Linda in Vancouver

A cautionary tale from a former customer: Over the past 27 years, I have done both small repairs and large renovations to my home. Without a doubt, my experience with BS has been the worst. I would give them a negative-star rating if that were possible. I contacted BSV about a damp crawlspace several years ago. They installed a dehumidifier. Being advised that I now had a usable crawlspace, I moved many items for storage downstairs, from boxes of files to family treasures. However, the dampness increased. I called them on many occasions with my concerns, but their response was to send someone over to change the filter (and charge me for it). One employee’s advice was to put tins of coffee grounds downstairs to get rid of the odour. Finally, in frustration, I insisted that the owner and manager come by to inspect the crawlspace. Lo and behold, the dehumidifier sounded like it was working, but was not functioning at all. Everything – every single thing – stored in the crawlspace was ruined. Although I had been questioning the efficiency of the dehumidifier for two years, my concerns were dismissed. The boxes of files had to be thrown out and, although many items were stored in plastic storage bins, the smell had permeated the containers to such an extent that the contents were not salvageable. I spent countless hours sorting through the bins and eventually hired someone to haul them to the dump. BSV had my dehumidifier repaired and returned it to the crawlspace. It broke down several weeks later. BSV’s best advice was to have the interior of the crawlspace coated with their plastic liner system. In case you missed the nuance, they are selling "a system”, not expertise on solving drainage issues. They are not plumbers, nor are they drainage experts. They are in the business of selling an outrageously expensive plastic liner to seal off your basement instead of resolving your drainage issues. A neighbour who had the liner system installed a few years ago advised me that the system alarm didn’t work; when his crawlspace flooded, he was not aware it had happened. In the end, I hired a very knowledgeable drainage expert to repair my drain tiles for about 1/10th of the price BSV charges for their system. The problem is completely solved. In the end, I lost thousands of dollars of stored personal belongings, some of them irreplaceable. In short, do NOT take advice from salespeople; hire a drainage expert.

I was at my wit’s end when I discovered Westside Drainage. I had been given the run-around by another company both with the cost and the length of time they were taking to complete the work. Their promised 4-day job turned into months because they just never showed up. I was living with a trench around my house (and the front door!) for a month before Carlo arrived to fix the mess. The previous company, despite a grand website and much boasting, had no idea what they were doing. Even though the city gave them exact coordinates for my sump, they said I didn’t have one. They even told me that my drainage system didn’t tie into the city line. (Seriously?) Carlo arrived, listened to my story, found the sump within one minute, and scoped the drains to see what was going on. He returned after the holidays to repair the drain tiles and was finished within 3 or 4 half-days. He is extremely experienced, knowledgeable, capable and honest. My only regret is not having contacted him first. He is my hero! I highly recommend Carlo and Westside Drainage.

It was time to get my hardwood floors freshened up and I chose Acorn because of its consistently high ratings on Homestars. I definitely made the right decision to work with them. I first met with Ron (the owner, not a sales person) and that was a reassuring first step. Ron is pleasant, forthright, and knowledgeable about his business and he provided a reasonable quote for the job. Everything went perfectly as planned, from our first meeting to the finished work and I am absolutely delighted with my floors. They look as beautiful as they day they were installed! I very highly recommend Acorn for your hardwood flooring work.