T Hayes in North vancouver

Another Homestars reviewer described Paul as the best contractor she’s ever worked with; having had Post-Modern Design do our recent bathroom renovation, I concur. Before beginning this project, I obtained a few quotes and Paul’s was definitely the most fairly priced. Paul is a super nice guy, with a great “can do” attitude. We appreciated his solid work ethic, especially his willingness to come on weekends to finish jobs, when needed. He is an excellent communicator who is reliable about returning texts and emails promptly, and he has a consistent track record when it comes to arriving on time. There was only one occasion when he ran late, and even though this was by only 10 minutes, he was considerate enough to text me with his whereabouts. Paul is extremely knowledgeable about all areas of home renovation, as was evidenced by his skilful handling of a few complex aspects of our bathroom makeover. He has gathered a commendable group of subcontractors to be part of his team, too: everyone, including plumbers, electricians, tilers, painters, did top notch work. Paul is an exceptionally good-natured, respectful person and it was a great pleasure to work with him and his associates. I highly recommend Paul and his company, Post-Modern Design.

I had a very small repair needed, which involved re-securing a cap on our chimney. Some companies may not have responded to an insignificant request like this, but Darrell followed through and was prompt about providing a fair solution at a good price. One of his crew who lives nearby stopped en route to another job, and this fellow had everything taken care of in less than half an hour. He cleaned the front of my gutters, too. The next time I need my roof replaced, I will be calling Millwall Roofing.

Once again Jafar came through for me at a moment's notice. We had a serious leak from an air bleeder valve above the boiler for our heating system. Jafar rearranged his busy schedule to come check things out right away. Before arriving, he asked for a photo of the problem, so knew what parts to bring. Within short order he had everything repaired. In addition to being highly skilled in his profession, Jafar is an exceptional person -- good-natured, honest, hard-working and a man of integrity. I recommend him highly!

I’d like to begin with clarification regarding the high marks given to various companies I’ve reviewed on this website. My inclination is to post favourable comments for businesses that deserve this, and for others I prefer not to write anything. That said, all of the individuals I've hired via Homestars thus far have proven to be skilled and trustworthy. Stephen E. and his company, Greater Vancouver Gutters, provided outstanding service. To facilitate a painting job we had going on just before installation of our new eavestroughs and downspouts, he agreed to send his crew out twice – once to remove the old gutters and to install a custom-made fascia needed for mounting of gutters along a new deck, and a second time to do the rest of their work. I was impressed all round by GVC’s service: the speedy response to my initial inquiry, the thoroughness of our consultation visit, Stephen’s willingness to take on the making of a custom fascia [when this isn’t usually a service they provide], the friendliness of the crew, and the company’s competitive quote. All in all, I highly recommend Greater Vancouver Gutters.

Jorian is a master at his craft. His work is flawless. It's no surprise that he has such consistently high rankings for his tiling. The attached photo shows what fine work he does. I highly recommend him.

North Shore Stone Works installed a quartz countertop and breakfast bar in our kitchen, in the summer of 2015. The latter involved having a steel bracket custom-made, for extra reinforcement of the breakfast bar. North Shore Stone did the drawing for this and then facilitated my having it manufactured by a local metal shop. Both Mike and Artur were great to work with, answering numerous questions I had, and providing a variety of countertop samples I could take home to try with subway tiles being considered for our backsplash. Artur was good about coming by the house on several occasions, to consult on changes to our plans and to confirm measurements. The installation went well, with minimal seaming needed. Everyone who has seen the finished project agrees that North Shore Stone did excellent work. Their quote was very competitive, too, and I'm happy that I chose them for this important part of our kitchen renovation.

Jon repiped our kitchen, installed a sink & faucet, hooked up the gas for a new stove and put in a water line for a new fridge. His quote for all of this was very fair. Jon answered emails in a timely manner, he consistently showed up on time and he completed his work well. Clean-up was thorough, too. Jon has great integrity and I would definitely call on him for any future work. I highly recommend him.

