Wartime houses and what they need
The streets through O'Neill, Vanier and Central were built for General Motors families, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s. They are solid little houses. They also have plaster over lath in the older ones, steep narrow stairs, shallow closets, original solid wood doors that have swollen and shrunk through eighty winters, and framing that does not sit on a tidy sixteen inch grid. Patching plaster is not the same job as patching drywall. It needs backing, a bonding coat and patience while it dries, and rushing it gives you the same crack back next year.
Doors are the other constant around here. A door that binds is usually a hinge that has dropped or a jamb that has shifted, not a door that needs planing. I fix the cause first, because taking a plane to a door that will move again in July only leaves you with a draught in January.
The newer streets north of Taunton
North Oshawa is a different animal altogether. Samac, Kedron, Windfields and the roads around Ontario Tech University are recent, so the work there is mounting, assembly and finishing rather than repair. Televisions, floating shelves, closet organisers, blinds, garage storage and the trim a builder never came back to touch up.
Ceilings run higher in those homes, which makes anchoring matter more, not less. A bracket that would be fine at chest height on a bungalow wall needs a real fixing when it is holding a heavy screen over an open stairwell.
Rentals, student units and turnovers
Plenty of Oshawa houses near the university and the college are rented by the room, and landlords call me between tenants. A turnover list is the ideal batching job. Patch and touch up, re-hang a door, replace a broken blind, swap a leaking faucet and a running toilet, tighten every handle in the place. Give me the full list with photos and one visit usually covers the lot.
If something turns out to need a licensed trade, I will say so on the spot. New circuits, panel work and anything gas go to a licensed electrician or plumber. Replacing a fixture, a switch, a dimmer, a tap or a toilet that is already installed is my work. Rewiring a house is not, and I will not pretend otherwise to keep a job.
What gets booked and how it works
Most of what I do falls into a handful of categories, and a lot of it can be grouped into a single visit.
- Plaster and drywall repair - cracks, holes, patched ceilings and paint touched in afterwards
- Doors and windows - sticking doors, hinges, handles, locks, weather stripping and screens
- Plumbing fittings - faucets, shower heads, toilets and under-sink leaks
- Flooring and trim - vinyl plank in basements, laminate, baseboard and stair nosing
- Kitchen and bathroom updates - backsplash, fresh caulking, cabinet handles, a new vanity
- Mounting and assembly - televisions, shelves, mirrors, flat-pack furniture and wall storage
- Smart home setup - video doorbells, cameras and like-for-like thermostat swaps
Quotes are free and there is no obligation attached. Send photos with your message and you will usually get a price back without me driving out first, normally within one business day. Before any tools come out you get a fixed price or an hourly rate, agreed with you. Materials come with receipts or you supply your own, the area is left clean, and if something is not right I come back and sort it.
