Friday, November 13, 2015

Layers Upon Layers Of Caulking

We have a small piece of eavestrough in our shop to show the incorrect way to fix leaky corners. Its not that they can not be fixed, but the old caulking should be removed before a new layer is installed. 



 
 
No matter what product is used to try to seal a corner, the surface should be as clean and dry as possible. Sometimes the old sealant will pull right off and other times its super tough and may need to be slightly heated with a small torch and then scraped out.

A eavestrough that is this old and worked on so many times is pretty much a lost cause and should be replaced.

We are happy to provide a free quote for your new eavestrough system. We are primarily working in the Scarborough and North York regions at this time due to high demand and winter closing in.

North Shore Eavestroughing. www.eavestrough.ca 416 615 0443

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Downspout Splashing Over Wall / Repair

We all know you get what you pay for and its always great to find the best contractor for your budget.
Its always best to research online to find out as much as you can with who your dealing with.

Sometimes we find some pretty bad workmanship on some fairly nice homes and here is an example. Water was pouring out over a window and the homeowners were not sure why. They put up some plastic to try and deflect it from the home.

 


The downpipe on the upper level which transports water to the lower level was not functioning properly. The downpipe was not sealed into the leaf guard and the water was hitting the lower eavestroughs and splashing out. Eventually this will damage the brick and may cause water to settle in around the foundation. The company who did this job left a big gap in the leaf guard.




I will show a few steps of this simple repair. First remove the offending pipe and the various devices the homeowner attached to the eavestroughs to deflect water.




Next seal the eavestroughs to the wall.




Reinstall the downpipe and take additional leaf guard and insert the elbow into the gutter. Seal all the way around to prevent water from splashing out. Water test from the top eavestroughs with a hose to ensure no drips or leaks to confirm its resolved.




A quick look around reveals a few other example of rough work. Big gaps in the leafguard.




Pipes squeezed by hand to fit instead of using a crimper tool so the pipe fits properly.







Hand mitres can look really nice if care is taken to make the corner properly, assemble and trim cleanly. This is a poorly done and looks like someone pounded on this with a hammer while looking the other way.



Joints in the downpipes are best covered by the straps to hide the joint. There is no need to have joints in the downpipe showing.



It doesn't take long to see deficiencies when you get used to looking for them. One thing done carelessly is usually a good indicator there are other things are of a poor standard.

Call North Shore Eavestroughing for a free estimate or visit our website at www.eavestrough.ca

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Let's Look at our Bad Reviews!

We are airing our dirty laundry!
 
 
When you want to hire a renovator or make a large purchase, you probably ask friends and family for their recommendations and you probably look for some on-line reviews.  Nowadays we use on-line reviews for choosing movies, hotels, restaurants, renovators and almost everything else. A company that has lots of positive reviews seems like a good place to call. If you are a savvy consumer, you  want to look at any bad reviews, too, as they are often more revealing about any potential problems or gaps in a company's service.
At North Shore, we are quite pleased with our many terrific reviews as it shows that most of our customers are very satisfied. On HomeStars.com we have received 115 reviews from our customers in the past 2 years.  111 of our customers gave us a 10 out of 10! Today, let's look at the other 4 reviews; the less than perfect reviews. It is not only potential customers that learn from these. We always strive to improve and so we study these, too. When I read through these, I see our customers are satisfied with the products and installations.
Laura Hope, Estimator and Office Manager, laura@eavestrough.ca

We will save you time by consolidating our 2 years worth of "bad" reviews as well as our responses below.  