Jafar is one of those exceptional people you come across from time to time. In April we had him remove a large radiator and replace it with a smaller one, as part of a kitchen renovation we were starting at that time. Based on emailed photos of our boiler, and a discussion over the phone, he provided a quote that was lower than others I received. This change-over of radiators was a last minute decision that needed to be done quickly; knowing this, Jafar found time in his busy schedule to get our work done right away. As it turned out, the job was more complex than originally anticipated, due to our hot water heating system being 55 years old. This necessitated that Jafar spend over 10 hours here, during which time he took no breaks. In the end, not only had he installed our new radiator, he identified and soldered a leak in the system and he took time to fully explain how this kind of heating system works, by showing me various components of the boiler. I tried to offer Jafar more than what he originally quoted, realizing that it ended up being a much bigger job than either of us expected. He insisted on not charging more, though, so I accepted his generous offer. I was very impressed with Jafar after this experience. Not only is he skilled in what he does, but he is a fine person: friendly, punctual, hard-working and honest. My intention was to put a good review for him [and other tradespeople we found on Homestars] after the renovation was over, but since we’re still working on this, I hadn’t yet gotten around to doing so. Something else happened recently, though, prompting me to post this review right away. Following Jafar’s service call in April, we used our heating system for a few weeks, before the warm weather took hold. Then, after our long summer wherein we obviously didn’t need any heat on in the house, I turned up the thermostat two mornings ago, to remove a chill in the air. The boiler didn’t come on, however, and so I called Jafar. He asked me to text him some photos of the system, so he could be sure of various internal components I could check first, before initiating another call-out. He determined that the problem was likely with power coming in to the boiler, which was preventing the electric igniter from allowing the gas flame to catch. We decided that I might want to have our electrician check things out first, so I contacted him to come take a look. He was busy and told me it would be a few days before he could come by. I was okay with this, given the weather’s being mild enough that having heat on in the house was not crucial. Then yesterday, after Jafar had finished a house call in North Vancouver, he offered to stop by to take a quick look at things for us, since the electrician had not yet been able to come. Jafar very quickly determined that a small fuse positioned near the boiler’s LED panel was blown, so he put in a new one. This one blew right away, too, which led him to conclude that somehow there was a short in the wire leading up to the thermostat. He followed this wire along its path through rafters in the ceiling, and was able to find a small section where the insulation on the wire had been sheared, after becoming lodged against a heating pipe during some other work done as part of the kitchen reno. Clearly, the combination of bare wire against metal was causing the short. Jafar wrapped the stripped section with electrician’s tape, popped in another fuse and the problem was solved. He was here for half an hour taking care of this issue, and supplied two fuses, and yet he wouldn’t accept payment for his work. He said he was in the area anyway, and he was happy to have been able to fix our problem without more fuss. I was so thankful for both his timing and his expertise in taking this job off of what had become a long list of things needing my attention, and I couldn’t believe that he didn’t want payment, especially since he was no doubt tired after a full day of work. So, all this to say that Jafar deserves high praise. As stated above, he is highly knowledgeable and skilled, but more importantly, he has a rare work ethic. He is definitely now my ‘go-to’ person for any heating needs, and I will refer him to friends and family who may need servicing or installation of boilers, furnaces, air conditioners or water heaters. Thank you, Jafar. You are the best!

Once again Centra Windows did a fantastic job at my house. [See the other review I did of this company.] This time they returned to replace the remaining windows that I chose not to get done as part of my first installation last year. John Larche did the initial estimate, and I found him to be very knowledgeable and a good person to consult with. Harry, Brendan & Alan, who completed this work, were first rate: highly skilled, hard-working, efficient, friendly, cooperative and punctual. They did a great job of the windows, including the removing and repositioning of alarm triggers and the taking down and installation of 3 sets of venetian blinds. All in all, this was another very positive experience and I would once again highly recommend Centra Windows.

Centra came highly recommended by friends who had this company do a lot of work for them two years ago, and I'm pleased I went with their recommendation. I had six windows replaced recently and am very satisfied with both Centra's product and service. I wanted everything installed before the arrival of summer guests in mid-July, and they were able to accommodate this request. In fact, the windows were ready ahead of time and the installation was scheduled at least a week earlier than I was expecting. I am particularly pleased that they were able to manufacture a large single-pane picture window that another company said would have to be two panes. Given that this is a feature window in a living room with a view, it is a bonus that the glass is unobstructed by an additional frame. In my dealings with both Centra's field and office staff, I found everyone courteous and knowledgeable. The estimators, John and Paul, and the installers, Kristian, Nick and Josh, arrived exactly when they said they would. Kristian, Nick and Josh worked well together and were careful not to damage any property, inside or out. This job involved enlarging two windows, lining/ casing all of the new work, then installing outside trim. In all of this, Kristian, Nick and Josh displayed superior craftsmanship, and the end product looks great! I'm glad, too, that I was able to give my business to a local company. All in all, this was a most positive renovation experience -- enough so that I'm now thinking of getting Centra to replace the siding on my house, with Hardie Plank. I would highly recommend this company to anyone who asks.