Decks, fences and the freeze-thaw cycle
Backyards in Midtown Toronto are mostly small, fenced and heavily used, and they take a beating from November through March. Frost lifts deck posts, water gets into end grain, and a board that felt fine in September has gone soft by spring. Cedar fences lean where a post has rotted at ground level. I replace boards, reset and brace posts, rehang gates that drag and reseal what is worth sealing.
Ravine lots make it more interesting. Properties backing onto the Beltline or the slopes near Mount Pleasant Cemetery sit on ground that shifts, and a fence on a grade has to be stepped rather than run straight, or it will be leaning again next year.
Inside the older Midtown Toronto houses
Houses around Davisville, Chaplin Estates, Allenby and Lytton Park were built for a different way of living. Small kitchens, one bathroom, narrow back stairs and plaster over lath on almost every wall. Owners have added to them for a century, so it is normal to find three eras of wiring, two kinds of wall and a hallway that has been moved at some point.
Practical upshot: I check before I drill and keep the patching kit close. Hanging a heavy mirror or a floating shelf on old plaster needs anchors chosen for what is behind the surface, not whatever came in the box with the bracket.
The condo towers along Yonge Street
North and south of Eglinton station the Midtown Toronto towers keep going up, and a new unit always needs the same handful of jobs before it feels finished. Concrete ceilings and steel stud partitions mean the fixings are different from a house, and I bring both kinds so nothing holds the job up.
Access is the thing to sort out early. Buildings here normally expect the service elevator to be reserved, and a few want paperwork filed with management before anyone works inside a unit. Give me the window and I will carry everything up in one trip.
- TV mounting on concrete and steel stud walls
- Blinds and curtain rails fitted in new units
- Flat-pack furniture assembled inside small condos
- Light fixture and dimmer replacements
- Faucet and shower head swaps
- Mirrors, shelving and artwork hung level
Getting several jobs done in one visit
Small jobs add up. A wobbly towel bar, a dead dimmer, a door that will not latch, a bookcase still in its box and a dripping shut-off under the sink are each ten minutes to an hour. Booked one at a time they cost you five separate afternoons at home.
Send me a list, with photos where you can, and I will price the lot as one visit. Photos of the actual fixture, wall or leak let me arrive with the right parts and usually shorten the job. Anything that turns out to need a licensed electrician or plumber, such as a new circuit or a gas line, I will flag rather than attempt.
