Winter always leaves a list behind
Freeze and thaw is hard on the outside of a house, and Agincourt has plenty of exposed backyard fencing and decking from the subdivision era. Posts heave, boards cup, gate latches stop lining up, and one section of fence starts leaning towards the neighbours. Most of it is repairable. Replacing six boards and resetting a gate costs far less than a new fence and buys years.
Cold months also find every draught indoors. Weather stripping flattens, door sweeps wear through, and the side door from the garage turns into the coldest spot in the house. Sorting those out in spring or early autumn beats living with them for another season.
Big family homes, long lists
Homes here are often shared by more than one generation, and that shapes the work. Second kitchens, extra bathrooms, bedrooms downstairs and a lot of daily traffic through the same hallways. Things loosen faster than they do in a quiet house.
Grab bars beside the tub, a brighter fixture over the stairs, a handrail that no longer wobbles, lever handles in place of round knobs: small changes that make a shared home easier to live in. None of them take long on their own, which is exactly why they are best done together.
The repairs Agincourt asks for most
Over a typical month in this part of Scarborough, the same requests come round:
- Freeing and adjusting sliding patio doors so they roll again
- Rescreening window and door screens torn over the summer
- Fence board, post and gate repairs after the frost
- Deck board replacement and railing tightening
- Drywall patching and repainting in busy hallways and stairwells
- Swapping ceiling fans, light fittings and dimmers
- Recaulking tubs and tiling a kitchen backsplash
Bigger projects fit in too. Laminate or vinyl plank through a basement, a full run of new baseboards and trim, a bathroom vanity swap, or cabinet hardware and painting right through a kitchen are all multi-day jobs I take on as one project.
Pricing, timing and what I will not touch
Quotes are free. Send photos with the details, since a picture of a sagging gate tells me more than three paragraphs of description, and expect an answer usually within one business day. Before work starts, you and I agree a fixed price or an hourly rate, so nothing shifts on you halfway through.
My hours are Monday to Saturday, eight in the morning to eight at night, with Sunday by appointment. Materials come with receipts when I buy them, or you pick up your own and I fit what you have chosen. Everything is swept up at the end, and I stand behind the work: if a repair does not hold, I come back and put it right.
Work that needs a licensed trade in Ontario goes to one. New circuits, panel changes, gas lines, structural alterations and roofing are not my work, and I will say so plainly rather than take the job. Changing an existing fixture, faucet, dimmer or toilet is another matter, and that happens week in, week out.