1) 2 out of 10 Heater Cableby Nicole from TorontoMarch 3, 2015

North Shore installed a heater cable in our gutter a few years ago. It was great in preventing ice dams, but this summer, a squirrel chewed through the cable. I have been trying for months for them to reply to me about a fix/solution, but my requests keep going unheeded. I give up. Approximate cost of services:$1,100.00 
Company Response:
Hi Nicole, thanks for letting us know how you feel about the service you have received from us. First off we are glad to hear that you are happy with our original work we did in 2011! We do not take a 2 out of 10 lightly and realize you must be extremely frustrated. Having a hard to get rid of squirrel chewing through parts of your home can be a real nightmare. Seeing an ice dam on your home which needs a working heater cable can be trying. We have looked back through our correspondence and can see where we dropped the ball in a couple of places with all the back in forth, with you receiving a quote for the new heater cable and also with you presenting an idea for putting the new heater cable in copper conduit. The first error on our end was sending the quote for a new heater cable to your old email address. That caused a delay of a few weeks. Sorry! With that being said you contacted us late in the season, Dec 4th to be exact, I am not sure we would have been able to complete the work before the ice dams set in. I can also see where I could have been faster giving Laura the information you were looking for in terms of a squirrel proof heater cable system. I had dragged my feet a bit because I honestly did not know what the best solution was for this situation. That is why we sent a quote for a new heater cable as the solution. I am not comfortable designing a new system of conduit etc. for the first time and having our client pay for it. There is the risk it may not perform like we intend and we would feel terrible in that case. Also it would cost you extra to construct this conduit system. We also feel that putting the heater cable down in the eavestroughs, under the leaf guard may not be the best option as the snow and ice may bridge right over the leaf guard. I understand that a lot of people seek us out because we are experts and go above and beyond to alleviate homeowners frustrations with their eavestroughs but in this case I do not have the answer you were hoping for. I followed up with a phone call to your home today.
On our visit to your home in 2011 we did some leaf guard and downpipe work and the cost for the actual cable in question was $650.00.
I do feel the review is harsh but it taught us a few things and I am thankful for that. Its the bumps along the way that show a companies true colors.
I hope you accepted my apology by phone last week for lack our promptness in a couple of our emails. Darren


 2) 8 out of 10 eavesdrough cleaning and leaf guard appliedby from North York3   November 21, 2013
I called this company because it had good reviews, but it took a while to get a response from them as they we're really busy. Nonetheless, everything seemed to work out fine. So far, so good!!
Approximate cost of services:$900.00
 
Company Response: Thank you for the review. We do our best to give realistic timelines at all stages in the process. We also book installation dates to suit our customer's schedules. Enjoy the gutterclean leaf guard. It should mean less home maintenance for you! Laura

3) 9 out of 10 Misc. Projectsby Marcy from North York2   July 29, 2013

I was very pleased with the service and final product provided by North Shore Eavestoughing. Laura in the office was efficient and although they were quite busy (I called after the big May rain), she was able to schedule an estimator within a week. Nick was honest and only suggested changes that were necessary (redirecting a downspout, disconnecting a downspout, aluminum capping under a bay window). It took another 5 weeks before the work was completed (would have given 5 stars for a bit moreread more notice - they called the morning of the work). Nick was very knowledgeable and fast. He remembered all the work we requested and completed it fast and 100% to our satisfaction.

Approximate cost of services:$536.00
Company Response: Thanks Marcy for the nice review! Glad you are 100% satisfied with our work. In construction and working outdoors there can somtimes be delays when 100 year storms come through the city. We appreciate your patience. We do always give our customers a choice in when we come to do the work and sorry that you felt that we had to come that day. We could have postponed to another day as we want your experience to be as great as possible. Thanks Darren

