Douglas W. in Toronto

Winmar Toronto was contacted by my insurance company to provide restoration services to my storm damaged home. A flat roof was peeled back by high winds and driving rain permitting water to infiltrate from the third floor to the main floor. In addition, a property line fence was blown apart and knocked over. Inside, drywall, broadloom and laminate flooring were damaged due to rain water exposure. After the first meeting I noted that the initial estimate had some deficiencies so they returned to re-estimate. Satisfied with the new estimate, I contracted them to perform the repairs. Although this is a tenanted property, Winmar coordinated the scheduling and management of the interior repairs with my tenants so it was a great convenience to me as I do not reside in Toronto. They respected my tenants’ schedules and worked around them without issue. The quality of repair work was perfectly acceptable and they took great care in protecting and handling my tenants’ possessions. There were many value-added items I noted, throughout the job, performed at no extra charge (i.e. packing and moving tenant possessions which would not normally be covered). Any concerns were promptly addressed and handled without argument. The tenants were also impressed with the speed and efficiency of the workers. They also ensured that the apartments were left as clean as possible upon completion of the repairs and all debris removed at day’s end. Extras and upgrades, over and above the budget estimate, presented no problems. My experience with Winmar Toronto was a very positive one and I would have no problem using them again if needed. Everyone including the estimators, office staff, project manager and the workers were courteous, informative and capable and I can confidently recommend their services.

I contracted Tony Devlin of Straight Up Masonry to replace a deteriorating brick chimney awkwardly situated on a steep pitch roof near the front of my 3 storey house. Compounding the problem was the hydro mast situated directly under the chimney at the side of the house. Despite the obvious challenge, I had every confidence in his ability to complete the job to my satisfaction. While explaining how he was going to do the job, Tony informed me that in order to erect the 4 storeys of scaffold required to reach the chimney, I would have to have my power line and my neighbours insulated due to safety code regulations pertaining to the proximity of the scaffold to the hydro lines. He provided me with the name of a company and within a week, the lines were sleeved and work could commence. Tony and Dom returned on the arranged date and proceeded to construct the scaffold and began removing the old brick chimney. They took steps to protect my property and keep anyone passing by safe from falling brick. It was obviously a difficult and dangerous task but they managed to have it down safely by afternoon. Tony closely inspected the condition of the brick below the roofline and noted that the brick was degraded so he removed some additional courses so that the new chimney would rest on a good solid foundation. He pointed out some of my neighbours new chimneys that looked okay from the roofline upwards but were clearly built on courses of spalled and deteriorated brick. Obviously a shortcut that some other masonry contractors take and a good thing to watch out for to make sure that you're getting a proper rebuild. The additional brick work was not included in the original terms of the contract but he did not charge me extra, so it turned out to be value added to the job and much appreciated. They protected the area at the end of the day in the event of inclement weather, returned promptly the next morning and continued rebuilding the chimney which was proceeding as smoothly as can be expected for such a difficult job but, alas, another situation reared its ugly head. Tony was running out of brick and for good reason; my original chimney was not built to code and was too short for the current roofline clearance requirement and also due to all of the additional bricks that were removed to obtain a solid foundation. Tony presented me with a couple of options. 1) to buy more bricks and build it to meet the current code or 2) to leave it at the height of the old chimney and exchange the one foot clay flue liner for a two foot. The easiest solution would be to extend the clay flue liner and be finished the same day. However, aesthetically, we agreed that the best option was to build the chimney up with additional bricks but would extend the job by another day. We agreed on a new price and he went off and purchased more bricks. Keep in mind that Tony could not have seen that the original chimney was not constructed to code due to the sightlines to the chimney and therefore was not included in the original contract estimate. I was not available to meet with him on the day he was on-site to estimate so he wasn't able to see the chimney from the third floor deck. When I mentioned to Tony that the other estimates I had were cheaper than his to start with, combined with the cost of the additional labour and materials, he generously offered to reduce our previously agreed on price increase and offered to split the difference; I would cover the material cost and he would cover the labour. We shook hands on it and ended the job on a high note. Again, just another example of Tony sacrificing his business' bottom line to please a client. He did not rush the job, as a result, but paid the same care and attention to detail to maintain his high standard of quality workmanship. He even integrated brick ties into the construction which adds structural integrity, something I had not seen before. The finished product is simply outstanding. It blends right in with the colour and character of the house. Combine that with their thorough site cleaning and you'd never know that Straight Up Masonry had undertaken such a comprehensive project. I look forward to dealing with Tony next season on another project.

