I loved Totem. That said, the staff at this Rona are fantastic. Eager to help, knowledgeable, and…read moredon't hesitate to go to the back to verify stock. They might not have what you were looking for in stock, but they will certainly get it in for you. Although for such a small store they have a lot of good things in stock. As a former Totem store, they were lucky enough to keep the popcorn machine. It's nice to have a snack when you're shopping. Don't forget your air miles!

It's a small store. But it contains a huge variety of things you needs for the home, yard, pet…read morefood or even the wood chips for my smoker! The owner and his staff know what they have and can offer needed advise and recommendations for better results. Most importantly, the store is locally owned and managed. Every dollar you spend there goes to support a local family, not going to obscene bonuses for a CEO in some remote city! Local businesses mean stronger communities!!

This well established hardware store has been in Riverbend for over 20 years (or so I was told!)…read more Its funny... whenever I head over there to grab a random tool, gardening supply, or an item that will hopefully solve any random problem in my home, I have to be honest.... I often think, "I am going to check Riverbend General Store... but.... likely, I am going to have to head to Home Depot". You know what? Rarely, do I ever have to leave my back yard to find any random item. Having this little store right in my neighborhood has saved me an incredible amount of time when the unexpected happens in my house.

My house has a lighting issue. I dont mean that there is an issue with the fixtures. I mean, that…read moreeven when it is sunny and all the curtains are open, it is not a bright, sunny place. Especially in my developed basement. It has many windows, but there is just not enough light in the common areas, until all the lights are on. In an effort to brighten the place up a bit, I was referred to the Home Improvement Warehouse Ltd. What a cool, COOL place! The service that was recommended to me, was to bring some of my doors in (not a bathroom door of course!!) and to cut out the middles and put in frosted glass, so that the light from my windows can be enjoyed from my office and a few other key places. The short story, is I did not even know a service like this existed! Like a fool, I would have bought a new door! So I had some help uninstalling my doors and bringing them in, and now at a reasonable rate, Home Improvement Warehouse will leave a wood border, and fill in the rest with a frosted glass, so that the light may shine! This isnt all these folks do! I bought some primer at $40 a gallon elsewhere, and found the same primer there at $26.99 (doh!). They have all kinds of gadgets and gismos for home improvements and renovations. I saw supplies and layouts for all kinds of bathroom and kitchen renos as well. Definately if you are taking on a home improvement project in Calgary, pop in here and see what they have. The prices and selections at this warehouse of handiness look pretty good to me!

Stay away from this business! The ad says "friendly advice" - what a laugh! I paid up front for my…read morehardwood floors, had half of them installed, then waited 8 months for these guys to finish the job. When I went to complain to the owner I thought he might be somewhat conciliatory, maybe even apologetic and reassuring. I started off being quite reasonable, but was fairly surprised and taken aback when he was belligerent, aggressive and swore at my wife and I. He was actually fairly physically intimidating and told me that he "didn't have time for this %$^& ( I won't use his language) , and he was "done with me." Which is interesting since he had thousands of dollars of my money and I had bare sub-floors in my house. Nice. He hung up on me on several occasions after that, and gave me several opportunities to sample his impressive and extensive collection of profanity. They finally showed up to finish the job (like they were doing me a huge favour) but every time I look at my crappy hardwood floors I curse and wish I'd used another business. I have gaping gaps between the boards that you could stick a loonie in - even though Home Improvement Warehouse did the installation, and despite my top of the line humidifier. Cheap product + brutal unprofessional service = shoddy results. Take my advice and stick to reputable companies, with a proven track-record of service. If I can save one of you from going through what I did, I'll be happy. Don't shop here.

I've been through a terrible experience with Star Building Supplies that has caused me hundreds of…read moredollars in wasted materials, and I hold them directly responsible for this due to their complete lack of ability to accurately estimate materials requirements. I recently had a new garage build, and my builder used Star for provision of all materials (except concrete). One of the materials was Hardie Board siding, a very expensive finishing material. This had to be ordered from the factory, as it is not a standard stock item for Star. That would have been fine, if Star had estimated for the job correctly. My builder sent Star the building prints and Star estimated for the siding. At the end of the job, I had 32 boards left over, worth about $500; This quantity would have allowed me to cover another entire wall, so the estimating was about 25% overage. My builder contacted Star about a return, and after a long delay and multiple messages sent and ignored, he was informed that this material could not be returned, not even for a credit. They claimed that it was up to us to validate their estimate, as their estimating was a 'free' service. I checked with my builder, and he was NEVER asked to validate the quantity before it was delivered. In spite of repeated emails and messages, the manager, Lorrie never did respond to my requests to discuss the matter. He chose instead to completely ignore the incident. As a result, I had to eat hundreds of dollars in waste material, all because of Star's complete incompetence in estimating. (Incidentally, the guy who did the estimating for my project is 'no longer with the company' we learned. Surprise, surprise.) Star isn't even a member of the Better Business Bureau... no surprise there. I'm done with Star Building Supplies, and I hope that builders in Calgary understand that there are substantial risks in using this type of non-responsive supplier on their projects.

Best lumber in town, period! Have had multiple new builds and reno projects delivered through them…read moreand lumber was always excellent. Prices are competitive and delivery has always been on time. As for Guil's Hardie Board review: that material is special order in a lot of colours and only comes in full lifts. I bet your builder knew that but put the ball deliberately into Star's corner.... I will not buy anywhere else if I can help it!

I'm all for this store but the fact that you can't bring a dog in this garage atmosphere is…read moreridiculous. Meanwhile there are so many retail stores and restaurant patios that say yes but this place holds out with no.. stupid

My do-gooder senses are tingling…read more Have you ever heard of the Habitat ReStore SuperStore? Me neither until today. It's in the NE right next to The Brick. Competition? Probably not. But it's an ingenious little concept that seems to be working. The space Habitat has secured is HUGE. It's comparable to any other big furniture store in square footage. The difference here is that all of the furniture is donated (right now there's a ton of furniture from The Palliser since they're doing a bunch of renos. I'm going back to get me one of the desks). Any of the profits from the store go back to supporting Habitat for Humanity. They've got everything from bathtubs and kitchen sinks, to dining room chairs, living room sets, armoirs, desks, even a row of doors at the back should you need a new one of those. Beyond supporting Habitat, the best part of this place is the price tag. Most of it was priced at $100 or under. How perfect is that? Especially if you're planning on turning one of these finds into your own little custom project. What you won't get is a guaranteed find. The furniture is sold as-is and is dependent on what people bring in. But hey, the price is right, the cause is right, and if the piece of furniture fits, that's enough reason for me to stop in here first.

Essau (sp?) came over to collect our stain colour and measure the space of our new floating…read moreshelves. He asked me for my preferences and told me he would install them in several days. True to his word, he installed them and they look fabulous!!!

They did a great job quickly. They were very professional and kept in touch with me though the jobread more