S in Toronto

All employees at Hoerner have been absolutely fantastic—office staff/admin are very pleasant and send out helpful reminders the day before, the day of and the technicians always call when en route. Claire is a ‘rock star’ heating/plumbing/gas technician. She is knowledgeable, thoughtful, polite and detail-oriented. We had a very old and heavy hot water rad removed with great care by Claire and her team. Claire also returned to service our boiler and again to fix missing valves. The business has been doing things right for over 40 years — father handed to son who continues to provide outstanding service.

Paul responded promptly via cell to my initial request on Homestars and arrived the next day to provide a detailed and reasonable quote. Older homes can be full of hidden ‘surprises’ lurking behind walls, so the plan to proceed with caution and with flexibility was wise. An entire wall in our den was opened up, new insulation added and then it was drywalled/primed over 3.5 days. Paul and his crew member Josiah performed excellent work, arriving on time and notifiying me of any changes in schedule. The site was cleaned and inspected upon completion. It’s not easy to find smaller companies who are patient and prepared to take on the challenges that go with heritage North TO homes.

We are thrilled with the transformation of our front hall staircase—from tired broadloom to beautiful Jotoba wood stairs in just a few days. From the outset Mesh and Rajan were professional and came to our house to discuss options and provide a detailed estimate. We initially chose maple but realized it would not work with our existing Ipe flooring on the rest of the main floor. We asked for a new shipment of wood and this request was immediately accommodated. There were many delays due to rain, and I’m wondering if the crew could invest in a portable tent or canopy to provide a dry outdoor workspace and eliminate weather related delays. Ideal Stairs also left us with additional quantity of stain so we can refinish and stain our railings to match the stairs. The price was higher than the one other quote we recieved, but I felt more comfortable with Ideal Stairs and I certainly don’t regret my decision. There are not a lot of companies in Toronto that specialize in stairs, and it’s nice to know Ideal Stairs has years of experience and can produce extremely high quality work in this area. The before and after photos speak volumes!

Very happy to have found Joe on Homestars. I phoned about a leaky fridge and he returned my call the following morning. He asked if I could wait until he had more calls in north TO and I agreed to wait a few days as the leak was internal and not an emergency. He called me later that week, and made a same day apt. He was on time and spent about 40 mins working on the problem. I prefer to use smaller (one person) companies, and love that Joe has decades of experience. He is personable and honest and I will definitely use him again in the future.

I am very pleased with the work done by Mike and Jason. They came within days of my phone inquiry and even sent a confirmation email with bio details. The previous company I called did not show up and did not call either. Our copper piping (manifold and boiler feeder) needed to be cut out and replaced. We also needed a new circulation pump. All of this work was done in half a day--including draining and filling over 15 rads. Total of 2,200--estimate provided before work was done by Mike on his handy ipad. I would definitely recommend Hoerner Heating/Plumbing. One note: After the work was completed and service technicians left, I noticed that one of our rads was leaking water onto the carpet --so perhaps a reminder to check all rads might be a good idea. I did not know to do this, and just happened to be in my den and heard water dripping.

Our furnace was making some loud noises after turning it on this fall. We tried to set up a service call with the company we have used yearly in the past, but they could not guarantee a visit until mid November. Laird sent a service person the day after my call and things were taken care of in under an hour (for $135. service call) They called to give me notice as they were on the way--as promised. The service fellow spent time showing me how to bleed rads, check furnace pressure, add oil to my pump and recommended replacing corroded copper pipes. He also adjusted my bathroom floor heating on his way out. Finally, I appreciated the fact that he was safety conscious -- reminding me about yearly furnace inspections and the importance of replacing carbon monoxide detectors with the system we have in our older home.

I called on the long Easter weekend, and arranged for a junk removal on Monday (company offers 10% discount for phone orders) They said I would receive a call at 5:30 to confirm arrival time, and promised to arrive at 6 pm. They called at exactly 5:30, and arrived at exactly 6:00 pm! It is such a pleasure doing business with companies that are so professional and good to their word. Our basement junk (sporting equipment, picture frames, carpet pieces etc amounted to a 1/3 truck load--no large pieces of furniture but a long hallway of junk to remove) was cleared out in less than 10 minutes, and work was done with efficiency and care. I am very impressed by this company, and will definitely use them in the future.

We are very satisfied with the product, service and installation of our new skylight blind. The whole process was quick, and all staff were helpful and professional. The price is also very reasonable, for a quality custom blind. The room is so much warmer now--which is an unexpected bonus (the blind insulates entire room)

Chris replaced a very old screen on our back dining room window. The work was done in less than a week, faster than promised. The new screen was installed in minutes, and we couldn't be happier with the service Chris provided. It is not easy to find quality professionals who are prepared to take on smaller jobs.

