Old brick semis and where the studs actually are
Between Broadview and Woodbine, most of the housing went up between roughly 1905 and 1930. Two storey brick semis, front porches, narrow staircases, and behind the paint, plaster on lath instead of drywall. That single fact changes a lot of jobs. A plastic anchor pushed into plaster crumbles the coat behind it and lets go the first time weight goes on the fixing.
Framing in these houses is rarely at a tidy sixteen inches. I use a magnet as well as a scanner, because the old cut nails give a more honest answer than the electronics do. Where there is nothing solid to hit, I open a small patch, put in a timber backer, close it up and sand it flush, so paint is all that is left to do.
What people around The Danforth call about
Riverdale, Playter Estates and Pape Village houses share a fairly short list of complaints. Doors move with the seasons. Floors slope enough that a new washer rocks. Attic rooms were converted decades ago and the trim was never quite finished. This is the run of work I do most in the area:
- Interior doors planed and re-hung after seasonal swelling
- Plaster cracks above door frames filled and repainted
- TVs mounted on chimney breasts and shared party walls
- Flat pack wardrobes built in tight converted attic rooms
- Faucets, shower heads and toilets swapped like for like
- Ceiling fixtures, dimmers and smart switches changed on existing wiring
- Baseboard and quarter round refitted after new flooring
- Back deck boards, gate hinges and fence pickets repaired
Flats above the shops
A fair share of my calls are for the apartments over the storefronts on Danforth Avenue. Those come with their own conditions. Stairs are steep and turn hard at the landing, so I measure the opening before anybody orders a wardrobe or a sofa bed. Walls are sometimes masonry rather than stud, which means different fixings for a television bracket.
Those units also sit on a street with metered and permit parking and no room to double park. Tell me how loading works at your address when you get in touch, and I will arrive with everything in one trip instead of blocking traffic twice.
How a visit is arranged
Send a couple of photos with your message and I can usually price the job without coming out first. A reply normally lands within one business day. You will know the number before I pick up a tool, and you can buy your own materials if you would rather choose them yourself.
Hours are Monday to Saturday, eight in the morning to eight at night, with Sunday by appointment. Anything that needs a new circuit, a panel change or gas work goes to a licensed electrician or plumber, and I will say so at the quote rather than waste a trip.
When the job is done the area gets swept and the offcuts leave with me. If something is not sitting right a week later, tell me and I will come back and put it straight.
