Ben came to my son's house to give us an estimate for repairing an apparent crack in the…read morefoundation. He showed up on time and crawled under the stairs in a space crowded with stored items. After a careful examination, he gave us some good news. What looked like a crack was in fact, a small surface gap where the cement did not fill in the gap between 2 of the form boards. He did not charge us, but gave us a huge relief that there was no structural problem. I would recommend them if you have any concerns about your foundation. I believe you will get a fair and honest evaluation.

In my personal experience, this was one of the most frustrating and disappointing professional…read moreengagements I've ever been through. I found the entire process confusing, overpriced, and ultimately not worth the significant financial outlay. I would strongly encourage anyone considering working with Mike De Palma or his company to proceed with extreme caution and carefully scrutinize every detail of the pricing structure -- especially the fine print. One of the most frustrating aspects, for me, was how the $150/hour "coordination" fee was handled. We were under the impression that we wouldn't be charged this fee -- it certainly wasn't clearly explained or shown as a distinct line item on any invoices. Instead, it appeared to be embedded in broader invoice totals, often tucked into small print at the bottom as an hourly figure, with no clear breakdown or indication of the total accrued. In my opinion, this lack of transparency made it nearly impossible to track what we were actually being charged for. Months into the project -- after things weren't progressing as we had expected -- we were suddenly billed for a large number of hours at that $150/hour rate. These charges appeared to relate to internal coordination, emails, and meetings that had never been flagged as billable beforehand. From my perspective, it felt like this shift happened once it became clear our project might not deliver the financial return they'd initially hoped for. I found this extremely frustrating and, personally, I felt misled. On top of that, we were also charged an 18% markup on every project-related expense -- including third-party consultants like the permit specialist, whose services were outsourced. That meant we were paying the consultant directly, paying this company's hourly rate for coordinating with them, and then being charged 18% on top of both. These compounded costs added up quickly, and in my view, the value simply wasn't there. What I had hoped for was a transparent, involved construction partner. What I felt I got instead was a project overseer whose billing structure added significant cost without delivering commensurate value. Others may have had different experiences, but based on mine, I would not choose to work with this company again.

i would never hire this company flintstones ever again…read more what we got quoted and rendered isnt even allowed in our neighbourhood

Perfect in every way! Quality, Honesty, Reliability, Value…read moreand Nice! I can highly recommend this company.

When looking for a siding company, we were slightly suspicious of the unanimous 5-star reviews, but…read morehaving now experienced the professionalism, expertise, and efficiency of Victoria Pro Siding, we're leaving our own 5-star review. Mike and his team - Vlad, Ivan, and Alex - deserve every high mark for their attention to detail, work ethic, and craftsmanship. We cannot recommend them enough. We hired Victoria Pro Siding to replace the cedar shingles on our 1912 house with Hardie shingle. Maintaining the historic look of the house was important to us and Mike was willing and able to make that happen, going to lengths that other siding companies were hesitant about. He was very communicative and carefully planned how his team would implement our requests. His team members, Vlad, Ivan, and Alex, were fast, efficient, friendly, and diligent workers; we were impressed with their dedication to the project. Mike continued to consult with us for the duration of the job - providing updates, asking for input on aesthetic decisions, and alerting us to any structural issues found as the original siding was removed (he was also very accommodating, and worked around required repairs). His price was very competitive, but the quality of the work far exceeded our expectations. We highly recommend Victoria Pro Siding based on our experience and interactions with Mike's whole team.

WOW. What a nice change to have a professional yet fun crew working on our deck. Martin, Yanni,…read moreand Jayden were a pleasure and did an impeccable job. The icing on the cake was they completed the job on a sunny Victoria Day long weekend when most trades are nowhere to be found! I almost gave up hiring Ace Vinyl after a few missed "promises" first to give us a quote and later to firm a date to install. Joby, the owner, tries hard but I think he would benefit from some app or secretary to organize his schedule and keep his reminders. Sorry Martin for our dog's weird behaviour!

From the owner: Ace Vinyl specializes in the construction and renovation of sundecks and roof decks. Professional…read moreinstallation of vinyl waterproof membranes, for a maintenance free deck. We supply and install powder coated aluminum and glass railings, custom built welded systems. All work is guaranteed, and we are fully licensed and insured.

I hired Russ to redo my front yard. I am a senior on a fixed income with an artificial hip. I…read morepaid him 1/3 of the cost on signing a contract on April 25/16. He sent a man and woman on April 29th for 5 hours. They cut up the front lawn and left. On May 3rd Russ and a different young man came and worked for 6 hours, covering the "spine" he planned to build diagonally on the top for the garden, put down 2 pieces of landscape cloth and transplanted a rhodo, a Rose of Sharron and dug up and moved my trailing roses and another plant. They also brought enough bricks to do partly do 1 row of the front wall and he put down a base of cement, but it was neither straight nor level. He said he needed the 2nd payment, which I gave him so I am now out almost $2000.00! On May 5th Russ came alone for 3 1/2 hours and lay down a row of bricks on the crooked and uneven cement and cemented them down. On May 9th he came for a few minutes and I complained and said that I wanted it straight and level and finished along the side. The next day he came for 2 hours to supposedly straighten and level the cement but the wall remained both uneven and crooked. On May 16th he and the young man came back for 2 hours and put some dirt on the landscape cloth that I had had to cover in boards to keep from blowing away after I called to complain. I told him I wanted the wall level, straight and finished down the side as his plan showed. I never saw him again until May 31st when he and Shawn came back for 3 hours and put even more cement to actually cement down the crooked and uneven bricks. After many phone calls, he finally came back on June 19th with another man who he said was going to complete the job. That man, Dan, was to come the next day. A week later I called him and he said that Russ had not given him any money and so he had quit and would not finish anything. I have called and called. His inbox is full and his cell has been cut off. Dan gave me his other cell number, but he never answers. I have a mud hole in my front yard and am having to have another company come to give me estimates to get the work done. DO NOT HIRE THIS MAN!!! He owes me money but has many excuses and simply does not answer my calls.

Trish re-caulked my bathtub. Great job: clean, quick and reasonable (cost). I will call her again…read morewhen I need more help around the house.

Trish is the best! I hired her to help me assemble an IKEA bed--clearly she has much more advanced…read moreskills, but that's what I needed at the time. She has vast experience (including with property management companies, so she's super-familiar with the quirks of local buildings). On time, personable, and I would trust her with any task. I plan to hire her again for all my handywoman needs.

Can't say enough good things about this company. They just completed a complete…read morerenovation/remediation of our front yard, driveway and front porch. Rock walls, stone steps/pathway, new entryway at front door and landscaping. Their tradesmen are skilled craftsmen. They are easy to work with (we made changes to our project as it went along) and everyone was respectful and courteous. We are thrilled with the finished product and would not hesitate to highly recommend them. Ron and Julie Hillsden. Saanich.

From the owner: Vista Masonry was started to offer the highest calibre of chimney repair, masonry, landscaping, and…read morewaterproofing. Quality craftsmanship from experienced tradesmen kept to your budget and completed within your schedule.