We purchased a house in Toronto and wanted to do a near-complete reno before moving in (full gut of bottom floor, removing structural walls and installing a 30 foot steel beam, 2 complete bathrooms, kitchen, full hardwood floors through the house, redo electrical due to knob and tube etc.). We reached out to 4 contractors on HomeStars and ended up choosing Damian Lindsay of Lindsay Contracting. It was a very easy decision for us.
Of the 4 quotes we received Damian was by far the most professional, knowledgeable and easy to talk to. He showed up on time, with a camera and notepad and we walked through the house discussing what we wanted. He came back with a detailed itemized quote, a large list of references (which all checked out) and a reasonable price. In contrast the other contractors showed up with nothing and threw out random prices which were far too low (and not realistic) or 2x higher than what it actually cost us, and were quite rude.
Throughout the process Damian was available and was always up to speed on our project. He was available to speak at any time and to meet at the house to review the project and any changes. His team was also friendly and knowledgeable. If there were any issues he was helpful in making suggestions, especially when we didn't know which way to go.
Overall, given the horror stories we had heard involving reno stories, we couldn't have been more relieved to have found Damian as he was terrific in helping relieve the stress involved in a reno of this scale. We recommend him to family and friends and will be using him again in the future.