Small jobs, long lists and bigger projects
A lot of what I do in Leslieville is a list rather than a single job. Someone moves into a semi off Dundas or Carlaw, lives with it for six months, then writes down eleven things: a towel bar, a stuck sash window, a hallway light that flickers on its old dimmer, two flat-pack wardrobes, a toilet that runs. Those go into one visit and one price. It works out better than calling four different people.
Bigger work happens too. Laminate or vinyl plank through a main floor, baseboards and trim after a paint job, a bathroom brought up to date with a new vanity, fresh caulking and a tiled kitchen backsplash. Those run over a few days and get quoted the same way, agreed before I start.
Doors, windows and a house that has settled
The workers' cottages and bay-and-gable semis around here were put up on clay, and clay moves. Floors slope, door frames rack, and a latch that lined up in 1995 no longer meets the strike plate. Shimming a hinge, moving a strike or planing an edge fixes most of it in under an hour. Windows tell the same story, especially painted-shut sashes in houses that have been redecorated a dozen times.
Walls need care as well. Behind the plaster there is often no stud where a bracket wants one, and old renovations left patches of drywall over lath. I check before drilling and pick anchors to suit whatever is actually there.
Lofts and mid-rise buildings along Queen and Eastern
Plenty of people in Leslieville live in a converted industrial loft or one of the newer mid-rise buildings near Eastern Avenue. Those come with their own rules. Most want the service elevator booked ahead, some want contractors signed in at the desk, and a few restrict the hours when drilling can happen. Tell me what your building asks for when you request the quote and I will work around it.
Concrete ceilings and steel-stud partitions change the hardware, not the job. A television on a concrete wall needs masonry anchors and a bit of patience. On a hollow steel-stud wall it needs proper toggles. Either way it ends up level and solid.
What to have ready before I arrive
Clear access to the work area helps more than anything else. Beyond that:
- The parts you already bought, still boxed, in the room they belong in
- Somewhere legal to park, or a note about the laneway
- Paint tins or offcuts left over from the last decorator
- Keys for the back gate, garage or storage locker
- A quick word about pets and where they will be
- Your full list, including the jobs you think are too small to mention
One more thing worth saying plainly. Replacing an existing light, switch, dimmer, faucet or toilet is work I do every week. New wiring, a panel, gas or anything structural is not mine to touch, and I will hand you over to a licensed electrician or plumber when a job goes that way.
