Wow, first-off, let me just state that Vittorio from Almar Energy went WAY above and beyond expectations on the job he did for me. I'll gladly seek him out for future jobs of a similar nature, and wouldn't have any reservations recommending him to my family and friends.
So my story is as follows: I put in a service request on Homestars on a weekend to get quotes to relocate some HVAC ducts on my basement ceiling since I was finishing my basement. I had one large air return duct running down the center of my ceiling that I wanted to move, and several smaller vent ducts in room corners "wrapping under" the ceiling joists that all would have required drywall "boxes" had they not been moved/hidden. Vittorio responded almost immediately despite it being a weekend, and was responsive to all my questions. When he came over a few days later to take a look in person, he proposed what I thought was an innovative idea to relocate the large air return duct along one side of a structural i-beam running parallel to it. He understood we were on a budget, and quoted us a price within our expectations for the job. At the same time, we also expressed a desire to hide some of the smaller vent ducts in the corners, and discussed some options for how these could be done, but neither side really committed to adding these to the "official" job at the time. Well, after getting a second opinion and price quote, we decided to hire Vittorio since he assured us he would keep the cost within our budget, and Vittorio certainly made good on this promise in the end. But what really stood out for me was that he stuck to our agreed budget while putting in a lot more extra time and effort to ensure our desires were met! He ended up relocating the large return duct along the i-beam as discussed, hiding 3 separate corner ducts (removing the need to create boxes around them in our finished basement), helping me extend a basement vent from the ceiling level to the nearest wall and down to within 18 inches of the floor level to be both energy efficient and within code (teaching me how to work with duct materials to be able to do this myself for two additional vents), and otherwise just talking to me and providing me with free consultation services on a variety of questions I had (e.g. sealing ducts with mastic for efficiency, how to avoid negative air pressure buildup in furnace room, wood stud quality, etc.) relating to finishing my basement. He ended up staying late the last day in order to get the job done to meet our desires despite having a 3-hour drive home and kept his word to charge us no more than the agreed-upon price. Talk about incredible value and commitment. It was obvious to me that Vittorio cared about his craft and was willing to put in extra work and effort to do a quality job. I was happy to give him a healthy tip despite our budget, and again, would gladly recommend his services for anyone looking for quality and commitment. @Vittorio, thanks again for the amazing job you did in our basement!
