Jeremy from Mississauga

I had finally grown frustrated by replacing my door sweep way too frequently. I reached out to A Plus Windows and Doors.. I. Got a quick response and a promise to help. This was a small job, but within a working day, Rick arrived with a heavy duty door sweep. Even though this was his last call of the day, he was pleasant, helpful and efficient. Will this door sweep solve my problems? I cant be sure, but I was given a lifetime warranty. So no need to worry. Thanks to all!

Four of us decided we each needed new roofs on our houses. We got a lot of quotes, and picked Alex in large part because he came across a straightforward, honest and quoted a good price. He made the point that he would ensure we were completely satisfied. I can only speak for myself, but I am totally happy with the end result. I am also totally happy that issues that arose during the roofing were resolved quickly and without argument. (We had some window damage and flashing that needed replacing). I was also happy with the guys who did the work, their attitude and in most part their attention to detail. Most importantly, Alex stood firmly behind his promise to ensure we were completely satisfied. My only issue, is that for understandable reasons, Alex takes work when it's available. He (I guess) makes similar quality promises to all his customers. As a result, I found myself having to nag Alex about timings on more than one occasion, as his crews were (I guess) working on other jobs. This is not an unusual issue with any contractor, and the end result really is the most important aspect. So if I ever need a roof replacing again, I would contact Alex. He would doubtless over-promise a bit on timings ...... but not on quality.

We had had a previous bad experience with a different company, so it was a pleasure to deal with a straightforward business!! I initially contacted Public Plumbing's service department and explained both my plumbing issue (requirement for a new shower valve) and my previous bad experience with a different company. The Service Department could not have been more helpful, and said that they would get a plumber to call me back so that he could clarify what was required. Within 45 minutes I was called back by Phil, who listened carefully and gave me a price indication (which he said he would need to verify when he saw the problem). He was straightforward and gave me good advice over the phone. He arrived exactly on time the next morning, and cut out the valve and replaced it. He had to cut into the drywall but tried hard to minimise the size if the hole. The job was completed without fuzz or incident and has been problem free so far. The work was warrantied for one year, which showed more faith in their workmanship than some other companies!. Not only was the work completed well, but Phil gave me an education on plumbing matters and other issues. Genuinely a pleasure! Public Plumbing are not the cheapest plumber around, nor do they pretend to be, but from my perspective they offer tremendous value an a friendly and worry free way. The end price was exactly what had been predicted. Would I use them again? Most certainly.

We needed a new shower faucet cartridge. It's an easy DIY job so attempted it myself. We could not get the cartridge to sit properly so finally had to call a plumber. Sadly we picked Drain Rescue Plumbers The plumber arrived. He was very personable and seemed very helpful. He attempted to fit the cartridge and also failed. He gave me two options. 1) Cut into the DryWall and replace the whole Shower Valve. 2) "Force" the cartridge into place. To be fair his preference was for the former, though I was told that "if" he could get the cartridge in all would be fine. He managed to do so and with some trepidation he turned the water back on. Everything seemed fine and it looked like the cheaper of the two options had worked. Roll the calendar on two months, and the shower faucet would not switch off at all. I contacted Drain Rescue Plumbers again and the "manager" was unable to tell me any warranty details, and the owner was away but returning "sometime in June." She got the original plumber to call me. He told me that his recommendation had been to replace the valve and that I had chosen the alternative. I pointed out that I had chosen from two options given to me by him. I had assumed that either option given by a professional would be viable. Not an unreasonable expectation! After a free and frank discussion with the "manager" Drain Rescue Plumbers offered me a choice of a free re-install of another cartridge. (You will remember that they had made clear that was not the recommendation!), or 10% reduction on a replacement valve. I asked the likelihood of a new cartridge working and was told by the plumber that "I have no idea" (Not very reassuring). He also told me a new valve would be warrantied for only 3 months. Now here's the thing. I no longer trust Drain Rescue Plumbers. How could they offer a free solution for something they don't recommend? Could it be just to "settle" with a difficult customer? Why did they not agree that I should have an expectation that either option presented to me would be viable? So I no longer trust Drain Rescue Plumbers. But more than that, I have subsequently discovered from Moen and other plumbers that on no account should a cartridge be forced. Never! Nada! If it doesn't slip in easily it is always a problem with the valve itself. Apparently this is well know, though the information does not appear to have reached Drain Rescue Plumbers! So option one was never really an option, but it certainly was a money grab! Beware!

