Carson Dunlop & Associates Home Inspection

Home Inspection
Toronto ON M5A 4K2
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Carson Dunlop & Associates Home Inspection
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Reviews for Carson Dunlop & Associates Home Inspection

Average customer rating:
8.8 10 (247 reviews)

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AA in Milton
AA in Milton
2 reviews Milton, ON
0/10

Home inspection performed in March/2009

The inspector commented about wrap-around deck (attached to wood-frame addition to the house) needing repairs due to visible wood rot and uneven surfaces but did NOT comment about wood frame house that may have rot or other problems.
Spoke with inspector 2 years later, he admitted that he may have missed the extent of the problem (will have to replace sill plate and rim joist). Spoke with VP of engineering at CD and he said there is no recourse for us. He did not try to explain their position, he just said that he is not interested. He spent less than a minute on the phone with me and he just was not interested, he was very rude and cold.
Terrible customer service. Terrible company. They don't follow or believe in their company's Vision and Mission.
Stay away from this company, they have gotten too big and too arrogant.

Approximate cost of services:
$450.00
What could this company do to improve their services?
They could read their own Vision and Mission statement and actually practice it. They could admit that they made mistakes and compensate their "customers" for their mistakes. If they never admit that they made mistakes, then how could they ever learn from their mistakes?
Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
First of all, please do not hire Carson Dunlop, in my experience, they do not want anything to do with you if you have any problems with their inspection, they treat you like dirt. The only advice I have is to hire a plumber to certifiy that the plumbing is sound, hire an electrician to certify that the electricals are sound, hire a strfuctural engineer to certify that the structure is sound . . . basically, hire only people or organization that will accept liability for their assessment.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Yorkie in Toronto
Yorkie in Toronto
10 reviews Toronto, ON
9/10

home inspection

i have recently used Carson dunlop twice and Jim was great, answered questions and did not mind we were underfoot while he was looking over the property. he gave both reports within 1 days including photos and repair estiamtes. i ahve used other companies where they were much more expenseive and took longer to give the report

Approximate cost of services:
$600.00
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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David Beckner in Toronto
David Beckner in Toronto
3 reviews Toronto, ON
9/10

Home energy audit

Robert was very informative about what he was doing for the HEA. He was very thorough, answered all my questions. In addition, was able to discuss some renovation issues and what to watch out for when I get the work done.

Approximate cost of services:
$350.00
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Homeowner in Markham
Homeowner in Markham
9 reviews Markham, ON
10/10

Home inspection

I used Carson Dunlop to perform two home inspections when I was buying a house.

The first house was about 12 years old, and the inspector was really thorough in his inspection and honest in his opinions. The house had not been maintained very well, so there were many problems with the roof, furnace, air conditioner, and outside wood rot- which would all have cost a significant amount to repair! They were really detailed in their analysis, providing estimates of how much longer those parts would last, and the estimated cost of repairs for those parts. In the end, we ended up not buying the house because of the significant repairs and costs necessary. It was crucial to have this information to make an informed decision.

Carson Dunlop performed another home inspection for us for a different house, and we trusted the advice that they gave us, including things like changing a washroom outlet to a GFCI for safety reasons, etc.

Approximate cost of services:
$500.00
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Tyler
Tyler
1 review Cambridge, ON
0/10

Home Energy Evaluation - POST audit

We selected Carson Dunlop to do our Home Energy Evaluation for the Eco Energy Rebate program.
We had our post audit done, and we've been left in the lurch for almost two months now.
We've tried contacting them several times to find out the status, but we haven't even received so much as an acknoledgement to our numerous emails and voicemails. Every time we call, we get voicemail. I'm not sure they're even still in business.
When we had our initial audit done, they were great. The inspectors themselves were very friendly. I had some questions come up between the pre and post audit, and they were very quick to respond. A couple months ago, I would have given them a great review - now, not so much.

