Cathy from Ottawa

We had our septic system replaced which completely dug up our backyard. We needed to replace the lawn and called Instant Lawns based on the reviews. They showed up the same day, gave us a reasonable quote and said they could have the work done at the end of the week. They then called back and said they had an opening in their schedule and could do it the next day. So far things were going very well and so we asked for a quote to also do our front lawn; we accepted it and gave them a deposit. They installed the back lawn as promised and said we should keep it watered and wait 10 days before mowing to allow the roots to establish. The sod they installed was already quite long so after 10 days our mower could not handle cutting it and ended up tearing some of the sod which had not properly rooted. We had to rent a brush cutter just to get it down to a manageable height. I emailed and called to complain several times and each contact took them several days to respond. We wanted our lawn repaired, the cost of the brush cutter to be reimbursed and we wanted our deposit back for the front lawn. They finally honored all those requests but it took two months of emails and phone calls. I felt like I put as much time into running after them as it took them to install the lawn in the first place....and I was the one paying. The staff seemed hard working and enthusiastic but I question the quality of the work and frankly it shouldn't take that much of my time just to ensure I'm getting what I'm paying for. Even now when we just did some raking of leaves the sod was still lifting in places after being installed for two and a half months; I'm tired of dealing with this.

We are extremely pleased with the expert work done to re- roof our house. We had problems in the past with ice damming and leaks and can't imagine any of that recurring after the thorough job with ice and water shield, extra vents and attention to detail in the valleys. We found the estimate to be reasonable and were impressed with Shawn's detailed explanation of the product and how it would be installed. The crew showed up at 7am on the day they said they would and they cleaned up at the end of the day as well as a very thorough cleaning after the second (and final) day. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend Wright Brothers; in fact our neighbour came and asked Shawn for a quote while we were standing outside admiring the work.

After researching central vac units on the internet I came across The Vacuum Store and was pleased to see they were close to home. We were replacing an old make that just wasn't working well. We spoke to Allan, the owner, who was extremely knowledgable. He helped us select a Cyclo Vac that would meet our needs and gave my husband some installation tips since we were installing it ourselves. It is very quiet and does a great job. One dark blue Persian style carpet we have always had a haze of lint that would never seem to get clean with our old vacuum; now it is spotless and looks great. This is a company that has been in business a long time and know their product. I definitely recommend them.

When I called for an estimate Jimmy answered the phone right away and arranged to be at our house the next morning to discuss what needed to be done. He arrived on time and provided a written estimate and showed us his accreditation as an arborist as well as proof of insurance. His estimate was reasonable and he said he could come back in a few weeks to do the work. In fact, he and his two brothers were able to come by about 10 days later. They did an excellent job of pruning two large trees, chipping all the branches and cleaning up thoroughly. The whole job was done in under three hours. Jimmy has a good strong handshake and used our names. We were very impressed with his work ethic and would definitely recommend him to friends and neighbors.