Gene from Toronto

I first used Valentin about four years ago to install a backflow shut-off valve on my very old house. While he was here, he scoped my drain pipes. I had thought I might need to change them. Reason for that is that they were the original clay pipes and had been in the ground for decades, possibly since 1908. Valentin could have easily taken my money and replaced them, but on inspection he said the clay pipes were in amazingly good shape and said there was no need to replace them. A few days later, his crew arrived and installed the backflow valve. The install went well. Val ntin’s crew were professional, courteous, and did a great job. Since then Valentin has been back to check the backflow valve. The reason for that is that the valve worked and blocked incoming sewage. However, we continued using water as normal and a small amount of that water and waste from inside the house ended topping up our floor drains. He checked the valve, scoped the pies from the valve to the street and pronounced everything to be normal and good. Recently, problems originating from a neighbour renovation project had me call Valentin once again. The neighbour had done several things that had adversely affected my property and I was worried that a new project across the fence might have adverse effects on my drain pipe. Valentin came over, again scoped my pipe and again told me that all was OK and that I did not have to rake any action for kite some time. Calentin could have easily talked me into doing something that was not necessary, but he did not. Valentin is a great guy. He is honest and will treat you fairly. I have recommended Valentin to several neighbours and they have been extremely pleased. If you have a drain problem or want a backflow protector installed, give Valentin a call. You will not regret it.

A few weeks back, I dropped into my neighbour’s place. It was a cold morning, about -21C, and her furnace had been out for just over a day. She explained to me that she had contacted her gas supplier who had put her in touch with a furnace company. A repair person had arrived shortly thereafter, but he did not have the parts required for a repair. He ordered up the parts, estimated the cost of repair to be approximately $300, in addition to the $125 call-out fee she'd already paid, and also arranged for a salesperson to come give her a price for a new furnace. Some of the things my neighbour said did not seem quite right and I suggested she contact Cy at Spring Home Heating for a second opinion. She was a little reluctant to contact anyone one else, so I called Cy and asked if he’d be able to come over that day if needed. He said he’d find a way to fit us in and also asked if my neighbour needed any extra heaters to tide her over. Well, I stayed with my neighbour until the first estimator had come and gone. His estimate seemed a bit high and his recommendations did not sound quite right. I spoke to my neighbour and managed to talk her into letting Cy come over. He was there within 2 hours with electric heaters in case they were needed. I showed Cy around the furnace room and discussed the situation. The failed furnace was 50 years old. The cold air return had been partially crushed, the exhaust stack was flimsily attached to the chimney. On top of that, there was a 9-year-old water heater that had been placed tightly against the old furnace. The pipes and exhaust to and from the water heater looked like a jigsaw puzzle. The exhaust stack was actually connected to the same stack as the furnace and looked ready to fall off. Cy and I then went back upstairs to discuss the situation with the owner. The original estimator had said the water heater would be moved at no cost using existing material. The water heater as installed, however, did not meet code. Intake and exhaust stacks would have to be changed. Cy took that into account, suggested a complete change of water heater companies. He also suggested a larger furnace than the first estimator, something I had asked the first company about. He left about an hour or so after his arrival and left the electric heaters behind, no strings attached. My neighbour was still thinking about paying for the repair and waiting a few months before using the first company to do the replacement. However, as we reviewed the quotes and recommendations, she decided that Spring was the way to go. Better furnace, new rental water heater, guaranteed next day installation, all for a lower price. More importantly, Cy had done a thorough job assessing the situation and my neighbour was confident there’d be no hidden expenses. Next day, Randy and Wilson showed up. Wilson had done an install at my home the year before and I was pleased to see him. I have yet to meet anyone at Spring who has not been great. The two of them introduced themselves to my neighbour, explained what would happen, laid out a bunch of protective cloths and got to work. My neighbour really appreciated their hard work and repeatedly told me how nice they were. The install wasn’t easy. Randy and Wilson started at 10 and wound up at about 8 that evening. By the time they were done, my neighbour not only had great new furnace and water heater, she also had a lot more space in her furnace room now that the plumbing jigsaw had been removed. The install looked very professional. Randy and Wilson then ran us through the paperwork. That is when the only glitch occurred. The contract for the water heater rental did not seem quite right. I recommended that my neighbour not sign until that bit was checked out. Next day we spoke to Cheryl at Spring Home Heating. She listened to our concerns, looked into them, explained exactly what was occurring with the rental and basically made everything right. That was important because my neighbour is on a fixed income and cannot afford surprises. Rest assured, she did not get any surprises and she has nothing but good things to say about Cy, Wilson, Randy, Cheryl and the whole team at Spring. I have used Spring and have recommended Spring to friends and neighbours. Spring gives good advice, does great work and is competitive on price. To Cy, Cheryl and everyone at Spring, Thank You.

It has been over a year since Spring Heating installed a new furnace and air conditioner in our Toronto home. The systems are great and we still appreciate the great service provided by the Spring team at the time of install. Since then, we have had Spring Heating send Tiger -our original installer- back twice, once in the spring to do the annual AC maintenance and just recently to do the regular fall check up of the furnace. During this last visit, Tiger also installed a humidifier to add that little bit of moisture we lacked last winter when the temperatures dropped and the air dried up. As always, Tiger did great work! To everyone at Spring Heating -Tiger, Cheryl, Cy, George...- Thank you for the great service.

