curt389 in Edmonton

Fantastic job! Taylor was skilled and knowledgeable. Fixed a drip leak into the floor from underneath a tub drain. The original installer skipped a rubber seal underneath probably because he put the t-joint a bit too high, leaving it not properly sealed. Taylor was able to overcome the difficult alignment problem and make it work without replacing everything. He explained the fees clearly up front and it was reasonable. He answered my questions well as he worked. He also gave a free inspection of house plumbing where he offered quotes and advice. He quoted prices on problem sink and shower replacements which we may do in the future. He worked quickly and was friendly and professional. I have finally found a plumber I really like!

Don went above and beyond with some advanced troubleshooting and handyman extras. Troubleshooted my leaky washing machine. It turned out to be the shower next to the washing machine that was leaking. He suspected the shower fairly quickly. We took the washing machine and dryer out of the enclosure first. He made some quick checks that the washing machine was not leaking and tested it. We then tested the tub and shower and found the problem. He even helped point me toward a hopefully quick possible shower repair. He is not a plumber so I needed to do it myself or call a plumber. I was willing to try things so at his suggestion, I unscrewed the shower head from the wall, added silicone tape (from him), and carefully rescrewed it back in (the socket was inside the wall). This unfortunately did not fix the problem but was a good, easy first attempt. He marked likely spots where I could make holes in the drywall to find the leaky pipe. He was friendly, helpful and went above and beyond. He only charged me a 1h diagnostic fee of $100. (I made those holes in the drywall and could not find the leak at first. The problem ended up being a broken solder joint behind the tub outlet. It was repaired by a plumber. The back-pressure from the shower-head caused the leaking to occur.)

Helpful, fairly knowledgeable guy called Jason helped me. I'm happy except for the price. Fixed my leaking shower in my basement. Cut out the drywall first. Leaks only when shower is on. Found the leak behind the tub spout. Solder joining the pipe was leaking. Also a screw was in the pipe and siliconed over but not yet leaking. Replaced the leaky L-shaped pipe piece and replaced the tub spout. Siliconed the tub spout. Helped me scrub and vacuum up the slightly mildewy wood debris. And put the washer/dryer back. I'm happy except for the price. He refused to tell me what he was going to charge before he left. He refused to tell me how many hours he was going to charge. He ended up invoicing me for 3h at 135/hr ($522 total). He had happily taken his time and was not in a hurry. He had a lot of trouble installing the tub spout as it was not as easy as other ones he had used. I wish he had hurried more and been clear with what the price was going to be. They never told me the hourly charge for subsequent hours, only for the first hour. Usually the first hour is a higher rate. It didn't need to take 3h to do what he did. 2h would have been easily possible. I needed more warning and explanation on the price if it was going to be so high. Update: They offered me a $60 discount when they called to bill me and I complained (115/hour instead of 135). This makes the price more reasonable.

Installed 2 toilets for me. Did a great job. One of the toilets was hard to remove and required careful sawing to extract the rusted bolt. One of the new toilets was a less common skirted Kohler design and he handled it with ease. Very knowledgeable and had lots of experience. He had just the right tool to tighten the hex bolt for the skirted base in a very tight space. He took pride in doing a quality job. He was very honest and helpful.

Professional and friendly. Called and they came the next morning. An older, very experienced guy and a younger apprentice. Did a great job. Had just run out of springs so they clamped it to make it work and came back the next day with springs. Oiled the hinges on the door. Replaced missing screw. Noticed the springs were too weak and upgraded me to stronger springs. The old spring clamp had slightly warped the rod so they ground the rod a bit to let the spring slip off. 30 years of experience. They knew all the little quirks and were very familiar with various garage door designs. Showed me how everything worked as they did it. Had them replace my keypad as well which was worn out ($75 extra). The keypad is actually wireless and you can buy universal keypad replacements just like car-remotes. They mentioned the most common problem people have is the green beam sensor needing adjustment. And springs generally last 7-10 years depending on how often you open the door.

