Paul in Toronto

My high efficiency water heater stopped working with error codes showing on the May long weekend. My regular HVAC service company wasn't available so I went with Atlas based on reviews and having seen their trucks around the neighbourhood. The service rep came out, didn't have the proper tools did a couple of basic diagnostics (cleaned the flame sensor and checked the igniter) and then said the problem was either the controller board or the gas valve and that either wouldn't be worth replacing so he would have a sales person call me to quote a new water heater. The sales rep did call telling me that a new water heater would be $6,500-$7,000 plus installation. Fortunately, I am knowledgeable enough to know the diagnostic was inadequate and called another service company. Their diagnostic charge was half the price of Atlas and they spent 3 hours diagnosing the problem. Ultimately they determined the problem was a blocked air intake (within the water heater itself, not the intake pipe) and were able to blow it out and the water heater was fixed. I imagine many others would have given up and paid for a new heater based on the service techs assessment. Instead I paid $95 for another company to actually fix the problem and to add insult to injury Atlas still charged my $169 for the service call (which they initially wanted $219 for until I pushed back on the price). I don't mind paying for qualified service... but I have a real problem paying when the "professional" doesn't do basic problem diagnosis and doesn't have the tools or knowledge for the job.

We have a high output but very rarely installed GSW Envirosense water heater that stopped working six days ago on the May long weekend. I had two service companies, that I had used before, come out and both were baffled by the problem (with very little diagnostic work done) and both ultimately told me I needed a new water heater. Given no one could tell me what the specific problem was I tried a third company - Maple Home Services and the service tech (sorry I didn't get his name) came and for the lowest cost of the three spent 3 hours doing a thorough diagnostic on the water heater. He concluded that it was an problem with the air intake, but the air was coming through the intake pipe properly. We then put a shop vac on blower mode and blew air through the water heater intake and suddenly a lot of water and two pieces of balled-up electrical tape came out of the water heater exhaust port. The tape must have been there since manufacture or installation. without the thorough diagnostic by Maple Home Services I would have been spending thousands of dollars on a new water heater like the first two service companies recommended. Instead I paid a $95 diagnostic fee and the problem was solved. Thanks!!

Mike and Shelley were great!  Very professional and friendly.  They did a great job and were careful with our property inside and outside the house.  We're very happy with the job and the professionalism of your company. Will definitely use Parker's again the next time we need our windows cleaned. I would recommend them without hesitation.

After researching, interviewing and checking references for several general contractors, we made the decision to entrust our house rebuild to Somerset Construction. Rebuilding a house is a major undertaking and Graeme and the staff at Somerset kept the process on schedule and under control throughout the 10 month build. The quality of the work was excellent overall, on schedule and on budget (plan to spend more than you thought... you will make changes and upgrades as you work through the project!). We set out to build a high-quality home for our family and having now lived in the completed house for a few months we are delighted with the result. No project of this scope is without challenges and the Somerset team was always accessible and responsive to our questions and needs... calls, enquiries and concerns were quickly responded to and properly addressed in every case. I always felt like I was their only customer and that my satisfaction was their sole objective. We chose to engage Somerset on a project management basis, which allowed us to have control over all choices of subtrades and finishes, fixtures and materials selected for the job. In most cases we selected subtrades that had established relationships with Somerset but there were no issues in the few cases where we chose a subtrade on our own. Somerset had excellent subtrades, they performed high quality work and kept to the required schedule. While we have done many small renovations over the years to several homes, this was by far the largest project we've ever undertaken. Our highest priorities were to have a contractor we could trust, that would do a high quality job for a fair price and would be responsive and compentent... we believe we exceeded all of those goals with Graeme and his team at Somerset.