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Home Renovation in the Beaches
The Beaches is a lake neighbourhood and it has a lake neighbourhood's problems. Houses on the short streets running down to the boardwalk sit close to the water table and the air holds moisture most of the year. A good number of these houses started life as a summer cottage that somebody winterized in stages. The framing and the insulation change every time you open a wall.
First Place Homes has been renovating Toronto houses since 1997. Harvey Minuk quotes and runs every job personally and most of our work sits within a short drive of Queen Street East.
First Place Homes renovates houses in the Beaches, from Queen Street East down to the boardwalk: kitchens opened to the back, basements dried and rebuilt, second bathrooms and attic insulation. Harvey Minuk has quoted and run every job since 1997. Water and lake damp get handled before finishes, permits go through the Toronto and East York district office and every job carries a one-year workmanship warranty.
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The Beaches renovation: key facts
| Who does the work | One contract and one crew. Harvey Minuk quotes the job, runs the job and checks it before it closes. |
| What we do here | Kitchens with the back wall opened up, basement waterproofing and rebuilds, second bathrooms, attic insulation and air sealing. |
| What the lake adds | Rubble stone or early poured foundations on clay drain tile, damp summer air, knob-and-tube in pre-1950 houses, joists sized for lighter loads, narrow lots with permit parking. |
| Permits | City of Toronto building permits through the Toronto and East York district office. We prepare the application and meet the inspector on site. |
| Timeline | Design 2 to 4 weeks. Build 4 weeks to 4 months depending on scope, with permit review on top. |
| Warranty | One-year workmanship warranty. Manufacturer warranties on materials and appliances are passed to you with the paperwork. |
What the lake does to these houses
Water handled before anything else
Foundations here are rubble stone or early poured concrete with clay drain tile at the footing. Clay tile silts up and stops draining. Water finds the cove joint where the wall meets the slab, salts appear on the foundation as a white bloom and the basement smells like a basement. Finishing over that spends the money twice. The order is exterior grading and drainage, then waterproofing or an interior drain to a sump, then framing, then insulation detailed for the wall assembly you have.
Summer humidity
Lake air runs damp from May through September. A newly tightened, newly insulated basement with no mechanical ventilation gets muggy by July. Ventilation is part of the scope on every basement we do south of Queen.
Knob-and-tube wiring
Pre-1950 Beaches houses still turn it up regularly, usually once the plaster comes off. Insurers ask about it. When walls are already open, a full rewire is often cheaper and more honest than chasing individual circuits.
Framing you have to check
Original joists were sized for the loads of the day. Before we promise a bathroom or a heavy tile floor where there was none, we measure depth and span.
Street logistics
Lots are narrow, driveways are shared or absent and parking is permit-controlled. A bin needs a street occupation permit. We stage deliveries so your neighbours keep their spots. Permits for this part of town go through the City of Toronto's Toronto and East York district office.
The jobs we get called for here
Kitchens with the back opened up
The classic Beaches semi has a small kitchen at the back and a door to the yard. Taking out the wall between kitchen and dining room, dropping in an engineered beam and putting glass across the back is the request we get most. See kitchen renovation in Toronto.
Basement waterproofing and rebuild
Dry first, then usable. See basement renovation in Toronto.
A second bathroom
One bathroom on the second floor for a family of four is the most common reason people here call us. See bathroom renovation in Toronto.
Attic insulation and air sealing
Cheap work with a long payback in a leaky 1920s house.
Beaches renovation questions
Can you lower a basement in the Beaches?
Yes. Underpinning and benching are both done here. Because the water table sits closer to the surface near the lake, drainage design and structural engineering carry more weight in the Beaches than they do further north. We look at the water before we quote the height.
Do Beaches houses still have knob-and-tube wiring?
Many pre-1950 houses in the Beaches still have live knob-and-tube, usually in ceilings and exterior walls and it is normally found once plaster comes off. We carry an allowance for electrical discovery and price the rewire before doing it.
Where do Beaches building permits go?
Building permits for the Beaches are issued by the City of Toronto through the Toronto and East York district office. First Place Homes prepares and submits the application and meets the inspector on site.
Ask us about your Beaches house
Tell Harvey what the house is doing and what you want it to do. He will look at the water, the wiring and the framing and give you a straight read on scope and a range before you spend anything.