Trish McKay from Edmonton

6 months ago we renovated our unfinished basement. While we knew we needed to add bedrooms and a bathroom, we didn't know where exactly to put them, so we first hired Janice to draft a floor plan. I am so glad we did, because what she came up with was something we never thought of and nobody suggested before, and it's brilliant. We also hired her to help us choose paint colours, drapes, and to select upholstery for a number of pieces of furniture we had recovered (some antique and some more recent pieces), as well as matching cushions. They must have a couple thousand fabric swatches to choose from. More importantly, she knows what looks good together, and made some really good suggestions. She even educated us, because not all fabrics are made the same or will wear the same. My husband and I are so happy with the end result and have recommended Janice to several friends who are also renovating their basements. I'm glad we hired a professional, because as great as HGTV is, you can't get everything you need from a 30 minute episode of [insert any HGTV show name here]. You get what you pay for. Thanks, Janice!

I bought a Team Buy coupon to have the grout of my kitchen tiles cleaned. It was a dismal shade of grey after 20 years of never being clean. I called Sue at Enviro Clean and booked an appt. Her answering machine message amused me so she obviously has a good sense of humour. I considered that a good sign and I was right. She called me back and we made an appt for later in the week. She and her partner arrived on time and were done in less than an two hours. My very light colored grout is almost back to new which is a bit of a pleasant surprise given that it's been ugly for two decades. I asked her how much it would cost for her to apply a sealant to it, but she said that given that it had cleaned up so nicely after all of these years, she figured I'd be wasting my money to have her seal it, so I didn't. Apparently she's been in business for six years now and decided to do a Team Buy because there are still so many people (like me) who didn't have a clue that anyone even cleaned grout for a living. According to her business card, they also do concrete grinding, polishing, engraving and other things. I can't speak to those services, but I'm certainly happy with how clean my floors now look.

Found Advocate Garage Door Services on a Kijiji listing and called them when my door started acting up. I called a few others first, but most had a $50-100 fee they charged just for showing up. Advocate didn't charge anything to show up. They repaired a number of things on the door, making it stronger and ensuring the door and the opener will last much longer. It turns out the previous owner of the house botched the install of the door, so they rectified it. It now opens and closes way smoother than ever before. If your door is squeaking, stopping before it goes all the way down or otherwise malfunctioning, I'd definitely recommend Advocate. They were also very friendly and explained everything they did as they went along.

Going above and beyond the traditional paint services, Sam, the owner has a "no problem" attitude. Our house came with some challenges, being an older house with the traditional lathe and plaster walls that can be a bit tricky to repair. We also made a big mess removing an inlaid window in an interior wall and Sam tackled rebuilding the wall to a smooth edge for us without any problems. At least none that we knew because he completed it with such professionalism. He also took the colours I wanted and suggested better colours than I picked. He walked me through his process and made me feel very informed about everything going into the project. He was also very respectful of the rest of the space. Cleaning up and being careful not to make a mess! Cost is very reasonable for the quality, care and end result. I live in an amazing space now and I would like to thank Sam for transforming my house into a home. I will definitely be using Blue Nile for any future painting projects.

I have an old furnace, and it started to break down in the middle of March. We all know that living in Edmonton, winters last forever! So I called McKinley to service my furnace/heater. The service was fantastic! Didn't oversell, got me what I needed in record time, and an agent even came over to help when he was on a sick day - can't say enough good things. Broken furnace in a cold snap, and they fixed me up!