Getting to you and getting parked
Concord is laid out unlike anywhere else in York Region. Long blocks of warehouses and shops sit between the streets where people live, so the houses come in pockets rather than one long subdivision. For me that is good news. Driveways are wide, the side streets are quiet by mid-morning, and tools come to the door instead of down the block on a cart.
Highway 7 is the part worth planning around. Between Jane Street and Dufferin Street it crawls at both ends of the day, and the ramps at Highway 400 and Highway 407 back up with it. I book the first call early and the rest after the rush, which keeps arrival times honest.
Concrete walls in the towers by the subway
The buildings around the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station are new, and new here means poured concrete. A television bracket, a floating shelf or a curtain track on a concrete wall needs a masonry bit and proper sleeve anchors, not the plastic plugs that came in the box. Fixed properly, it will outlast the furniture. Rushed, it chews a crater in the wall and holds nothing.
Each building also has its own rules, and they are worth sorting out before the day. Most want the service elevator booked. Some ask for paperwork before a booking is confirmed, and many limit noisy work to weekday hours. Tell me the address and the time you would like, and I will check with the concierge first.
Bungalows, back-splits and the older pockets
Streets around Concord West, Glen Shields and Dufferin Hill were built between the 1950s and the 1970s, and they behave like houses of that age. Studs turn up where the builder felt like putting them. Basement walls are often strapping over block, so a shelf that feels solid can be holding on to a thin strip of wood and nothing else. I find out what is behind the surface before I load it.
Wear is the other theme on those streets. Taps drip, toilets run through the night, hinges sag and door handles work loose. None of it is dramatic, and all of it is quick once somebody is standing there with the right parts in the bag.
- Televisions mounted on concrete condo walls with the cables hidden
- Shelving and closet rods fixed into something that will hold
- Kitchen and bathroom taps swapped like for like
- Toilets repaired or replaced when they run all night
- Light fixtures, dimmers and smart switches changed in the existing box
- Interior doors eased and their hinges reset
- Drywall patched and painted after a move or an old bracket
- Flat-pack furniture built, levelled and anchored to the wall
What happens when you call
Quotes are free and there is no obligation. Photos sent with your message make pricing quicker, because half of my questions are answered before I reply. You will have a fixed price or an hourly rate agreed before I start, materials come with receipts, or you buy your own if you would rather. The area gets cleaned up before I leave, and if something is not right afterwards I come back to it.
Some work belongs to a licensed trade and I will say so plainly. New circuits, a panel, gas or anything structural goes to a licensed electrician or plumber. Swapping a fixture, a switch, a tap or a toilet that is already there is ordinary handyman work, and that I am glad to do.