 4) 8 out of 10 New eavestroughs and leaft guards for my housebyRosemary  from North York1   May 2, 2013
My next-door neighbour had Darren and his crew at North Shore install new eavestroughs on her house a year ago. I met Darren and was impressed with his demeanour. And I watched with envy for the next few months as her eavestroughs were leak- and icicle-free -- while mine leaked like crazy and we had to knock the huge icicles off them in order to avoid injury. So this spring I got three estimates, Darren's was in the middle and his warranty period was good. And when his crew came and installed the eavestroughs two weeks ago I was super-satisfied, and Darren came and did a couple of little follow-up things for me. Now I love it when it rains, rather than dreading it, because the new eavestroughs work so well!They're consummate professionals and I highly recommend them. the eavestroughs two weeks ago I was super-satisfied, and Darren came and did a couple of little follow-up things for me. Now I love it when it rains, rather than dreading it, because the new eavestroughs work so well!They're consummate professionals and I highly recommend them. read less Approximate cost of services: $2,700.00 
Company Response:

Thanks Rosemary for the kind words. We hope you enjoy the new set up for the rain barrel and the leaf guard. We hope your ice problems are not significant moving forward however ice damning is a result of poor ventilation or insulation in the attic. Of course our new ones have no leaky joints so this may help in the winter. We thank you for your time in writing this review and contributing to our excellent online reputation. Darren

 

 

 

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Aluminum Shutters On North York Home

Shutters can easily be replaced with a new aluminum version that matches the color of your new eavestroughs perfectly.

This home below had old wooden shutters that needed updating. The blue was changed out for charcoal.



We took measurements and within a few weeks we had the new ones which matched perfectly to the aluminum eavestroughs. It took about 2 hours to give this home a nice quick improvement. The cost was about $1100.00 for all the new shutters on the front of the home, including labor.


 
Contact North Shore Eavestroughing at info@eavestrough.ca or call 416 615 0443.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Eavestrough 101 Video

We hope you find this video a good overview of the value of a properly functioning eavestrough and leaf guard system.

We thank Homestars.com for putting this video together and being part of their educational series.




Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Consultation Fee





In an effort to serve you better we provide an in-depth $40.00 consultation. Eavestroughs are something that will be done only once every 25 or 30 years so its good to ensure some good planning went into the design. Our quote will give you peace of mind knowing that the design we come up with for your home will function perfectly. We stand behind it!

Here are details of our $40.00 including tax paid consultation/inspection.

1. We realize your time is valuable so we can arrange the viewing of your home when you're not present. Recommendations will be detailed in written quote which will be emailed, faxed or mailed to you at your request.

2. An in-person consultation to discuss your concerns can be arranged at a time that works for your schedule. An hour will be set aside to gather information and assess system.

3. We strive to provide your quote within 1 week of contacting our office.

4. We provide a visual inspection of current eavestrough system. We will only access your roof if safe to do so. Heights and steepness may prevent us from assessing some or all areas. If eavestroughs only need repair, we will recommend that option.

5. Determine if leaf guard is needed and what type best suits the property based on type and quantity of trees.

6. Assess the condition of soffit and fascia and if more ventilation is recommended to help alleviate snow and ice buildup on roof. If applicable, please inform us of any areas that are prone to ice buildup.

7. Basic roof edge inspection to determine if drip edge or flashing will be needed to prevent drips behind new eavestroughs.

8. Discuss heater cable options to alleviate ice damming, if applicable.

9. Discuss possiblities of LED potlight system, if desired.

10. Look at feasibility of rain barrels, if desired.

11. Determine which downpipes can be disconnected from city system, if applicable.

 12. If desired we can leave actual painted aluminum colour samples and a small section of our gutter and or leaf guard.

13. The $40.00 including tax fee is fully refundable before you receive your estimate. If you agree to a visit by us and change your mind or are not impressed with our service and advice you will not be charged. The fee will be deducted off any quote we give you if you decide to proceed within 1 month of receiving quote. Can be paid in advance with Visa or MasterCard or if an in-person consultation, payment can be made directly with cash or cheque upon meeting.

14. If possible we can accommodate estimate requests outside our normal service area. Our estimate fee will be increased and determined based on our availability and distance from our normal service area. Call our office to talk about this option.

15. Pictures are taken of your property and stored for reference.

3. We have job minimums and do not do small repairs. Usually the minimum is $975. + HST.

Thank you and we look forward to quoting and advising on your project.