They came the same day I called. He diagnosed the issue. It was the control board. It had an actual small burn mark on the circuit board. He got a quote for a new control board, $370. He was able to find a used one for $270 and gave us a 3 month warranty on it. We went with that. Although the oven must be 30 years old, he said the old board was less than 10 years old. We moved into the house 5 years ago. The install fee was $99. He came back with the part and had it working the same day. As a comparison, he helpfully said it would be $500 to buy an equivalent oven refurbished from them or $900 to buy an equivalent oven new. Before calling them, I watched some youtube videos on oven repair and checked the 2 elements for breaks or non-conductivity, the thermostat for resistance (my old analog multimeter although it can read ac/dc voltage and conductivity just fine, measuring resistance apparently requires zeroing each time it which did not work properly), worn/burnt wires and looked for a fuse (not present). I also tested the outlet electricity (240V, 2*120V) in case a breaker had tripped. It was a Kenmore oven/range from Sears. The back of the oven came off and allowed me access to the element contacts, thermostat and wiring - I didn't need to unscrew the 2 elements from inside the oven, like the youtube videos directed me to do. It seemed easier to troubleshoot than my fridge and dishwasher which required more disassembly. But none of these common problems were the problem in my case.

They diagnosed the problem well. The fridge was too warm. Melting the ice fixed it temporarily but 3 days later the problem would come back. Based on my GE brand, they knew the control board and thermostat commonly fail. There was a more experienced guy who came first and diagnosed it. He needed to come back with the parts. A less experienced person came and replaced the control board. The problem came back after 3 days. The guy came back and also replaced the thermostat, I think. He said they normally buy them together and replace them together. He replaced it and then it worked. They just charged for 1 visit plus the parts. It was a few hundred for the parts and maybe a 100-150 repair fee. The control board was a few hundred dollars. This happened in 2020-06.

