levik from Toronto

I originally contacted Ontario Downspout Service a couple of years ago to deal with a gutter leaking inside the house, and to replace the siding of my house. I signed the contract, and paid the deposit, but then we just kept running into delays (our problems, not the company's). When the timing was finally right, Mark and Harvey (Mark is Harvey's son, this is a family business) scheduled the job and didn't even mention a change to price. To honor their original contract without even asking for inflation told me this is a very down to earth company. To be fair, they earned interest on my deposit for 2 years so I guess we are even, but I was really impressed with how they stuck to their word. In any case, they came to do the job and everything went really, really well. We walked through the job, spoke about any concerns, discussed finishing options and then they got started. Mark and his crew arrived EXACTLY when they said they would EVERY DAY. They protected the neighbors house and my deck EVERY DAY. They checked in regularly throughout the job EVERY DAY. And at finishing time, they cleaned the work site, swept up debris and even used a magnetic broom to pick up screws/nails; EVERY DAY. I was thoroughly impressed with the work, and even more impressed that Mark asked me about last minute design decisions as we were going, so I would be happy at the end. No assumptions, just open and honest feedback. What really impressed me was the way Mark managed his team. Mark and Hector (who I assume was some kind of supervisor) has a team of workers with English as a second language. Throughout the job, they were treated brilliantly and safety was the number one concern. At one point, the wind was picking up and Mark made a decision to stop work for the day. They were using 20 foot ladders so a fall could kill someone... Did it take an extra day to complete the job? Yes. Would I have it any other way? No - this is how you should treat people and the crews safety was number one priority. Bravo. Not everything was flawless however - unfortunately there was a measurement/warehouse error and there was not enough of the siding (special order) to complete the job. This added a one week delay to our completion time, but it was OK. Mark communicated early that there was a problem, told me when it would be fixed and then kept me up to date on how things were going. There was also a few things that went wrong along the way; a broken vent & broken during demolition? They identified it when it happened, and then fixed it no cost without any issue. A sharp corner on some siding that was missed during installation? They came back later to fix it for me, no problem. But these things happen - no project is perfect, and the way Mark and his team identified the problems proactively and then fixed them for me was great. Consider this: A delay of week and I'm still giving then 10 starts should really tell you how great this company is to work with. All things considered, I couldn't be happier. The pricing was reasonable, the communications were excellent, they treat their staff right and do great work. I can highly recommend Ontario Downspout Service.

In a word? Unreliable. The sales guy told me it would be 6-8 weeks from the date of the order, and this weekend makes it 10 weeks (and counting... still not finished). They measured one of the windows wrong, and now I need to wait until Mid-October for the final window to be manufactured and installed. That will be a total of 14 weeks. Also promised to arrive at a certain time today, showed up 3 hours later, with zero communication about the delay. If there was an apology for being late... I certainly didn't hear it. Finally, they couldn't finish today's job, because "we don't have a tall enough scaffold". The problem I have with that the installer has been here three times already... It's not as if my house got taller. Bring the right equipment guys... Generally pretty ticked off at the whole installation process. I'll update this review with details of how they resolve my complaint.

10/10 would 100% recommend this company. My basement walkout had seen better days - some water had leaked behind the walls and it has failed during winter. I contacted five companies to quote for the job, and these guys had the most competitive quote BY FAR. On arrival, my entire backyard was covered in tarpaulin to protect everything from the dirt. They worked quickly, were courteous and explained what they were doing along the way. The wall they built was constructed "the right way". Rebar was installed into the foundation, the blocks were reinforced with that metal that goes between the layers, and then the entire wall was filled with concrete. It was then finished with a weeping tile drain, rubber coating and some kind of dimpled water membrane. By contrast, the previous wall was empty cinder block, had dirt right next to it and zero drainage (no wonder it failed...). Halfway through the job, we identified a problem: our 1910 house has no weeping tile beside the footing, so the waterproofing they installed had nowhere to drain! The company worked through the problem, gave me three options (three different prices) and planned the response with me. In the end, I chose to install a sump pump into my basement, and they were able to do that job at a competitive price, and on the same timeline! Soon I need to correct water seepage in my basement, which will cost me tens of thousands. I will happily work with Royal Work corp again. Thanks to Anatoily, Sergei and Oleg for all of your help.

I made a reservation online with Cargo Cabbie, and loved their quote process. Was moving a large sofa and a bunch of boxes from my storage unit to my house. Turns out however I stuffed up the reservation, and instead of "Tuesday", I accidentally clicked "Thursday". When I called Cargo Cabbie to cancel - they were able to squeeze in my move later that day. This was not something they had to do, and the two guys moving my stuff worked a longer shift today to help me out. Its easy to see why these guys have such a great reputation here - their processes rock, and their people are equally impressive.

Some I'm renovating my home (105 years old, semi detached) and will post reviews about all the contractors I use. Here is review 1 of many! Contacted George for a quote to install a gas hookup for my BBQ. George gave me an estimate, then asked me a heap of questions about the pipe diameter, distance, location of the BBQ etc. He asked me to send him some photographs of the site, and after I did he was able to give me a firm quote. To be honest I don't know if what I paid ($450) was expensive because I didn't shop around. After reading the reviews here I was willing to pay for excellent service. While he was doing the job, he capped a couple of redundant offshoots from my main gas line and carefully routed the line so it was out of the way. Even an amateur could see he was careful, diligent and did great work. George encouraged questions about what he was doing and gave me some advice about grounding my pipes. Also appreciated that he did not just do the minimum (per code) but actually did the work to a higher standard and explained why it was important. 100% recommend. PS. His father came with him to help on the job, and he was also very courteous and respectful in my home.