Please call or email our office to arrange a quote.

416-615-0443
info@eavestrough.ca








Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Happy Earth Day 2014!

North Shore Eavestroughing prides itself on finding ways to operate with less impact to the environment. Protecting our children's future has to be a guiding principle. Operating a small business the old fashioned way is to disregard the impact we have on the world around us. Finding new earth-friendly ways to do business may raise our operating costs slightly but we feel it's well worth it!!

Today we donated $75.00 to the David Suzuki Foundation to aid their Got Milkweed Campaign. That will translate into 25 milkweed plants.

It's an effort to plant milkweed across the city of Toronto. This will be a source of food for the migrating Monarch Butterfly. The butterflies really need our help right now as their main source of food, milkweed is in short supply.

Here is the link to the campaign if you would like to learn more or donate.

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/media/news/2014/04/got-milkweed/



We are excited and thankful to our clients who use our services which in turn enables us to give back.

 
 

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

HomeStars Best of 2013 Awards Party

HomeStars is an awesome tool for you to connect with quality contractors. A homeowner can visit Homestars and see a list of contractors in many different categories. The best part is that you can see the reviews that other homeowners have wrote about a contractor, good or bad. With that information you can pick contractors you feel comfortable reaching out to and talk or meet about a project you need completed.
 
I personally use HomeStars when hiring contractors around my home. Years ago, before I used HomeStars I hired a heating and AC contractor as a referral from our real estate agent. It was not a good experience and I regretted hiring them but since the project was underway I felt I had to tough it out and let them finish. It's never a  pleasant feeling to realize you hired someone to work on your home and then realize the work is not being done to a high standard or the contractor has an unpleasant attitude. Thankfully, online review tools like HomeStars exist today and make the hiring process much smoother!
 
HomeStars gives out awards to contractors who have won in their category. This win is based on many different criteria some of which include number and quality of reviews they have collected over the year.
 
The event for the Toronto 2013 Awards was held at the Fairmont Royal York in downtown Toronto. It was a very generous to have this event at such a fancy location and shows how HomeStars gives back to the contractor community. 
 
 
 
 
 Nancy Peterson, the co founder and CEO of Homestars giving her opening speech to the crowd.

 

I am a firm believer in HomeStars and feel that Nancy shows professionalism and determination to help home owners meet qualified successful contractors. This video clip is an example of her integrity and commitment to the homeowner which I believe flows through the HomeStars organization.



After a great meal contractors were given their awards and a photo opportunity. Seen below is Elite Concrete. We often meet homeowners who have already had Elite Concrete do work for them so we see first hand the quality of their work and how happy their clients are. Congratulations on your win!
Visit their website: www.eliteconcrete.ca

 

Insta-Insulation is another company who we frequently work along side, sometimes on the same project. With all the ice and snow build up on roofs this season they were in high demand for inspecting attics. Well done Insta- Insulation!
Visit their website: www.instainsulation.com

 
 
Jeff of Toronto Home Theater with their award. Jeff also runs Inview Marketing and helps small business with their marketing and online presence. Nice to see you Jeff!
Visit their website: www.torontohometheater.ca


 
 
The awards night is a great opportunity to meet other contractors who are working hard and striving to be the best they can be and help as many homeowners as they can. Paul from The Duct Cleaning Specialist. Congragulations Paul on your "Best Of Award". I had Paul's crew come in to my home and clean our duct system and they did a super job!
Visit their website: www.ductcleaningspecialists.ca


 

Adel from 416-SO-CLEAN. Nice to see you and happy for your win! Adel works hard to revolutionize the carpet and upholstery cleaning business.
Visit their website: www.416soclean.com


 
Thank you HomeStars for the wonderful night and a chance to meet many inspiring small business owners. 
 