Approximate cost of services:
$150.00
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Company Response

Hi Tyler,

After a careful review of your situation, we have discovered a number of issues - some within our control and an equal number outside of our control - NRCan experienced a number of issues with their mailbot - (the only method for all Service Organizations to submit homeowner files) - for almost a 1 month time period. This inability to send and receive files caused huge implications on our clients and ourselves.
As you are aware by now, your situation has been rectified to your full satisfaction. Most importantly, you have received your grants. Thanks again for your patience and we will apply what we have learned from your situation to our business so we do not incurr future client situations like yours.
Regards, David Kitchen GM 416-964-9415 ext 230

Jim in Thornhill
Jim in Thornhill
2 reviews Thornhill, ON
4/10

Eco-energy home audit

Ryan from Cartson Dunlop came in and was out in 45 minutes of an 2.5 hour audit. Made a mention of including in our audit our poorly insulated garage which didi not show up in the audit report. The follow up audit which cost $150 took 20 minutes top and consist of the blower test and looking at our reno bills. No inspection of the work was done. Would not recommend them if you are truly looking at a thorough audit.

Approximate cost of services:
$350.00
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Company Response

Hi Jim in Thornhill - thanks for your note. In the abscence of knowing your address and home information in detail, my repsonse is somewhat limited but I will address what apepars to be a combination of a few things. Evaluation time - typically we allocate 90 minutes for a pre-retrofit and 45 minutes for a post-retrofit evaluation(actual time in the home) - some are longer and some are shorter - there are a ton of variables affecting time spent in a house. We actually schedule a longer time period in our scheduling system to allow for things like traffic, unforseen issues etc....The garage - we are required to follow the NRCan protocol(NRCan has a very strict set of guidelines for all advisors in terms of what they can and cannot do) and as such we do not model garages since they are unheated spaces. But, we do model the wall that is shared with the house if it is an attached wall. If it was in fact an attached wall and if there were any problems with the attached wall such as poor insulation or the potential for exhaust gases to enter the house, these items would be noted in the report. Inspection of your upgrades - Again, following what we are directed to do by NRCan, the advisors role is to confirm that the upgrades are done. NRCan specifically directs advisors not to offer or engage in "inspection" or "assessment" of the work. In conclusion, I am not sure we missed anything with your evaluation except perhaps a note about the garage wall if it met the conditions as described above. If you would like us to review your house, confirm the facts and update your report we would be happy to do that at no charge. You can reach me any time at 416-964-9415 ext 230. Thank you - David Kitchen GM/COO Carson Dunlop & Associates Ltd.

Nicholas in Willowdale
Nicholas in Willowdale
8 reviews North York, ON
9/10

Home Energy Audit

I contacted Carlson Dunlop to do a home energy audit inspection; Stefan my consultant was very helpful in pointing out where i could get the maximum bang for the renovation buck.

After doing the audit i received a detailed reporting breaking down what i needed to do. As a result, i was able to get over 15k of renos done for half the price with my rebate!

Thanks guys!

Approximate cost of services:
$300.00
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Company Response

Hi Nicholas in Willowdale. Thanks for your great feedback on Stefan. Glad to hear he was helpful in targeting your renovations which in turn allowed you to get you the best possible grant eligibility scenairo.I'll be sure and pass this on to Stefan.
David Kitchen GM/COO Carson Dunlop & Associates Ltd 416-964-9415 ext 230

Patrick in GTA East
Patrick in GTA East
10 reviews North York, ON
10/10

Home energy audit

I had Darren from Carson Dunlop come and do my home energy audit.

I felt he was very thorough, and also very helpful. He took the time to explain what everything meant and what would be most helpful. He also gave me tips on things that wouldn't get me a rebate, but would make a difference in general home comfort and power efficiency. I thought this was great, because regardless of what rebate the government will give me for making changes, something that shaves $20 off my energy bill every month is good to know about.

He also gave me a lot of tips on the air tightening, what to do, and how i could do it myself. Overall he was very professional and very friendly. I've already recommended him to some friends to do their audit.

I'm looking forward to making my improvements and seeing the results. I'll edit this with results when i get the second audit.

Approximate cost of services:
$325.00
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Company Response

Hi Patrick in GTA East - thanks for what is a glowing account of your experience with Darren! If I may, I agree with you that Darren is one of our most professional, thorough and exceptional ecoENERGY advisors. I will be sure to pass on your comments to Darren. What a nice way to head into the weekend for us - thanks very much.
David Kitchen 416-964-9415 ext 230.

Wing Hang in Scarborough
Wing Hang in Scarborough
3 reviews Scarborough, ON
2/10

Eco energy evaluations

My experience with Carson Dunlop is simply frustrating.

While the inspector Mr. Shular was knowledgable, professional, courteous and punctual, the quality of their paper-work was disappointing.

