W. from Toronto

I came home late Thursday night and realized there was no hot water. Figured the pilot light must've gone out from the water tank. Went through the steps to properly ignite the tank again and it worked. Five minutes later it was out again. Tried to ignite it again but this time the pilot light would go out once I released the gas button. Tried it several times with the same result. Wouldn't you know it, I just decided to buyout the water tank from Reliance instead of paying a rental fee every month. Timing is everything. I wasn't going to call anyone and pay a ransom to have it fixed late in the evening. Instead I decided to deal with it in the morning and took a very cold shower. In the morning I found five reliable water tank technician companies to call. The first asked for a picture of the tank and its controls. I sent them my pics and never heard back from them again. The second call, I had to leave a voicemail but they did call back and politely put me on a waiting list if anyone cancelled. Otherwise, it would be a week before they could come out and see me. The third call wasn't even answered because it was disconnected the moment it was picked up. The fourth call was Leaside Plumbing and Heating. The receptionist was very polite, understood the situation and saw to it that a technician would sent out within the hour. She did explain the visit would be free but if any work had to be done it would cost $208 plus parts and labour. When Dylan arrived on time, he was polite and courteous. Assessed the situation and figured it would be the Thermocouple that needed replacing and went to work. He had a difficult time removing the old thermocouple and inserting the new thermocouple but in the end he got the job done. Reignited the pilot light and I got my hot water back. Overall I was very satisfied with Dylan and Leaside Plumbing and Heating. They were better than the three other companies I had tried to call that day. The fifth I didn't even bother because Leaside Plumbing and Heating had solved my problem. The only issue I have is that it cost me $300 to put in a $40 part. I'm sure there's more budget friendly companies out there and also more expensive companies out there. On that particular day, I drew the card that brought Leaside Plumbing and Heating to my door. When you have no hot water, that's not a bad thing.

I met Jack from Jack of All Trees for a quote on the removal of a Red Mulberry tree, the pruning of a Norway Spruce, the pruning and trimming of multiple Eastern White Cedars and the pruning of a Norway Maple. He arrived at the designated time and was very polite and knowledgeable. He took a closer look at the requests and advised me of what could be done and took some pictures for preparing the quotation. After receiving his quotation a few days later, my wife and I found it very competitive and decided to go with JOAT. Jack had to postpone our designated date a couple of times, not due to his part but from weather and the amount of work theyve had to complete. When Jack and his crew showed up they went straight to work. The crew was courteous and professional when trimming the trees. There were a couple of high branches which I would have liked trimmed but werent, based on Jacks expertise he felt to keep the tree healthy they shouldnt be cut. They all worked in a proficient and timely manner and also ensured that all the tree branches and debris were cleaned up. I would highly recommend JOAT.

Jerry from Reliance Home Comfort came over to determine if my house had the proper setting for a tankless water heater. He called me twenty minutes before arriving to give me the heads up and arrived promptly at the appointed time. When he arrived Jerry was polite, courteous and respectful. He put on booties before entering the house and quickly went to work to determine if a tankless water heater was right for us. Jerry looked for where the two PVC pipes would need to be installed for exhaust and ventilation. We stepped outside to look at the gas metre and he determined that the pipe would need to be replaced by a 1 pipe for the new tank. He also explained that all installation was covered by Reliance except for the change of the new pipe and said it wouldnt be costly (approx. $200) He looked to to see if we had the proper electrical outlet to power the tankless water heater. And finally Jerry showed me where the tankless water heater could be mounted. More importantly Jerry informed me about the pros and cons of having a tankless water heater. Im weighing those options and will decide shortly. This is huge contrast to the first time I called Reliance Home Comfort for an inquiry about the tankless water heater five years ago; I made the appointment which Ill assume was on time but the technician was horrible. He spent less than 5-10 minutes looking at the area where the current water heater sits, stepped outside to look at where the venting would go and came back to say it couldnt be done. No explanation really just a simple no. I almost never called Reliance again. Luckily I got Jerry this time. Note. I put $1 in the Approximate Amount because this review wont allow you to submit without one. Reliance Home Comfort does not charge for a technician to determine if you have the proper setup.

This is a unsolicited review endorsing Ontario Garage Door Services. If you have anything that requires attention on your garage door - DO NOT HESITATE to call on this company. I needed a emergency release installed on our garage door. We were left without access to our car after two power outages this year alone. So I found Ontario Garage Door Services on HomeStars's website. I read their reviews and gave them a call. Ed (Owner) answered my call promptly and he was friendly, knowledgeable, accommodating and the pricing was very reasonable. Mike (Technician) arrived at the appointed day and time. He too was friendly, accommodating and efficient. I will not hesitate to call them again.

