Glenda from Scarborough

We moved into a townhouse in September, did some renos, and wanted to be sure the ducts were clean before turning on the furnace. I checked out a lot of companies, and then called Paul. I was impressed by his reviews here on Homestars, and also by the certifications he has. One other thing I liked was his participation in charity events, offering a discount for people who made donations, which seemed like a win-win to me. I think I’d explained that we could not have heavy equipment brought directly in front of the house since the ‘laneway’ is over water pipes. He said they had a portable unit which could be used, but that might have gotten lost in translation at some point. The crew that showed up needed their truck, so they left. I was upset since I’d stayed home for the appointment, and also concerned since cold weather was around the corner. However, Paul got Steve over that same day with the portable unit, which was great. The equipment was most impressive, and Steve lugged everything up the lane from his truck parked at the curb. Steve did a great job. Our previous house had a boiler system, so we knew nothing about ducts. Steve was very thorough, explaining everything as he went, and quite helpful as well. He even offered to move anything that needed moving, since we still had a lot of unpacked boxes in the way of vents etc. Even better, he cleaned our powder room vent fan. It used to sound like a 747 was landing, and we had not even realized that a cleaning would help it. Additionally, we were very happy to learn about the various vent filters, and glad that Steve had some on his truck. Steve showed me the amount of dirt that came out of the ductwork, and which in fact seemed to keep coming, so my husband and I are relieved we won’t be breathing that. We both feel that we received excellent service, and good value for money. While I had sent a note to Paul commending Steve’s work, I had promised myself I would post a review on Homestars, so finally am doing so even though it’s been a number of months. I dug out the bill, so can confirm the cost was just under $250. In booking, we’d anticipated paying $330 for “the full monty” as Paul put it. However, he said if it turned out that was not required, the bill would be adjusted downward accordingly, and it was. That was the ‘cherry on the top’ of everything else. I was so amazed I forgot about the discount he’d offered for a Variety Village donation, and then said that’s exactly what I wanted to do – forget about subtracting it – since it’s a cause I’d support anyway. and the service was worth it.

We bought Hometech windows through an installer (Thermo-bilt) and have been very happy with them. However, one day I set a bowl of fruit in one side of a pair of casement windows (low level ledge) and later discovered it had attracted the attention of a squirrel, ripping a hole in the screen on that side. would not match the adjoining window, so called the installer and left a message. A few days later, I got a call back from Antonella at Hometech. I confirmed the problem with her, and she said if I would bring the screen in to them at the factory, they would replace it for free and it would take about 10 minutes. I could not believe it, but decided to go that same day. They did the replacement very quickly and indeed there was no charge, they chalked it up to good customer service. I'm totally thrilled. The screen is back and no fruit will ever go in that window again. I was concerned that using different replacement screening on one side .