I also would like to mention some other awesome contractors we met at the event (but missed getting photo's) and know well or have used personally in my own home:
 
Brent from Classic Home Inspections: www.classichomeinspections.ca
 
Mark from Victorious Carpet: www.victoriousflooring.com
 
Javier and Hilary from the moving company Cargo Cabbie: www.cargocabbie.ca
 
Visit www.homestars.com to connect with great contractors.

Our company North Shore Eavestroughing has won "HomeStars Best Of" many different years in the Gutters and Eavestrough category for Toronto and would love to provide you with a quote for your eavestrough and leaf guard needs.

Visit our website www.eavestrough.ca

Friday, January 3, 2014

Toronto Ice Storm 2013


For most Torontonians it was a holiday season they will not forget anytime soon. Across the city a ravaged tree canopy caused many branches to fall on homes and streets. A major power outage left many wondering if they would have to vacate their homes.

I suspect there is a lot of damaged eavestroughs around the city due to falling trees.  Pictures like the one below could be seen in many neighborhoods with mature trees. Amazingly this home suffered no damage to roof or eavestrough.

ice storm toronto 2013 tree falls on house
Trees falling on homes.

One thing that may have saved some eavestroughs is the amount of snow and ice that formed along the roof edge. This would help keep many eavestroughs sturdy in the event of a heavy limb hitting it. Below is a typical damage from a falling tree. A dent like this is fixed by replacing the entire piece of eavestrough. The dent is not something that can be pounded out and have it resemble what it originally looked like.

If your home has a lot of ice build up on the edge of the roof a repair may have to wait until the ice melts off in some warmer weather.

damaged eavestrough falling tree
Typical storm damage to eavestrough.

If the eavestroughs are older, like 15 to 20 years old then you may consider replacing all the pieces that attach to this damaged piece. A more reliable seal is obtained from joining new eavestroughs together as compared to joining new to old eavestrough. We give a 2 year warranty when joining new to old and a 10 year warranty when joining new to new.

You may want to consider calling your insurance company to see what's covered on your home. Personally I had some damage to our backyard furniture and shrubs. After talking to our insurance company we decided to repair and replace things out of pocket. A $2500.00 deductible and a 20% hike in our premium for 5 years for making a claim soon made me realize we are not going to save much by going through insurance.

The trees were very pretty and the ice stuck around for about a week! We were fortunate to have supplemental power and heaters due to the nature of our business. North Shore Eavestroughing equipment was able to provide some power to 3 separate homes and heat to another. Wiring a heavy duty cord from a generator to a furnace was relatively easy and made the ice storm much easier to handle. We also had on hand about 600 feet of extension cords which made accessing neighboring homes possible.

ice storm toronto 2013
Ice storm Toronto 2013. So beautiful!

A 5000 watt generator gives ample power and worked well. It burned around $75.00 per 24 hours of runtime.

generator in eavestrough trailer
Trailers make good shelters for generators. 

A power inverter and battery bank was able to power our furnace through the night so we did not have to run the generator as much. The batteries were recharged via the generator and or solar panels on the roof of the trailer during the day.

Power inverter in eavestrough trailer
Solar powered eavestrough trailer.
 
 
Some of the holidays were spent helping neighbors clear trees that had fallen or were badly damaged from the weight of the ice.
 

Cutting damaged trees from ice storm toronto 2013
Many trees were lost to the ice storm,

Some news report told of people getting hurt using chainsaws during the clean up. Chainsaws require proper safety gear to prevent injury. See below proper cut resistant boots and pants. Even the occasional operator should consider wearing if using a chainsaw.

cut proof safety pants and boots
Safety gear for chainsaw operation is a must.
 
 
Things I learned/experienced during the 6 day power outage in my community:
 
1. Driving any distance when most lights are 4 way stops is very slow and somewhat crazy as some cars seem to motor right on through like there was no stop required.
 
