Janet in Scarborough

in 2011/ 12 Yuill and his crew helped to transform our mid century modern home with 200 year old historic roots into a warm and beautiful blend of new and old. It took 6 months. They had excellent suggestions for using reclaimed wood and materials. Workmanship was very good and all issues were addressed, even a couple of years later when small deficiencies arose. They replaced windows, bathrooms, put in floors,redid the large basement, helped us choose the insulation process, created a beautiful transition from another kitchen contractors installation to a wall of walnut. This is not the least expensive contractor you will find, but one with creativity and passion for wood and design. I have recommended them a number of times.

We had our flat roof re-done by Dependable Contracting in 2009. This involved placing insulation board and torching a rubber cap over the older roof that had been leaking a bit. We have 4 skylights as well and two of them were replaced. There was a 10 year warranty on leakage and workmanship. Three years later, we replaced the skylights as the energy audit showed they were letting air in +++ and were poorly installed. We have now totally replaced the flat roof as it was leaking, even on sunny days. Dependable was hard to pin down but eventually came by ( 17 calls/ emails later) and indicated that it was the older skylights that were leaking. We did not want Dependable back on the roof, even though it was under warranty.We got 3 professional quotes and all the other roofers were not impressed at the lack of seam sealing and the poor sealing around the skylights. As the roofing was being removed, the new roofers showed us that the insulation was TOTALLY sopping wet, all over the roof. The only thing that saved us was the first roof layer from many years ago. STAY AWAY from this company.

I was referred to bSq by a reputable source. Their designs were creative. The project was very large. The timelines for drawings and their callbacks were delayed. But what was the kicker for us was the disregard for the Toronto permit process which landed us in hot water, despite our asking on a number of occasions. Alex clearly knew that these permits might be needed, as he helped us draft a letter to the authorities after the fact. His excuse? - he did not think that we would go through with the project because of the cost, so when we said yes, he was not prepared. All this after 7 months of back and forth. I would not recommend this company for this and other reasons that I have not listed here. Addendum: after posting this review, we now know that there is a neighbour who has lodged over 60 complaints against people in our area.Our municipal councillor is involved and considers this harassment. However we were told by 3 municipal departments that regardless of the work, we required prior permits for tree 'injury' and TRCA approval. My suggestion for anyone using this company is that you get your permits in order so that your reno goes smoothly. Lastly, the retaining wall renovation was always on the drawings and discussions. It was not added in at the last moment as is noted below.

We met John in an unusual way. Attic insulators had oversprayed foam insulation and they chose Johnny's as the place to remove thousands of foam speckles from about 20 antique pieces which had been stored (and covered) in the attic. Relieved at the results, we subsequent used Johnny's to refinish a beautiful 100 y.o. buffet made of 4 woods. Timely service, excellent communication and superior results all around. Would recommend 100% and will use again.

Paul and his team were our leads on renovating our 1950's George Boake designed home, which had replaced a century farmhouse on the same property. Right from the get go, Paul's enthusiasm for the use of the old in the creation of the new was contagious. Alex from Sustainable had several ideas regarding wall removal and installation of exterior huge bifold doors that totally transformed the place. The more mundane but necessary heating changes, electrical options, crazy difficult insulation and roofing problems etc were met with professional direction. When we ran into challenges with contractors and other trades, Sustainable was always there to help. We are delighted with the end result.