George Kirk in Toronto

I live in East York in a house that was built in 1921. The concrete laneway (2.5 feet wide) between my house and my neighbour was graded incorrectly, cracked, and was leaking water into my basement. My basement floor had a 4x6 area that was bare earth and needed to be covered in concrete. The rear wall of my house had vinyl covering a former 30 inch doorway (which had been replaced by a new french door in a different location). I needed a contractor to replace my side of the laneway (since my neighbour wouldn't agree to having his side fixed), fix my floor, and replace the vinyl with brick that matched the house. I asked some friends for recommendations, looked on HomeStars and made some phone calls, and chose Mike Scott - and am very happy with the decision. Mike was great - down-to-earth, professional, matter-of-fact and friendly. He and his excellent crew always arrived on-time, left the work site clean, and did a fantastic job on all three of the areas that needed to be fixed. He was also great at dealing with my neighbour who was being quite difficult - the laneway was so badly cracked that there was no way that only my side could be replaced, but my neighbour was insistent that he didn't want any work done because "he didn't have a problem" (even though he was likely going to have a problem in short order). Mike ended up replacing the entire walkway, grading it appropriately, and then did a fantastic hand-textured surface to prevent slipping. He handled my neighbour brilliantly and didn't charge extra for the additional work that was required as a result. The neighbours and friends who stopped by to check it out were impressed with the workmanship. Mike's team did a great job on the bricks - the color matched perfectly (minus years of accumulated grime) and the mortar joints were neat and clean. The patch on the basement floor was perfectly integrated to the remaining floor. Mike was also very responsive with after-sales service in response to some queries my neighbour had after the fact. I would recommend Mike and his team again, and if I decide to proceed with a replacement for my garage slab, will hire him again.

I hired Mike to design and build my kitchen. I live in a semi-detached house in East York, so maximizing storage space was a priority, but my wife and I also wanted to ensure that it was aesthetically pleasing. Mike came up with an excellent, spacious design using premium white cabinetry, granite counters, a gorgeous glass backsplash and a euro-style range hood, and then expertly implemented it. Having done some basic carpentry myself, I was impressed with Mike's attention to detail and his use of high-end professional tools (like laser levels) to double-check and guarantee a precision install. Mike compensated for uneven floors and walls and did an absolutely perfect job installing the cabinets, countertop, dishwasher and faucets. He did some fine trimwork with mouldings and baseboards, and installed under-cabinet lighting. My neighbours consistently compliment us on our kitchen. it's beautiful, spacious and practical. Mike consistently showed up on time, was transparent, polite, professional and clean, and the project came in on-time and under budget. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mike and the team at Ashbridge's Bay for renovations.

For a number of years I have wanted to do something with the front yard of my East York semi-detached home. I'm a very handy guy and usually do home projects myself, but when it comes to gardens and landscaping, I don't feel like I have good design sense, and the thought of days worth of digging, laying stone and planting (just to likely kill them shortly afterward) didn't appeal to me. We heard about Land Effects through HomeStars - my wife called the top 3 rated places for our area, and two decided to quote. The other guy came and suggested a generic retaining wall and basic pathway, said he was going to call us back with a quote, and we never heard from him again. Keith showed up from Land Effects, and had some creative ideas right from the start - like moving the stairway to the center of the lot to provide space for planting on both sides, and make the lot look wider. He was friendly, professional and confident, and shared some excellent ideas. We paid him to do a formal plan, which he delivered to us promptly - we were so excited by the design, we gave him the go-ahead on the spot. Fast forward to a couple of weeks later, his crew showed up right on time every day. They were courteous, professional, worked throughout the day and cleaned up perfectly at the end of each day. The final result is astounding - the workmanship is top-notch and everyone on the street is ecstatic with how great the yard looks. I even get complete strangers knocking on my door asking me where I got the design and build done. I am very impressed with Keith and his team, and wholeheartedly recommend Land Effects if you want "the best" when it comes to both design and build.