Dave From Scarborough

I had them scope my drains several times in the past 15 years, and they used to provide me with a DVD of it. They also did small plumbing jobs for me. Theyre very experienced and they wont cut corners by taping up leaks with duct tape, etc. But general contractors will cut corners by doing plumbing, electrical and HVAC themselves, when they dont know what theyre doing. Always use licenced technicians, even for drywalling and carpentry.

I e-mailed several contractors here regarding eavestrough cleaning, of the leaky eavestrough joints, installation of a new downspout, and some ivy removal in late Nov on my elderly mother's house. The other contractors wouldn't do the job as it was too cold for caulking. Andrew of Just Clean Windows And Doors responded and showed up a day later, Nov 22nd. I thought that he would give a free estimate, but he insisted on doing the job right then and demanded full payment for it, claiming that he came all the way from Mississauga just for this job. My elderly mother gave him a posted-date cheque, which he disliked. He came on Dec 11th to do some caulking on the roof and some eavestrough cleaning. He said he would return to do the rest of the work (caulking the eavestrough joints, ivy removal, and the downspout installation), but he said that the snow on the roof prevented him from completing the work, as it was too dangerous. So he still hasn't returned, despite my mother leaving numerous voicemail messages. He just took the $675 and ran. The eavestrough corner still leaks right above the front door, creating hazardous conditions for my elderly mother. I had been calling him and so has my mother for weeks, but he keeps avoiding our calls. She finally had to call him on a payphone and then he answered. He assured her in several phone calls that he would show up on Fri, Jan 26th to do the remaining work, but he never showed up. He showed up a few days later, but he said he did not have a heat gun, so he could not do the job that day. He never returned after that.

I initially hired another contractor last November to waterproof the basement front wall and install the window wells for a legal basement apartment at my house in the Sheppard-Morningside-Wickson Trail area. However, they took far too long to complete the job and it stretched into January. Dominic and his crew returned in mid-May to correct issues with the Bilco plastic window wells sagging as they were backfilled by the previous contractor in late January and they sagged and pulled away from the wall with the thawing a few weeks later. I had to dispose of the Bilco window wells and went with TecSteel galvanized steel window wells instead from Edmonton. Dominic and his crew did an expert job patching the dimple board after removing the old plastic Bilco window wells and installing the TecSteel galvanized window wells. I would highly recommend A+A Masonry for future masonry, tuck pointing, basement lowering and basement waterproofing jobs. Dave

I learned of Linus through a fellow contractor who recommened him to me in Dec 2008. I initially used him in June 2008 to install French doors and oak trim on my living room opening and to install two Safe-N-Sound doors on two bedrooms with oak trim. He initially installed the French doors swinging outwards and the first set of doors were warped. I bought him a new set of French doors, and he reinstalled them, swinging inwards, as I initially wanted, all for another $100 more! I then used him for a basement bedroom renovation in October. I gave him my specs and he did the job according to my specs. I insisted on vapour barrier on the concrete floor, followed by 1" styrofoam, and then 5/8" plywood, all screwed down with Tapcon screws. He then laid 12mm Austrian laminate flooring. He also installed fire-rated 2'x4' CertainTeed ceiling tiles, as I needed the accessability to the basement ceiling. Now the basement bedroom is warm. Unlike other contractors, he never demanded one third or one half up front. He only asked me for around $1,000 or $1,500 per week, enough to keep him going. He didn't mind my purchasing all the supplies at RONA (to eliminate any markup). He had to purchase some of his own supplies at Home Depot, but he presented the bills to me, and I paid him for the supplies. He initially didn't accept credit cards, but he set himself up on PayPal last fall, so new takes VISA, MC and AMEX. He also went shopping with me to RONA or Home Depot every Sunday in the fall. He laid the same type of flooring and ceiling in the basement den in November as he did in the basement bedroom in October. He also remodelled my basement bathroom entirely starting in mid-Nov. Again, I laid out the specs and he followed them. I insisted on CertainTeed mould and moisture resistant drywall, along with Schluter orange Kirdy fabric behind the shower tiles. Again, I bought the supplies for him at RONA, and I bought the tiles at Sole Ceramics (far better quality and selection than Dufferin Tile or Profile Tile). He did a beautiful job on the basement bathroom. When I showed the basement apt to prospective tenants, they were amazed. All in all, I'm very satisfied with Linus. All I ask in the future is that he use drop sheets on the floors and clean up better, but most contractors are like that.

Jake of JAD Contracting came last June and got the job done in a timely manner-a few days. He cut a lot of corners, neglecting to prime the walls or patch the dents and dings prior to painting, installing stair railings right into the drywall-not the studs! He didn't hang the bedroom doors right either. Although he did the job within my tight timeframe, he cut a lot of corners

I gave John of The Renovation Team a $7,000 deposit on Fri, March 16th for a basement and upper house renovation. They arrived on Mon, March 16th and began demolition of the basement. After a couple days' work, he demanded another $4,800. I added a major rewiring of the house and gave him another $8,000 deposit. He quit the job after that. He never got a permit from the City of Toronto for the renovation work, and he didn't get an electrical permit from the Electrical Safety Association for the electrical work, as he was supposed to. After that, he said he was sick and doesn't return my calls.