SF in NorthYork

We hired YCL Structural Designs to assess a load-bearing wall that we wanted to remove - after a poor experience with another structural engineer. Yu was extremely easy to work with. He had excellent communication skills. He was very clear in providing us different service options and associated fees. The assessment and construction plan we received for our wall was clear and he laid out 2 options for wall removal and required supports. We had several questions through the process and Yu was very open to explaining things further and was very patient. I wish all our contractors and tradespeople were as easy to work with as Yu. His price was fair and there were no added surprise fees.

A contractor recommended this shop to us. We compared prices at a couple of places, but didn't really do too much price shopping. What made us feel most comfortable with this vendor(more so than price, although we do feel we got good value for our money), was Peter's patience and willingness to work with us to help us design our cabinets. At no time did we feel we got a run-around. There was one slip up on the size of a filler piece, but Peter rectified the problem. The cabinets were late by a few weeks and Peter then helped with the install to get our project back on track. These types of errors / hold ups happen - what matters is how they are dealt with. Sure, i would have liked to pay a little less (there was one small job we feel we way overpaid for!), but for the outcome we got, we are more than pleased.

We discovered a leak in a pipe running along the ceiling in our basement on a Friday evening. The leak wasn't massive but needed to be dealt with within a day or two. We called a few places - our own contractor, his plumber and random places off the internet. Mike 4 U was the only one able to make it out that evening and was able to quote me a ball park price on the spot that seemed reasonable. The job was not complicated- fairly straightforward. The plumber came on time. I got the sense that he was on the inexperienced side. He was a bit disorganized with his materials and tools and wasn't really able to answer our questions (he didn't have the exact piece needed and gave us the option of replacing with something else but couldn't really give us pros and cons of the different options). But, what matters is that he did fix the problem, and they offer a 30 day guarantee. I would consider them again for plumbing services.

We shopped around extensively for hardwood for our main floor. This was just a small part of overall reno's. We decided to "outsource" the supply & install together, rather than having our general contractor lay the floor. We thought that this was too important a job, we wanted to be sure it was done correctly with long-term accountability. The sales people at Darmaga were helpful and patient. We dealt with Craig and someone else (either Anthony or Tom). The gentleman who came to measure and estimate was pleasant & competent. We purchased a product by a well-known Canadian manufacturer, deciding not too cheap out too much. The install however was just "OK" for us - although we know that the installer was very experienced. Initially we were excited to know that he would be doing our floors, but unfortunately he didn't really answer our questions, we felt he rushed the job and unnecessarily wasted a lot of wood. Of course, we're not experts, but for a simple, rectangular room, he seemed to have a lot of cuts and excess waste. For some reason, we didn't see the "pride of workmanship" we had expected. Maybe this job was too boring for him - from what we understand he does a lot of "fancy" work / more intricate installs. We also had some issues with the cost of the job - funky accounting (?) that resulted in what I believe is extra tax being paid (extra tax that technically shouldn't be there). The price we were quoted in-store isn't ultimately what we paid. I didn't pursue or push the issue - we just needed to move on to the next task. I believe we overpaid by a few hundred dollars. The finished product looks fine, I'm just not "wowed" by the whole experience. Having said that, I do feel though that if we have issues with the floors in the future, Darmaga will stand behind their work because overall they seem to be running a legimate, long-lasting operation; I probably would go back to them for future jobs. I'll just be more upfront and be less of a push-over!

Ruma of Karmadesigns initially came across very knowledgeable and professional over email. However, the final results were disappointing. Relevant to our needs, she came to the appointment with only 2 tile samples (for 2 full baths), 2 books of overpriced wallpaper (30$ / sq foot - either she doesn't understand her clients or she doesn't know her product, I can't believe that wallpaper was 30$/sq foot!) and a Benjamin Moore chips package. We spent ~ 3 hours talking and at the end of it, we did come out with some selections of paint colours. We were iffy of her selection however - in the past, we had a colour consultant come with big chip samples, test pots (and even coupons!) and were more confident with the selections when seeing them on the wall like that. Ruma told us she would come with a selection of finishings and recommendations of vendors - we really didnt get either. We expected more from Karma - it was a waste of time for us and a waste of money. I subsequently tried to follow up by email with specific questions - she responded once asking me to confirm the colours she suggested, but she didn't actually answer my questions (very specific questions related to her recommendations, what colour to paint the "transition" wall between rooms).