Anyone looking for a good chimney sweep or brick mason can’t go wrong with Metro Chimney and Chris Bowes. Chris does excellent work, is pleasant to deal with and doesn’t overcharge. I have used Chris on several occasions starting with a chimney sweep in June. The chimney hadn’t been cleaned by our home’s previous owners in years so there was plenty of debris that had accumulated. Chris gave me a rough estimate over the phone, arrived on schedule, inspected the chimney and charged me less than the original phone estimate. He left the house as clean as when he arrived and my wife and I had a working and safe fireplace. Chris has been back since to re-point the top of the chimney and put on a new cap. He has also replaced door ledges and lintels that had not been done correctly by previous owners and has repaired some brick masonry that had deteriorated over the years. Every job turned out great. Like I said, you can’t go wrong with Metro. Chris: thank you for the great work. We have a few new projects in mind, so we will probably see you again soon.

A few weeks ago, we contacted Paul at “The Duct Cleaning Specialists.” We had just recently moved to Toronto from BC and in the weeks prior to the move had watched “CBC Marketplace” and its expose on Toronto duct cleaners. The task of finding a good, dependable and honest duct cleaner seemed as if it might be a difficult task. Paul and the Duct Cleaning Specialists” was recommended to us by Spring Heating, a company we had done business with and who we trusted. I spoke to Paul about my concerns and joked with him about the Marketplace report. He assured me that his crew would do a great job and a great job they did do. Mark and Ryan were the technicians. They were polite and super friendly. They told me what they were planning to do and when asked explained how their equipment worked. I was a little skeptical that their equipment would be able to clean the ducts. They had not been cleaned in years and had a heavy accumulation of dirt and dust. Mark and Ryan set up their equipment, turned on a massive vacuum in the back of their van and went to work. One piece of equipment that was really neat was a multi-tip “whip” that was air-driven. It spun at relatively high speeds and whipped those ducts clean. Our cold air returns are located between rough swan floor joists that were just covered and jammed-packed with dirt. With the whip the crew whipped the returns clean. I had a good look before and after the cleaning and the wood look like it had just been nailed in place by the time the cleaning was done. The crew was in the house for about two hours and when they were done, Mark and Ryan cleaned up so well you could hardly tell they’d been in the house. Since the cleaning, airborne dust has been reduced and air quality has improved. The “Duct Cleaning Specialists” are the real deal. They do great work and I’ll bet they will never be on a Marketplace Special Report. Mark and Ryan, thanks for a great job. Paul, you have a good crew.

My wife and I recently moved to Toronto from BC. A few weeks ago, we decided to upgrade our heating and A/C. I contacted 3 companies and arranged for quotes from two. A quick look at HomeStars convinced me not to bother with the third. In the end, we selected Spring Home Heating. The experience, from beginning to end, was pleasant. It was nice calling Spring Heating and having my call answered by a company employee who lives here in Toronto. One of the other companies uses an American call centre, while the other was difficult to connect with and sounded as if it also used a call centre. When I called Spring, Cheryl answered the phone and was able to answer a host of questions about the company and its services. Cheryl put me in touch with Cy who recommended that I do a diagnostic first to ensure that the A/C really needed to be replaced. I then called Cheryl again, who booked a diagnostic for my A/C and assured me that any fees from that call would be applied against future purchase. Kevin, the Spring Heating service technician arrived on time and quickly found that the A/C was completely empty of refrigerant. He said the unit could be repaired, but seeing the unit used an older, expensive refrigerant we decided to upgrade. We had already obtained one quote so had a good idea of what our choices and costs would be. At this time we had not yet made up our minds about which company to use. So, we contacted Cheryl and arranged for a meeting with Cy. Again, it was nice having my calls answered quickly by people who live and work here in Toronto. Cy arrived as scheduled and spent a couple of hours with us talking about the furnace and A/C we already had and about units that might better fill our needs. Cy recommended slightly larger and more expensive units than the competition, but the reasons for his recommendations were completely logical. I asked about an even more expensive option, but Cy assured me that the larger unit I asked about would not be needed. Cy also said that the smaller units suggested by the competition would work well, but would not be as efficient. Cy also caught a few things that I knew about, but that the other company had missed. Small things that would have added to the cost and that had to be done for a proper install. Anyhow, we selected the Lennox Elite XC14-024 A/C and Signature SLP98UH furnace and less than a week later Tiger and Wilson arrived with the units and a stainless steel liner for my water heater. Tiger and Wilson were polite, efficient and took any concerns I had about the installation very seriously. The install was not an easy one and the two worked through 35 degree heat to get the job done and done well. Originally, Cy said we might have to place the A/C in a different area that would have impeded any expansion to our garden and deck. I spoke to the crew about the location and after a few measurements and a bit of tree pruning, Tiger and Wilson were able to position the new larger A/C unit in the same location as the failed unit. They were also able to direct the furnace intake and exhaust stacks away from our narrow driveway and towards the fence on the opposite side of the house. Losing any driveway access was not an option and the crew came through to make us happy. The install took all day at the end of which Tiger and Wilson did a great clean up. The only thing that was not perfect was a silicone caulking seal around the new stainless steel chimney liner. The seal is good and will block out any rain water but it isn’t pretty to look at. But then, who else but me would ever look at a caulking seal. The Spring Heating crew did a great job! Cy also recommended a duct cleaning company. Their crew was also excellent. I will try to write a review about that company as soon as I get a chance. I can honestly say that Spring Heating is great company, does great work and gives advice you can count on. To Kevin, Tiger, Wilson, Cy, Cheryl and the crew at Spring Heating: Thank you for a great experience.