We had a burst pipe in our basement this week, with water damage to drywall and baseboards (floors are ceramic tile and wood stairs were ok) I called Puroclean and was immediately connected to Dino Martignago, the owner. He was at my house at 8:20 am the next morning--ready to assist. He tested for water damage, removed baseboards, and set up 3 large fans and a dehumidifier. Dino is knowledgeable and a pleasure to deal with. The issue was taken care of in 48 hours. The invoice/price for work done is very reasonable, and allowed us to avoid making an insurance claim. I would highly recommend Dino and his compnay PuroClean.

We recently purchased an elegant Mitchell and Gold sofa, but the cushions were extremely uncomfortable. I did a quick search and found Switch Studio--they responded to my request the very next morning. I then met with Staci at the Oakville studio, and had the cushions measured. We had down/feather inserts made and delivered in less than 2 weeks. I found Staci responded to all emails and phone calls immediately, and was always eager to help out and offer useful advice.

We are thrilled with our new railings--from estimate to installation took just under 3 months. This company is busy because they produce quality railings at a reasonable price and their customer service is always amazing--Alex was a pleasure to deal with--emails and phone calls were promptly dealt with by Art Metal . We found it helpful to drive out to Bering Ave in Etobicoke to see railing samples--photos were of value but not adequate to make a final design decision. Alex was there to show us around and guided us through the decision making/pricing etc. We highly recommend Art Metal and would use them in the future.

The quote was provided quickly and was not the lowest, and not the highest. Three painters arrived as scheduled, and finished the job in less than a day (several rooms, hallways) Two of the painters are less experienced and require close supervision. One painter (Paul) knows what he's doing and cares about quality. The owner (Warren) tends to rush jobs, and is not always concerned with attention to detail. As a result, I had to step in and point out problems with painting. correct brush/roller needed etc. In the end the work was completed to my satisfaction, just a good thing I had the week off to monitor the work.

We had a new Kohler faucet leaking in our kitchen, called Mr. Rooter at 8:20 in the morning and had a plumber at our door an hour later. He did a thorough inspection, diagnosed the problem, and left an estimate with several options (get the part and have it repaired or replace with a new faucet) The plumber Vadym took the time to explain everything, was polite and honest. As our faucet cost over $1,000. we will get the part (Kohler ships right away--warranty) and have Vadym back to install and make sure it is working well.

We had requested a regular service call for our furnace/boiler. 1 minute after his arrival on site, the service person for Direct Energy shut our entire heating/boiler system down (middle of January on the coldest night of the winter) and said we had "dangerously high Carbon Monoxide readings" at/inside the boiler and in our basement family room down the hall. According to his readings the CO levels were initially 1,000 ppm and then 6oo ppm. We had 2 working (one brand new) Carbon Monoxide detectors in the hall just outside the furnace room and they did not go off. The fellow said "you bought these at Home Depot and they do not work...ever" A reading over 100 is dangerous and certainly levels of 600-1000 would be lethal. In several hours our entire family would die. He did not suggest we vacate the premises nor did he open windows or vent the area in any way. He spoke very little English so his explanations were of little help. When Direct Energy's consultant came later that evening he suggested we needed a new boiler (priced at $9,000.00) our boiler is old and does need to be updated. We were not disputing this...the issue was levels of CO that were recorded only by his hand held apparatus and the fact that they shut our heating off late at night on a bitterly cold winter night. The next problem was they could only promise installation 5 days later; we were not prepared to wait such a ridiculous amount of time. The best part of the story is we called the Toronto Fire Department in early the next morning just to make sure our house was safe to stay in...all four of us were still alive and breathing at this point and they arrived in about 3 minutes. Their equipment measured absolutely no Carbon Monoxide at all anywhere in the house and all tests came with a reading of "0". If there had been levels at 600-1000 the night before there would be a high reading the next morning as the area had not been vented. The fire department left a report saying it was safe to stay in our home (we knew this already but wanted peace of mind) and were shocked they were not called by Direct Energy to report lethal levels recorded. We have since phoned customer service and did not receive a call back and have also sent a 2 page letter via email. It is now 4 days and have not heard from anyone at Direct Energy. Clearly this is a horrifying combination of fraud and incompetence. We called another company and had a new boiler installed for $4,000. We are still waiting to hear from someone at Direct Energy even though there cannot be a reasonable explanation for any of this disasterous service.