Summary: He replaced the fill and flush valves with a good Fluidmaster kit. The toilet then had a slow drip leak on to the floor. He came back and replace the leaky hose between the tank and the wall for free. It then had a very slow leak from the tank to the bowl (not present before he worked on it - but also consider that it was a 30 year old toilet). He suggested I have him now replace the entire toilet. We also had a misunderstanding over a bidet add-on price quote and had a frustrating disagreement about whose fault the miscommunication was. It was quite important to him to make sure that I knew it was 100% my fault and not his fault and I would be stupid to think he could do the bidet job for such a low price. I decided to replace the toilet but hired another plumber to do it. Details: My fill valve was occasionally not working and my overflow tube was too high so instead of the water overflowing into the overflow tube, it was leaking out the lever hole onto the floor. I tried to saw the overflow tube shorter (as it should have been during installation, years ago) and accidentally snapped it. I didn't have time to deal with more repair work so I called The Neighborhood Plumber. He came and replaced the entire fill and flush valves with a good Fluidmaster kit. After he left, water was very slowly leaking onto the floor (slow drip). But even 5 minutes of watching the tank water level showed it visibly dropping (perhaps he could have caught this before leaving). I determined that the line from the wall to the toilet was leaking. He came back and replaced it for free. Which was great. That problem was fixed but there was another problem. There was a slow leak from the tank to the bowl. I could hear the toilet filling every 4h for 15 seconds. So I called him again. He said it might be a hairline crack. It might also be something else. He could troubleshoot it but it would cost at least a few hundred and would not be guaranteed to fix the problem. He recommended me replacing the whole toilet. Which kind of makes sense - a few hours of a plumbers time can cost more than a new toilet, depending on the toilet chosen. The previous work cost 195 (including about 45 for the fluidmaster kit) and his guarantee to fix any problems for free afterward would not cover this problem. My toilet didn't leak from the tank to the bowl before he worked on it. He said he has successfully repaired many toilets and this kind of problem is very uncommon. I am not sure what to think. Either he did a shoddy job or my 30 year old toilet was ready to crack as soon as someone worked on it. I did not want to give him any further business (also see additional details below) so I had another plumber replace the toilet. I had one additional major problem with him. Originally I also asked about how much extra an additional job - a bidet install - would cost. I got the bidet myself off the Internet, as he suggested, and it is a pretty easy job to do (I ended up doing it myself in <1h and he probably would have taken 15min). He quoted me one thing on the phone (the original 195 was supposed to cover both the toilet and the bidet). Then in a later phone call he increased the price a few hundred and said it might take him a couple hours to do. He explained that it was completely unreasonable for him to do everything for 195. Which after hearing him explain the cost breakdown I agreed that 195 is not reasonable. During our discussion he subtlely insulted me and was verbally attacking me and defending himself. What he wanted most was for me to admit that the misunderstanding was 100% my fault and it was entirely my mistake. This was not true. He said one thing and then changed his tune entirely later. I am certain of this. Before he led me to believe that he was going to give me a good deal on the bidet install but afterwards it sounded like he was going to charge me a very high price for an easy 15 minute add-on job. We had not confirmed a firm price for the bidet work but he said it was easy and could be added into the same job. So lets call it some kind of miscommunication/misunderstanding, fine. I would have been fine if he had just apologized or been more diplomatic. Whatever happened to the customer is always right? But even if he had at least just dropped the subject of who was at fault, that would have been fantastic. But what he would not let go of is making sure that I knew that he had not made a single mistake and that the entire thing was my fault. I had misheard him and I would be stupid to think that 195 could possible include everything. I would be stupid to think what I thought. How am I to know plumbing cost breakdown and why would I think deeply about it? I continued to hold that he had said one thing before and now changed his tune. This really annoyed him and he kept on driving that it was not his fault but my fault. I normally never lose my temper or swear but I actually swore at him. He just kept pushing my hot button over and over and would not let go. It was 100% my fault. This seemed so unjust to me. Say it even was true. What is the point in hammering it in like that? Was he so certain that what he said was 100% crystal clear and impossible to misinterpret? Yes, apparently. It was my mistake and I would be stupid to think that 195 would cover everything. Finally, I tried to diplomatically suggest that let's just call it some kind of miscommunication and let it go. He agreed but was unable to stop himself from putting one final word in about it not being his fault. But then, to his credit, he still came back to try to fix the problem for free. And gave me some good troubleshooting information over the phone. And when he did come back to try to fix it, he apologized (and did not talk about fault, thankfully). But he was unable to easily fix it and so needed to either charge more for further troubleshooting or replace the toilet. I chose to install the bidet myself because an extra couple hundred is not worth it considering I was able to do it myself fairly easily. If only he had just said "My hourly rate is X, rounded to the half-hour. The bidet should take me between 30 minutes and 2h depending on the bathroom. I'll tell you how long I expect it to take when I see the bathroom." I would have said "Perfect, done deal." I originally chose him because he was not the very top homestars plumber result (but still had 1 review which was good) so I hoped he might charge a bit less. But he charged a fairly standard plumber's rate (145 + parts-cost for ~1h work, I believe). He is an experienced plumber and wanted a standard rate. So I have to give him at least 2 out of 5. It is quite possible that my toilet was just old and about to crack (and it wasn't him accidentally cracking it or somehow causing the problem). I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. He gave good advice and his prices were reasonable. He came back and fixed my leaking hose for free. But perhaps he could have suspected my 30-year-old hose should be replaced? Or perhaps, before he left, he could have noticed my tank water level dropping visibly in only 5 min? Ultimately, the 195 I paid him was all for nothing because I had another plumber replace the still broken toilet. If he can find some other happy customers to give positive reviews, all the power to him. Maybe my problem was just particularly challenging for any plumber to face.

