The repairs that come up again and again
Markham grew in waves, and each wave has its own list. Houses in Milliken Mills, Armadale and Buttonville from the 1970s and 1980s are on their second or third set of taps, toilets, hinges and light fittings. Nothing has failed dramatically. It has all simply worn out at roughly the same time, which is why one visit often covers five jobs. Wismer, Greensborough, Cornell and Box Grove are the opposite: those homes are barely broken in, and the calls are about finishing them off.
Sinks and showers sit in the middle of both groups. A dripping tap, a shower head with no pressure left in it, a toilet that runs quietly all night, a slow leak in the cabinet under the kitchen sink. Those are like-for-like swaps and they are some of the most satisfying half hours in the job.
Town homes, stairs and laneway garages
Cornell and the newer town home pockets are built tall and narrow, with living space on the middle floor and bedrooms above. Furniture has to travel up two flights, sometimes around a landing that will not take a long flat box, so I check the route before anything gets opened. Rear laneway garages bring their own small jobs: an entry door that has dropped on its hinges, a torn weather seal, an exterior light or a video doorbell to fit by the back gate.
Older Markham and Unionville
Around Main Street Unionville and the older end of Markham Village the buildings are frame and plaster, and some are well over a century old. Walls are rarely flat, studs are rarely where a detector first suggests, and a floor can run downhill by a few millimetres across one room. None of that is a problem. It just means scribing trim to the wall, packing shelves level and choosing fixings that suit what is actually behind the surface.
- Flat-pack wardrobes, beds and desks assembled and anchored safely
- Televisions and floating shelves mounted on solid fixings
- Kitchen and bathroom taps, shower heads and toilets replaced
- Doors adjusted, with new handles, hinges or weather stripping
- Drywall dents, cracks and screw holes patched and painted
- Video doorbells, cameras and thermostats fitted and set up
- Cabinet hardware, backsplash tile and fresh caulking
- Laminate and vinyl plank flooring with baseboards to finish
What to have ready before I arrive
Very little, honestly. Clear a path to the work and move anything breakable out of the way. If you have already bought the fitting, the flooring or the furniture, leave it in the room it belongs in. If you would rather I supplied the parts, say so when you ask for the quote and the receipts come with the bill. Parking is easy on most streets around here, but in a town home block with permit-only visitor spaces, let me know how it works there.
Photos help more than anything else. A picture of the tap, the wall, the ceiling fitting or the box sitting on the floor lets me price the work properly and turn up with the right parts on the first visit, rather than adding a second trip to the hardware store.
