" included demoliton, gas fitters, plumbers, electrians, hardwood installers, custom cabinet maker, and painters. The company only seems to employ the most congenial of trades people. My kitchen renovation was a complete success.