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We hired Delta Decks to replace our old deck with a new 12’ x 18.5’ deck. The deck was constructed using Trex Composite low-maintenance boards, aluminum railings, and helical piles for the supports. Delta Decks also removed and disposed of our old deck as well as our old patio furniture, and handled the entire permit process. This included producing all required drawings (stamped by Professional Engineers), handling all City of Toronto paper work and fees, coordinating all inspections, and providing all required engineering reports. They also agreed to fully take care of any required Tree Protection Zones (TPZ) if the city required it at no extra cost. Fortunately this was not required. This year we hired four different contractors to work on different projects. All were highly rated, and two had the “Best Of” status on Homestars multiple years in a row. While they were all good, Delta Decks was a step above all of them in terms of work ethic and the quality of the final product. Alex came at the time I requested to review the job and provide a quote, and Elgi was the Project Manager. Both were prompt with their responses and answered all of my questions. Their crew was also extremely hard working. On the first day, a crew of three people worked from 7 AM to 5:20 PM and completed the entire deck frame. They only stopped for 15 minutes when they ate lunch. The next day they worked from 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM straight only stopping when the city inspector came to inspect the frame. I was genuinely surprised at how hard and how quickly they worked once the project started. The only negative was that the process took a long time because of delays by the city to review and approve the permit. We hired Delta Decks in early April, but the permit was not approved until late July to allow construction to begin. Construction was completed in August, but the permit was not closed by the city until October. This process likely would have been faster if we had gone with concrete footings instead of the helical piles which are reviewed under a different section of the building code (Part 4). Despite the fact that the deck was completed in August, Delta Decks never pressured us for final payment until the permit was officially closed by the city in October. Alex also stood by his commitment that there would be no additional costs beyond his quote even though the city required more reports and stamped drawings than anticipated during the permit process. This included requiring Professional Engineers to stamp the drawings instead of a BCIN stamp. In terms of the final product, we are very happy with the deck that was built and many of our friends and neighbours have complimented us on our new deck. We would not hesitate to recommend Delta Decks to anybody who asked.

I hired Avenue Road Roofing to replace my entire roof. They replaced the shingles, the boards, the eavestroughs and downspouts, and added additional soffit vents and gutter guards. When Trevor came to provide me a quote, he went up to the roof to inspect it (some roofers didn't even do this), and made his recommendations. He also provided pictures to step me through previous jobs to help me understand the process and answered all of my questions. He also provided me with copies of their insurance and provided references. The workers did a great job. They protected the rest of my house during the work and cleaned up when they were done. I would have no problem recommending them to others.

I have nothing but good things to say about Spring Home Heating & Cooling. They were referred to me by friends who also had a good experience with them. In the past year I have hired 4 different contractors to do different jobs around the house. Every one of those contractors had high marks in Homestars (including being in the “Best of” categories) and A+ ratings with the Better Business Bureau. Even among this crowd, Spring Home Heating & Cooling stood out. When I contacted Spring Home, I got a call back within an hour, and Cy came to my home three hours later to talk about the job. We talked about the job for about 2 hours, and George, the owner also came as the job required some new ductwork which he had to quote. Both Cy and George were knowledgeable. I requested an installation date on a weekend because I had taken a lot of time off work due to other contractors working on the house that month. It was meant to be a 1.5 to 2 day job because of the new ductwork, but they worked 13 hours straight to get it done in one day so that we would have water and heat (this was in November). They arrived punctually at 9 AM and worked until 10 PM on Saturday. The crew consisted of four people plus George who came at the beginning and end of day. They started by explaining exactly what they were going to do and ended by explaining how to maintain the system and how to use the controls in the thermostat. Some areas where they stood out: 1. In addition to installing the furnace and air conditioner, they installed new insulation and drywall behind the furnace at my request as I had no access to it under normal conditions. 2. They rearranged our laundry room by removing my water softener, repositioning my washer and gas dryer, and connecting new ducting for the dryer at my request. They did not charge extra for this. 3. They noticed that the previous owner’s contractor did not connect the gas line to the dryer properly (they used Teflon tape to seal the joints) so they came back another day to replace the line for me. George came that day and even brought me a coffee from Tim Horton’s. He used that as an opportunity to train me further in the advanced features of our thermostat (Icomfort) and optimize the settings for our house. 4. Cy followed up after the job was completed to make sure I was satisfied. Spring Home also only uses quality products (Lennox and American Standard). When selecting a contractor, it’s also important to know what type of materials and equipment they use (not just their ratings as contractors – there are many contractors with high ratings, but use lower quality products). They did a great job with the installation, and it’s all set up in a way that will make it easy to service. As a Mechanical Engineer and somebody who demands quality work, I am quite satisfied with the work and would have no problems referring them to friends and family.