2. The gas stations that had power were very busy and had line ups. Gas cans were impossible to find for sale.
 
3. Our kerosene heater was handy to have but was only good to us because I had a stock pile of kerosene by chance. Also sold out of most places like Lowes, Rona and the Depot.
 
4. After about 3 cold nights with no power, some homes had ice forming in their sinks. Most people on our street left their home for hotels and friends.
 
5. Finding a new generator to purchase around Toronto was tough.
 
6. Not every furnace will start easily with a generator and its best to plan ahead with an electrician to ensure a generator is hooked up safely.
 
6. Toronto's electricity system is very much vulnerable to a harsh ice storm. A study by Toronto Hydro in 2012 predicted more power outages due to freak storms due to climate change: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto-hydro-study-warned-of-increased-risk-of-power-outages-due-to-climate-change/article16118600/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=Referrer%3A+Social+Network+%2F+Media&utm_campaign=Shared+Web+Article+Links
 
7. An ice storm/power outage is a great opportunity to get to know your neighbors better! Its a chance to come together as a community and help those who could use a hand.
 
We hope that we can help you with any repair or replacement work you may need performed to your eavestrough system. Just as a rough idea of cost: a 35 to 40 foot section of eavestrough replaced will cost on average $675.00. This of course depends on ease of access and height.
 
We will come by to assess the damage, determine the matching color and give a free quote. For an immediate quote feel free to send along a few pictures and often we provide a quote on the spot.
 
Our office number is 416 615 0443 and our email is info@eavestrough.ca or you can fill out an estimate form on our website: www.eavestrough.ca 
 
 

Thursday, December 5, 2013

40 Point Quality Eavestrough Inspection


We at North Shore Eavestroughing are constantly striving to improve the level of service that you receive. You will have a thorough 40 point inspection conducted after every installation. After many years of perfecting our craft and trying to maximize the client experience we have developed a checklist that will make sure that your eavestrough project will be completed in the best way possible. We focus on the details and create systems to ensure that we will exceed your expectations and be a leader in our industry. We feel we are only as good as our last project and want to complete it with a series of checklists that ensure nothing is left to chance. It's just our way of proving that we are going to go the extra mile and pay attention to the details. Do you live in North York, Scarborough or other areas in or near Toronto and need to replace your eavestroughs? Visit our website for more information. http://www.eavestrough.ca/ and then call for your estimate

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

18 Things We Do To Protect Our Earth

We at North Shore have asked ourselves how we can make changes in our day to day operations that make a difference in our environmental impact and lessen our footprint.

The good thing is that most of the steps we have taken or are looking at implementing in the near future, make good business sense. Cutting back or finding more efficient ways to do business is also good for the health of any business. Our energy saving and waste reduction efforts are also making us more competitive.

We challenge small business like us to make positive changes in any way possible. If you decide to implement any new strategies or have some creative ideas we haven't thought of please comment below so we can all benefit. We are all in this together!

We will go through some of the steps we undertake to be a little more earth friendly:

1. This might seem very basic but we sort all of our construction and office items into recyclable and waste. About 75% of what we sort is recyclable. Plastics, lots of cardboard as this is what all our downpipes and elbows are shipped in, and paper from our office. We ensure that everything is sorted properly on a daily basis. Then we ensure that when we go to the City of Toronto Waste Drop Off Facilities, all bags go into the right recycling bins. Since most everyone at North Shore is used to recycling at home it comes naturally to sort into the proper bins we have located in our office and shop.


All our aluminum and steel is recycled.


All our eavestrough supplies are over 90 per cent recycled. Aluminum is easily recycled and all eavestroughs on the market today have recycled content in them.



We have a hazardous waste bin located in our shop so things like old paint and caulking and batteries do not end up in a landfill.




2. We buy either recycled or an alternative to paper that was created by cutting down forests. This one is super easy and doesn't really cost much more but you feel better every time you have to print something off.