The results of an insurance inspection of my home in 2011 noted that a deteriorating brick porch column and numerous water damaged bricks and tuck pointing issues would have to be addressed in order to maintain my coverage. I immediately contacted Anthony Devlin (Tony) through Homestars and he promptly provided a very fair estimate compared to the two others I obtained. It was comprehensive, organized and professionally presented; all good signs. The contract was signed and a small deposit sent just prior to the start of the job. An estimated commencement date was given but due to inclement weather, had to be changed which is understandable as Tony, as excellent as he is, cannot control the weather. He did keep me informed of any delay, throughout, so there were no surprises. In fact, I believe it to be a good sign when a contractor has to schedule your job as it means that they've got a number of jobs already lined up i.e. a good contractor is a busy contractor. Tony was able to show up a couple of days before the rescheduled date and we reviewed the scope of work in detail and to weigh the various options. He took the time to carefully explain the process and order in which the work would be carried out. Brick samples were provided and matched as closely as possible for a century home. The brick match turned out to be very close and the brick selected is far more durable than the original. Tony arrived early the next morning with his assistant Dom ready to work. The deteriorated porch column was removed after shoring up the porch roof and by mid afternoon a perfect new brick column stood in its place. The existing porch and handrail were built to accommodate the out of plumb existing brick column so Tony had to spend some extra time cutting the rail and decking to ensure that the new column was level and plumb. He even went the extra step and raised the sagging porch to bring it back to level. I was truly impressed and knew that I had selected the right contractor. Pass through scaffolding was then erected between my house and my neighbours so our ground floor tenants wouldn't be inconvenienced. Spalled bricks and powdered mortar were removed in sections over the next few days and replaced with new bricks and mortar. I didn't realize how bad the condition of the affected bricks and mortar were until I saw it up close. What an incredible difference once it was fixed. Tony noticed some additional bricks and tuck pointing that needed to be replaced that were not covered under the original contract and we agreed on an incremental price increase even though the amount of work was significantly more than what would've been covered by the price difference. Basically he only charged for the materials, and not the labour. Even so, there was no compromise in the quality of work. They worked quickly and efficiently for long hours, rarely stopping for breaks. Another reviewer made the comment that Tony completed a tuck pointing job in a day even though it could've been a two day job so he thought price for the job was a "little high." That's like complaining that someone is working too hard or too efficiently. In my experience it's obvious that Tony prices the job based on the scope of work and not the time it should take. Not a good business model, for sure, but one that benefits the client as he takes however long it takes to make sure the job is perfect. He does not sacrifice on quality for the sake of quantity or speed. Upon completion of the job, Tony and Dom spent the better part of a day removing the debris, dismantling the three storey’s of scaffold, and giving the whole property a thorough clean up. I was most impressed as many contractors that I've used in the past tend to skip this important step. Even my tenants mentioned how nice the house looks now. I am so impressed that my next project for them will be a chimney rebuild as another fly-by-night contractor that I hired to tuck-point didn't know the difference between tuck pointing and parging. They skim-coated the chimney with mortar which now looks absolutely terrible. To summarize, my experience with Straight Up Masonry was exceptional. Tony and Dom were knowledgeable, friendly, reliable, professional, ethical, honest and a complete pleasure to deal with. Tony honoured the quoted price (despite performing some extra work that I noticed but he didn’t mention) and his workmanship is excellent. Without hesitation, I give Straight Up Masonry my highest recommendation.