Gillis/Hammond in Waverley

Another great job by Anta. Patrick spent two days replacing an ancient cast-iron sewer stack and relocating two radiator pipes. The relocation of the pipes posed some difficulty due to the tight kitchen layout, and the pipes were originally moved close to but not quite where we'd needed them. After a discussion with Patrick and a few calls to the office, Anta agreed to redo the pipe relocation at no charge, which we very much appreciated. That took an additional few hours. Patrick was extremely easy to work with, very honest, calm, pleasant and tidy. He even did a little pipe patching job at no extra charge. Before leaving, he wanted to make sure we were 100% happy with his work, which we were. Thanks!

Since posting my initial review (below), Cosmopolitan called me immediately and sent out the technician I had originally requested, even though it was a Sunday. They were very apologetic and polite on the phone. Beyhan arrived at the scheduled time and was able to fix my boiler without any new parts having to be ordered. He spent approximately an hour here, examining the boiler and cleaning various parts. It's now working fine and he checked it several times before leaving. I was not charged for this work. Beyhan is the best. <p>Thank you, Cosmopolitan, for your quick response to my issues. I've changed my rating from 1 to 8 and will use you again in the future. <p>------------------------------------------------------------------------ <p>I have had a terrible experience with this company, although it started out good. In December, my boiler stopped working so I called Cosmopolitan based on the good reviews. Beyhan arrived quickly, diagnosed the problem (the pilot light was coming on but failing to light the burners), ordered a new pilot assembly, and installed it the next day. The boiler worked throughout the coldest months. <p>At the end of March, the problem returned. Beyhan had told us that the problem could also be the ignition module* (there's a chance I have this name wrong), but we agreed to try the pilot assembly first since that part was less expensive. I called Cosmo to explain that the boiler had stopped working again and requested that Beyhan come replace the ignition module. Beyhan was on vacation so they sent another technician, Mike. This is where the problems began. <p>Mike arrived later that day and declared that the module needed to be replaced. This was on Wed, Mar 30. It took him until Mon, Apr 4 to get the part and return. I arranged for him to arrive at 830 so I could let him in before leaving for work but he called around 845 to say he wouldn't get there till at least 930. I had to leave a key and cheque ($500) for him. Later when I returned from work, I noticed that Mike had not left a note or an invoice. The boiler, however, seemed to be working. <p>Two days later, on Wed, Apr 6, it stopped working again. I called Cosmo on Thursday, explaining my frustration. The house was very cold and we have an upstairs tenant who was beginning to complain. I asked for a different technician and explained that I'd by this point spent $1000 fixing the boiler, which still didn't work. The man who answered the phone apologized and said he would look into the matter. <p>A few hours later Mike called. Said he half-expected the boiler not to be working since he had to fiddle with it to make it come on after replacing the part. This was frustrating to hear. He could have let me know this earlier. He said he was pretty sure that the problem must be the hose connecting into the gas line. Said he'd order the part. We were coming on to the weekend so I asked if he could please get the part asap. He said he'd try. I also said I was not prepared to waste more money on this fix, so he said he would not charge for his labour, only for the part. <p>Saturday came. No Mike. I called the office to complain. Whomever answered the phone was not helpful at all. I had to go through the entire history again, and I again requested a different technician. He said he would look into the matter and call me back. He never called me back. Instead Mike called on Monday, April 11 saying he was still trying to get the part. Didn't even apologize for leaving me stranded all weekend. <p>It is now Friday, Apr 15. Mike has still not shown up with the part after I've spent the entire week on the phone with him scheduling visits and changing my schedule to match his. He never phones back when he says he will. He constantly tells me that the part has not yet arrived. Says our boiler isn't easy to find parts for. Funny, Beyhan had no trouble getting a part quickly. And Mike himself had gotten the module fairly relatively quickly. <p>The last straw was yesterday. Finally the part had come in, supposedly. I left Mike a voice mail asking if he could come at noon. Sometimes he responds more quickly to texts so I texted him when he didn't call back. He texted back to say afternoon was better. I proposed 415. Never heard back so I texted again. He wrote to say after 5 would be good. He still hadn't picked up the part (!!) so he said he would do that at 4 and then arrive at my house around 5. <p>5, 530, 6, 630 came. No sign of Mike. I phoned. I texted. It's now 11 am on Friday, April 15 and I haven't heard a word. My house has had no heat for over a week, my tenant is unhappy, and I have been strung along like a fool by this severely unprofessional technician. I am cutting my losses and finding another company to fix my boiler. Unbelievable.

We had a great experience using Palmeri Construction to tape and mud the drywall in our basement. They were able to provide an on-the-spot quote a day after we phoned them, and then began the work shortly thereafter. They estimated that the job would take 5-6 days and it took five. They always showed up early in the morning and worked diligently throughout the day, usually leaving around 330 or 4, sometimes later. The quality of their work is very high, they spent some time cleaning up before they left, and they were pleasant to deal with. The basement walls and ceilings look great. Our only complaint was that we were asked to make a decision about their quote within a very short timeframe (by end of day), which didn't allow us to gather competing quotes. So we don't know if their price was competitive and felt pressured to commit quickly. I think the reason they needed to know asap was because they were squeezing us into a free spot in their schedule. We were also under time constraints ourselves, so we appreciated their willingness to start and finish the job quickly. We'd recommend Palmeri to others.

We came home to our hot water heater spraying water all over the basement. The problem turned out to be a pinhole leak in the hot water pipe leading into the tank. The hot water heater's a rental, so we called Direct Energy to fix the problem. They showed up in the morning, and told us it was a plumbing vs a tank problem, so we'd therefore be charged their plumbing rates. And we'd have to rebook an appointment with one of their plumbers. And he said it would be a messy job. We told them to forget it. Called Mr. Rooter instead. Never used them before. Their office seems to run in a very organized fashion. Set up the appt easily and was happy to learn that there was no assessment fee. Also happy that a plumber could come out within a few hours. Robert Plantic arrived a few hours after I called. He was very professional, told me I needed a new elbow joint and then gave me a quote. I gave him the green light to start work. He completed the job in less than an hour. He used a plastic vs copper fitting as he says it's more durable and doesn't cool down the hot water the way copper does. Hot water is back on, and there are no problems so far.