A planned suburb, and what that means for repairs
Leaside was drawn up as a whole community rather than filled in lot by lot, so the houses run to a handful of patterns. That helps. Once you have worked in a few, you know roughly where the framing sits, how thick the plaster is, and that the upstairs bathroom will be about two metres square with a window in exactly the wrong place for the vanity somebody has bought.
Original doors are solid wood and heavy, which is good news for the hardware and hard on hinges that have carried them for eighty years. Floors are usually strip oak under whatever went down on top later. Additions and second-storey rebuilds are everywhere, so half a house can be lath and plaster and the other half modern drywall, with a small step where the two meet.
The jobs that stack up in a Leaside house
Families around here tend to keep a running list and call once it is long enough to justify a visit. That approach works well, because batching costs you less than booking each item on its own.
- TV brackets fixed into solid framing above brick fireplaces
- Cabinet hardware and cupboard doors realigned in original kitchens
- Vanity, faucet and toilet swaps in small upstairs bathrooms
- Fitted closet shelving and hanging rails in bedrooms
- Basement rec room drywall repairs and repainting
- Ceiling fans, dimmers and smart switches replaced like for like
- Baseboards, quarter round and casing after flooring work
- Garage side doors and locks adjusted on long side drives
Apartments and condos on the edges
The high-rise blocks around Thorncliffe Park and the newer buildings near Bayview and Eglinton are a different animal. Concrete and block walls want a hammer drill and proper anchors. Hollow partition walls want the right toggle rather than a plastic plug pushed in and hoped for. Getting that wrong is how a shelf full of books ends up on the carpet.
Buildings also have rules. Most ask for the service elevator to be booked in advance and paperwork filed with the property manager before a trade carries anything through the lobby. Let me know what yours requires when you ask for the quote and I will tell you right away whether I can meet it.
Outside work, and the jobs I hand to a licensed trade
Back yards here sit on clay, and clay moves. Deck boards cup, gate posts lean, fence panels work loose and a gate that swung fine in October scrapes the path by April. Spring and early summer are when most of that gets booked, along with railing repairs and swapping out a few boards rather than tearing off the whole deck.
Some things are not mine to do and I say so on the first call. Changing out an existing light fitting, dimmer, faucet or toilet is mine to do. New circuits, panel work, gas appliances, anything structural or a roof goes to a licensed electrician, plumber or the right specialist, and I would rather send you there than take your money for it.
Quotes are free, the price is settled before I start, and the work area is left clean. If something is not right afterwards, tell me and I will come back to it.