In the pre-retrofit report, they have omitted the windows. The omission was promptly corrected after I brought this to their attention.

My post-retrofit evaluation was done in September 2009 on a new high efficiency furnace, new windows, and a low flow toilet. When I received the rebate cheques from the governments, the amounts were much less than expected. This was brought to the attention of the company and this time they admitted that they have omitted the furnace! Well, they promised to have it corrected right away, but now, more than 4 months after the post-retrofit evaluation, I still haven't received the $1,580 rabate for the furnace as well as the final energy rating of my house. Their only reply to my follow-up e-mails is that they will touch base with NRCan to see where they are with their request.

Approximate cost of services:
$500.00
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Company Response

Hi Wing Hang in Scarborough - Very sorry to hear about your concerns. After investigating the situation I discovered that our advisor did not include the furnace in his reccomendation. This situation was subsequently corrected and we submitted a manual request to NRCan for your furnace grant money. You did not slip through the cracks. Rather, we dropped the ball in terms of providing you with full,timely and detailed communication about the manual process and the long lead times with NRCan for processing. We have used this very isolated occurrance as a learning tool - we have had less than 1/10th of 1% of all files fall into this processing category since we began doing ecoENERGY evaluations. It was good to speak with you today and we will monitor your file with NRCan and provide you with regular updates. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
David Kitchen GM 416-964-9415 ext 230

Daniela F
Daniela F
2 reviews Mississauga, ON
10/10

eco energy home evaluation

I agree with the other reviews. They were able to attend the home at the last minute. Mr. Santin was very well educated and took his time to explain the process. He was polite and professional. I highly recommend this organization to others.

Approximate cost of services:
$325.00
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Company Response

Hi Daniela F - thanks for your note about Dan Santin, our ecoENERGY advisor. Great hear that you feel it was a good experience and performed in a thorough and professional manner by Dan. Thanks as well for the great reccomendation!
David Kitchen416-964-9415 ext 230

The reviews on this page are the subjective opinion of the Author and not of HomeStars Inc.

More about Carson Dunlop & Associates Home Inspection

Carson Dunlop is a leading consulting engineering company that has been completely dedicated to the home inspection profession since 1978. We are committed to delivering exceptional customer service, one client at a time. We know that buying and selling a home can be overwhelming, we are here to make sure the inspection isn't.

We also understand that a great home inspection is just the beginning, so all of our Carson Dunlop clients are also eligible for the following perks just for working with us.

• FREE Ask-An-Expert service for any questions about your home, forever

• Significant savings on home and auto insurance through our insurance partners

• Free reports on safety recalls for appliances and equipment in your home, for as long as you own it

• $100 for free handyman and repair work from Jiffy Home Services

• $100 Gift Card from You Move Me, to help with your move

• $70 Gift Card from 1-800-GOT-JUNK?

• Home Reference Book ($45 value) included with your inspection report

CATEGORIES
Home Inspection
PRODUCTS
- Buyer's home inspections - Seller's home inspections - Condo home inspections - New home inspections (Tarion) - Commercial building inspections - Mould and asbestos inspections - Sewer camera inspections - Thermal imaging inspections - Wood-burning appliance (WETT) inspections - Energy audit inspections - Swimming pool inspections - Well inspections - Septic system inspections - Technical home audits
SERVICES
- Buyer's home inspections - Seller's home inspections - Condo home inspections - New home inspections (Tarion) - Commercial building inspections - Mould and asbestos inspections - Sewer camera inspections - Thermal imaging inspections - Wood-burning appliance (WETT) inspections - Energy audit inspections - Swimming pool inspections - Well inspections - Septic system inspections - Technical home audits
BRANDS
Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd. CDW Engineering
STYLES
Not applicable
WEBSITE
https://www.carsondunlop.com/inspection
YEAR ESTABLISHED
1978
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
45
PAYMENT METHOD
Major Credit Cards VISA or MasterCard) or e-tranfser
LICENSES
Registered Home Inspectors, National Certificate Holders, Prof. Engineers, Consulting Engineers
MEMBERSHIPS
OAHI, CAHPI, ASHI
LIABILITY INSURANCE
Yes
DIPLOMAS
BASc, BSc, BEng, BA, MBA
PROJECT MINIMUM
Not applicable
PROJECT RATE
Our fees are typically based on the age and size of the home.
WRITTEN CONTRACT
Yes
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