3. In Toronto the amount of water that goes into the storm sewers when it rains heavy is a serious problem and results in raw sewage and waste flow directly into our waterfront. One of our objectives when designing a rain water management system is to get the downpipes disconnected from the city. We design systems that work, keep water away from your home, and safely absorb as much as possible on your grass or beds. We go the extra mile to make disconnects happen when other companies say it's not possible. We can get as creative as the homeowner likes to make this happen. We mostly make this happen with larger downspouts, proper grading, and sometimes 2 pipes in one location as shown below. We feel we can make a big impact on the storm water problem in Toronto, and this opportunity is open to all eavestrough companies in any city that has these common problems.



4. Water conservation through the installation of rain barrels. When configured professionally they operate trouble free for many years and will aid in the watering around your home. We hope more of our future clients will be interested in using them. They are great way to make a difference and maybe you might actually look forward to the rain when you know you will be restocking your barrels. Its not that common to see rain barrels but we hope that will change as we move forward. Why can't having barrels be cool?





5.  We try to buy green cleaning supplies as well. Recycled bags and paper towels, and earth friendly cleaning supplies when possible for our Scarborough headquarters and show room.





6. All our shop lighting and outdoor lighting has been changed over to LED.



7.  Coffee is organic and bird friendly. Who knew  the way conventional coffee is grown is destroying bird habitat.

Our Kuerig is only used with reusable cups to reduce waste.



8.  Our AC has only ran a couple of weeks this summer as we like to let a breeze blow through the office when conditions allow.


 


9.  We are Bullfrog Powered. Bullfrog charges a slight up charge on our electric bill to pay for introducing green power sources onto the grid. We are powered by green gas and green electricity. Check them out on how to be a part of the green shift!




10.  Do you know that washing your car can send polluted water straight into lake Ontario. Water going into sewer grates flow untreated to the Lake.




Good idea to use a car wash, or waterless car wash products available at Canadian Tire. They work great!



11.   Our Smart car is great for jigging around and doing estimates. Running trouble free since 2008.

 
 
12. Our service area has been reduced slightly to reduce travelling. Years ago we used to travel pretty much from our shop to areas like Oakville and Aurora and Brampton. A lot of fuel used for estimating and plus sending a crew out. We hope people can think local if possible to reduce traffic congestion and reduce fuel consumption. Now we focus on Scarborough, North York and other areas in and near Toronto.

13.  We donate $10.00 to the David Suzuki Foundation for every Homestars review we get. Check out David Suzuki at http://www.davidsuzuki.org/  Our goal is to get 100 reviews this year which will total $1000.00 for environmental causes.

14. We used to by water in plastic bottles by the truck load and now we buy all our water in glass and is set up in our office and in all our eavestrough trailers. Team members are encouraged to bring a reusable bottle and refill from the glass bottles.  Check out Cedar Springs to get the glass bottles: http://cedarspringswater.ca/




 15.  We now use job signs infrequently as most of these get thrown in the garbage by the homeowner. We use them sparingly and ask that the homeowner contact us so we can pick them up instead of throwing in the trash. 10 years ago it was commonplace for companies to canvass neighborhoods with these type signs. Thank goodness we see less of that today.




16.  All our power bars in the office are equipped with timers that turn the power bar off after 6 pm and turn back on at 6 am from Monday to Friday and off for the weekends. Computers and printers are powered off completely this way. This reduces our power consumption.



17. We are converting our jobsite trailers to solar power. No more plugging in to power our eavestrough machines or power tools. It work amazing. Three 100 watt panels are all thats needed to charge to deeep cycle batteries which powers an inverter.

 
 



 18We use biodegradable 2 cycle oil for our leaf blowers used to clean up your property.





If anyone has any other ideas for greening a small business we would love to hear about it! If we all make small changes they will add up towards a big impact. Lets work to make our future a positive healthy one! 

Visit our website at www.eavestrough.ca or email us at info@eavestrough.ca as we would love to hear from you.