Had a leaky toilet after a previous plumber tried to fix it (not sure if it was the previous plumber's fault or just the 30 year old toilet - it got a slow leak from the tank to the base during the repair). Talked to Wolf Willow and decided to just replace it. He installed it quickly and professionally. It matches perfectly. He was easygoing and knowledgeable. He just charged 125 for the install. More details: We wanted a nicer replacement with dual flush in a bone color to match the bathroom. He helped me find a good match. Our old toilet was Crane and they merged with American Standard in 2008 so we went with American Standard (bone colour can vary between brands). The toilet colour and dual flush model were a bit uncommon and actually took about 3 months to arrive. Apparently more custom toilets often take a long time to arrive at the wholesale distributor (Wolseley). Brodie kept me updated and also offered other options. But our current toilet still worked (just a slow leak from the tank to the bowl) so were happy to wait.

Had 3 trees trimmed. One tree in particular might have been 25 feet before the trimming. Owner actually had mountain climbing clips and climbed the core of the tree do do a lot of the work. He also had 3 helpers with extension pole cutters. They brought a wood grinder to dispose of the wood. He was careful to not take off too much off the trees (~30% at once, depending on the tree's health). He was able to take a lot off. I am completely happy. They did the job quickly in <2h if I recall. He was quite knowledgeable and let us know about a bug infestation on one tree which we can fix with a spray. He came soon, within a few weeks of when we booked it. Price was much less than another well-rated company we originally booked - we were on the other company's waiting list for 1.5 years.

The technician who came was Blake Livingston. He was polite, knowledgeable and quickly diagnosed the issue and answered my questions helpfully as he worked. He clearly understood AC units very well and had terrific tools. The problem turned out to be that the high pressure switch tripped. He found the red reset button inside the outside unit and pressed it and that fixed the problem. One of the common reasons they trip is if the unit is not sprayed down annually and the temperature gets hot eg >35C. It sounds like a less common problem to have. It took about 20 minutes and required no replacement parts so my only complaint is that $157.50 seemed a bit pricey. But not entirely unreasonable for professional service. Beforehand, I watched a couple AC-repair youtube videos and read my AC manual. I could not easily figure it out. I checked the basic things - the thermostat seemed fine, was set to activate the AC and the breaker hadn't tripped.

Pete does great work. I had 2 extensions added on the left and right sides of my driveway so that a third car can be parked. We chose to make the side-extensions red (or specifically more of a dark-pink-like brick). It was a nice contrast and we didn't want to try to match the existing driveway colour because we knew it would never perfectly match. The concrete looks great. It is nicely level and just as I requested with a curve at the top where it meets the front walk. Pete offered to do a wave pattern with the brush as an additional touch which we like. Pete has lots of experience laying concrete and considered weather conditions and temperature. He used plenty of gravel crush and thick concrete along with the rebar. He was a little more expensive than other options but I've seen a lot of cracked driveways so I was happy to pay a little more for higher quality. Overall, I'm completely happy and would recommend Pete's Concrete to anyone.

I'm very happy with True North Exteriors. I got my roof and eaves-troughs done. They worked quickly and professionally. They finished the roofing all in one day. The eaves-troughs were also done (in 1 day, scheduled for about 1 week later). It looks great. They had about 5 workers and put down tarps to catch any tar or debris. The price was good and the quality also appears good. I just have a couple minor complaints. When I inspected it afterwards, there was a bit of minor debris and left on the roof. And when they took the old shingles off my garage, old glue bits and debris rained down lightly inside my garage - it would have been nice to have been warned in advance about this. Cost breakdown: 6676.01 GAF shingles, attic static vents (turbo) (1425 sqft house) 2950.06 (including leaf guards for 1025.10 extra) I got a few quotes and these prices were very competitive. I also discovered that for roof + eaves-troughs, it seems to be a bit easier to use the same company for both. Overall, I'm completely happy and would recommend True North Exteriors to anyone.