Having any kind of water seepage and damage in the basement can be very stressful, especially when we had finished renovating our basement a little less than two years ago. We automatically went into panic mode after water came seeping into our basement one evening due to a very unusual warm period causing all the snow in our yard to melt. Accompany that with a week of heavy rainy and our worst fears came true. We were afraid that the moisture would turn into mold if we didn’t take action quickly. Fortunately, the water seepage was contained in one room. Unfortunately, we didn’t have water seepage insurance and was referred to an emergency contractor to visit our home. The emergency contractor, Peter, was a big mistake. My understanding was that the $1500 agreed upon was to replace the floors and the drywall’s after he tore it up. This wasn’t the case. The charge was only for the following: 1. tearing up the dry wall; 2. tearing up of the laminate floors, and in doing so left ragged edges in the laminate flooring at the door and under the stairs just outside the room, (a total mess) and 3. Rental of his ‘industrial ‘ dehumidifier to ensure that the walls and the floors dried up properly. We already had a high functioning dehumidifier, but Peter said it was not good enough. This was total BS and I fell into the trap. Total disappointment in this contractor as he was not clear about what the cost really was for. I was very clear about what my understanding was as I even asked if I should be ordering the replacement laminate flooring and he said not yet. We should do the external waterproofing first before renovating the inside. I found out later on that he wasn’t even a waterproofer. Peter was just a home renovation guy. In any case, for those of you reading, do not fall into this trap. The water damage is already done, do not panic. A close colleague of mine recommended we speak to Chico at AquaShield Waterproofing, so I sent him a text. Chico responded immediately by calling me and dropped by our house the next day. Our luck had changed. Even after getting quotes from other waterproofing companies which were competitive in pricing, they were however, a little hesitant to work if the temperature was less then 10 degrees outside. Our gut was to go with Chico and AquaShield. Our choice was confirmed after speaking to another close friend, in conversation, who had also used AquaShield for waterproofing services a couple of years ago, he highly recommended Chico, AquaShield. We are so glad that we called Chico. Chico showed professionalism in walking us through what had caused the water seepage (old cinder blocks), as well as walking us through the process of what needed to be done, when it should be done and the time needed. He was down to earth, compassionate, and understanding of our situation. He ensured us that AquaShield would be ready for our project when we were ready. Chico gave us useful advice in selecting a waterproofer and the types of questions to ask. There was no pressure whatsoever to go with his company. He was genuinely there to ease our minds and to help. Chico had an awesome team of three waterproofers, Arty, Randy, and Noel, who worked on our external waterproofing. Our project was a little complicated as the waterproofing needed to be done under part of the deck. The other companies that visited and provided us with quotes recommended tearing up the entire deck so that they could do the waterproofing. Chico’s team was amazing as they worked diligently to dig ‘under the deck’ and only removed the planks from the deck where they absolutely needed to get to. (Of course, this is case by case, depending on the house). They removed the dirt, cleared out the old weeping tiles of the tree roots, applied the waterproofing tar, put in the new weeping tiles and secured the waterproofing materials. They also put the deck back the as it was originally, as well as leaving everything else in the yard, the same as it was before. They were amazing and quick at their job. Initially, we had only half of the back of the house (32ft) which we were prepared to waterproof, however, experiencing the way the team worked and understanding the process really gave us comfort and we proceeded to get the full backside (75ft) of the house waterproofed. Arty would always inform my husband as to what the team was doing and would show him where he found cracks and how it was patched up. In addition to the waterproofing, the team also helped us redirect the sump pump drainage pipe to the proper drainage area as the previous company did a poor job of location. I would definitely refer AquaShield to anyone who is looking to waterproofing your house as this is best investment ever. Call AquaShield Waterproofing because they will guide you in the process and give you comfort that your house will be waterproofed professionally. Thank Chico, Arty, Randy and Noel. You guys are an awesome team! As a side note, we’ve had a few days of intense rain fall and had no further issues of water seepage. Chico and his team at AquaShield Waterproofing will always have our gratitude. Wilson & Lily

We searched on homestars and found A1 Quality Chimney Cleaning & Repair to be the best of 2017 and so they are very busy for this reason alone. Right away I found Kelley to be very courteous and helpful on the phone and since this was the first time I was planning on using the fire place I had many questions. When the appointment was coming up they called to confirm the day before. Sean arrived promptly at the designated time and was very professional. He knew we needed a cap for the chimney by just driving up to the house. The new cap couldn't have come at a better time, sitting on the roof of the garage was a raccoon as Sean arrived that morning, possibly just waiting to find a way into the house. He placed a new cap in mere minutes, inspected and approved the exterior of the chimney and set out to inspect and clean the inside of the chimney. Sean finished the inspection and proceeded to clean the chimney, taking ever precaution to make sure the dust and soot did not effect the rest of the house. Once Sean was finished I asked him about any tips he could give to a first time fire place user and he had no problems passing on his expertise including his thoughts on raccoons. I will definitely be using A1 Quality Chimney Cleaning & Repair in the future.

If you've done your homework and you have read all the reviews, then you already know how great these guys are. I'm just reiterating the fact that they are just that. Vlad and Igor were the initial contacts and they know their stuff. They helped explain things and get things underway including permit requirements and the required paperwork for the city's subsidy program. Pavel and his crew are extremely hard working and professional. They come in do what needs to be done and leave it all clean afterwards. Thanks to all at Mister Plumber. I wouldn't hesitate to hire this company again in the future.