R from Toronto

We hired Avanti Landscaping to do a refresh of our small front yard: remove and replace the existing walkway in front of / to the side of our house, replace an old wooden garden border with stone, and re-sod the lawn. The quality of the work is great: the new stone path looks and feels fantastic. It's a huge improvement over our old path, and we are very satisfied. The new grass is holding up well six weeks later, despite my keen ability to kill anything green. The only reason that I'm not 100% satisfied is that there have been multiple (lack of) communication problems. In our initial attempt to schedule the work, I waited two weeks with no communication from the company regarding even an estimated start date; I don't expect immediate response, but it shouldn't take two weeks (and me poking them) to receive even a rough estimate of when the work will take place. Secondly, there was a small area for which I requested a touch-up, about a week after living with the new walkway; despite an initial immediate response that yes, they would take care of it, we've been waiting well over a month, and my last text from two weeks ago has still not been answered. So all in all, we are satisfied. Perhaps it's a good sign that they are too busy to answer communications, but it would be really nice to not be left hanging like this.

Last summer I needed a bathroom sink faucet replaced, and at the same time chose to replace my toilet. Mister Plumber did not quote the cheapest price, but from the short phone conversation we had, they seemed trustworthy, and I went ahead anyway. On the day of the install, the two installers were very friendly and respectful, and gave me good advice about maintenance and other potential problems that might pop up in the future. I'd be happy to choose them again.

Last spring, I approached Comfort Masters to install a ductless (mini-split) air conditioning unit in my home. I had originally talked with Dave at the Home Show, looking for some advice, and I was impressed that he seemed to be giving me honest suggestions, rather than just trying to sell me more than what I actually needed. The installation of the unit was somewhat difficult, as it involved getting up to the upper part of our third floor bedroom. But the installers were very friendly and considerate (cleaning up any mess), and the job was done without any hiccups. The unit itself worked quite well over the first summer, as advertised. Overall, I'm a satisfied customer.

I hired CoreTemp last year to install a new high-efficiency furnace and a new tankless hot water heater in my home. Though they did not provide the cheapest quote, I was happy with the estimate process and felt I'd be able to trust them. Being a tight install in a small house, Richard was clear about the difficulties and potential problems with installing the new piping. The actual install went smoothly, and 8 months later, both furnace and hot water heater are working like a charm. Throughout, the people of CoreTemp were courteous and trustworthy, and I'm happy to recommend them.

We hired Ambia a few months ago to replace some of our home's very old windows and install a new front door. From start to finish, the people at Ambia delivered first-class service. When Michael came to visit us to first discuss our project, he was very thorough about giving us information on the techniques and products that would be involved. He took our questions and concerns very seriously, and there was no hint of pushy salesman tactics that I experienced from some competitors. The biggest problem in the whole experience was that the installation day was delayed a few times, sometimes with short notice. Part of this was due to weather though, and it wasn't really a problem for me. The installers did an excellent job. Respectful, considerate, and very hard-working. A job like this creates a lot of mess regardless, but they made a real effort to keep things as clean as possible. The service was above and beyond expectations, and without asking they even fixed some pre-existing problems with my window frames, which were not being replaced. By late afternoon I was starting to wonder if they'd be able to finish the job in one day, but they kept right on working until about 9pm (a full 12-hour day). The windows and door themselves are fantastic: they look wonderful, they feel sturdy and secure, and will save me quite a bit of money come winter. I cannot imagine being any happier with the overall experience. I would definitely recommend Ambia to anyone.

I hired the fellows from ClearMyJunk.com to remove some junk from our property. While the work was done with minimal fuss and competently enough, I was not terribly happy to receive a rather vague estimate range. And sure enough, the final cost was at the high end of their hand-waving estimate (and quite high to boot). I will look for a cheaper alternative next time.

I was very happy with SWAT. I had a family of squirrels and birds living in my roof. My first contact was returned promptly (unlike one other "top-rated" company listed on HomeStars that didn't even return my phone call), and they were able to come by quite quickly. After an initial look, Derick pointed out another bird's nest in the roof that I hadn't even noticed. The installation of the one-way door for the squirrel's nest was quick and well-done. He was unable to deal with the bird nests that day, however, as there were still young ones in the nest. But two weeks later, no more animals in my home, and none were harmed. The cost was reasonable, especially given the height of the roof. I would not hesitate to use SWAT again.

I contacted Tree Doctors initially to perform trimming, tree removal, and stump grinding. Overall, my experience was a mixed bag. The good: the actual work done was quite good, and met my expectations almost perfectly. The workers were friendly, and seemed to care about doing a good job and about my family's safety. The guy who did the tree stump grinding was very patient with the extremely tight fit of the alley to our back yard, as the grinding machine almost did not fit. The not so good: dealing with the office and the scheduling procedure was a real challenge. I was not kept up to date on the status of my request, and I had to call them several times seeking updates, even though they said they would call me. There seems to be only one person in the office that is actually capable of scheduling the work, and on two separate occasions I had to wait at least four days for that person to return to the office; it was a total of six weeks from requesting an estimate until the work was actually scheduled. Regarding the trimming work itself, one very large branch was left behind in my neighbour's yard (though they came back several days later to take it away). Overall, I was satisfied with the quality of the work, but due to the hassles of dealing with an office that didn't seem to entirely respect how they deal with their customers, I don't think I would return to them for work in the future.

We shopped at KIDS when we needed bunk beds for our two rambunctious boys. There was a decent selection of furniture on display in the store, and much much more available in the catalogues for browsing. We eventually chose a bunk bed made by Crate Designs, and are very happy with our choice: it wasn't cheap, but it's very strong and stable, was easy to put together, and just might survive our little monsters. Also purchased a mattress and mattress covers. The staff at KIDS were very helpful and patient with our hemming and hawing in the store, and we were overall very happy with the service. If I had to mention one negative, there were apparently very few delivery slots available, and we waited an extra month because of this, but that is a very minor issue.