I had not used Bosco before, so this was a trial. Clearly they are not the cheapest but they promise high levels of service. In my case the service broke down as the scheduled appointment was missed as the plumber failed to arrive. Here's where it got interesting. Firstly the mistake was admitted immediately and a second plumber was dispatched; secondly once the issue was reviewed by management they were probably more upset than I was at their service breakdown and they reduced the cost by half. So Bosco is a company that charges more for proficiency and service AND if they don't deliver then they address the issue and offer recompense. They walk the talk. The work by the way was completed efficiently and quickly one the second plumber arrived. Certainly Bosco did enough for me to give them another trial.

Our dryer seemed to be taking ever longer to dry! Googling it became clearer that maybe the dryer vent was blocked. Further googling and I found Dryer Vent Cleaner, run by Ian. I had thought my dryer vented through a wall. It turned out that it vented through the roof. The vent was completely plugged as there was a screen over the vent which clearly prevented any lint escaping. Ian (very pleasantly) found the problem when he got into the roof space (on a hot day), modified the vent, completely cleaned the lint from the ducting (there was a lot!), and reconnected everything better than it had been before. He also had a great gauge which measured back pressure in the dryer so the (vast) improvement was easy for all to see. So why not "10"? Well, ideally Ian said we needed a better designed roof vent. Sadly he could not install one as our roof was a bit too steep and high to be safe. However, if you want a guy who knows what he's doing, who puts things right and leaves the place clean and tidy then Ian is your man! (We'll get a roofer to replace the vent sometime!

The neighbours across the street used Rick (Nuvo Garage), and we asked him to give us a quote to reorganise our garage so that we could use the space better and find room for the new size garbage bins that are being introduced into Mississauga. Rick came to see us; we discussed our needs and he made some suggestions. He followed up with a detailed drawing and quote which made everything clear. On the day of the work, he and Ed arrived exactly when they had said they would, and worked, quickly, tidily and efficiently. During the process we came up with some more ideas and Rick and Ed executed them easily. Even though this was a fairly small job, their attention to detail was obvious, as was their desire to make sure we were pleased with the outcome. (We were! Everything has a place and the overall look is an asset to the house.) Nuvo is a small company, but extremely professional. Its a company where quality of workmanship is high as is the quality of customer service; its a company I would definitely use again or recommend to others.

My AC was on verge of breaking last year, so I was looking for a replacement this Spring. In the back of my mind I was also considering changing the furnace as well, as it was of the same age as the AC and becoming ever noisier. I had decided to use Trane units and I called two major companies, who sell Trane. They both sent sales guys (one of whom was very knowledgeable). I had read that Trane was basically the same as American Standard. So I then turned to Home Stars to see who was nearby. Air Heating Plus had very good ratings, and the comments seemed genuine. I emailed Renato and he called back very promptly. He gave me some rough prices but told me he would have to see the house to firm up a price. He actually came round twice. Once alone and once with Peter. He bombarded me with questions (and answered all of mine) when he came round. His advice was very clear, very logical and came from a user perspective not a salesman. He specified the A/C unit I would require which was smaller than one of the competition. He gave me the technical rationale for the recommendation. He advised against a furnace, as mine was still working, though he gave me costs and specs in any case. In the end I decided to replace both units. He gave me three or four references who I called. On the day of the installation he arrived early. It was a team of three who clearly enjoyed working together. Renato was concerned about the previously used capacity of wiring and said he would replace it (which had not been in the original specification). The installation went quickly and efficiently. All three seemed happy to answer my questions throughout the process. When they had finished, the basement was cleaner than when they arrived! The system was tested, all the paperwork on warranties had been pre-prepared and they left an hour ahead of schedule. So far everything is working just fine! So why only 9 points? As it turns out they omitted a small stage in the installation. Nothing serious but an omission. I called Renato and he was annoyed. Not with me, but with himself for not spotting a small mistake. He and Peter were back within 30 minutes and the problem rectified in 5 minutes. If I could score 9.5 I would. So in summary Renato and his colleagues genuinely seem to care about doing a good job; they genuinely seem to care about customer satisfaction. They are professional, knowledgeable, price competitively and all manage to have some fun along the way! They are now on my short list of contractors I trust and I will continue to use their services.