The oldest homes in High Park North date from the late 1800s and early 1900s: two- and three-storey detached brick houses in Victorian, Edwardian and Tudor styles. Their hardwood can usually be sanded and refinished for $4.50 to $8 per sq ft, before 13% HST. Where a back addition has sagged, we level the subfloor before new flooring goes in.
Gothic Avenue, High Park Avenue and Quebec Avenue are lined with high-rise apartment buildings from the 1960s and 1970s, and suites that have not been renovated often have tired original floors. Many of these buildings are rentals, so we first check whether a landlord or a condo board sets the flooring rules. Click vinyl plank at $5 to $10 per sq ft or laminate at $3 to $8 per sq ft goes down over a flat concrete slab quickly, with acoustic underlay added where the building asks for it.
High Park's Victorian, Edwardian and Tudor houses have floors that have been changed many times, so we start here.
Where a house has radiators or floor vents, the boards around them often carry water stains or patches. They decide whether a room needs board replacement.
Walls moved over a century leave filled strips in the floor. We map them so new boards match the width and direction of the originals.
An upper floor can have different boards from the main floor. We check every storey before quoting one stain colour for the house.
The front hall takes grit and salt from the street. We check whether it is worn to bare wood before planning the rest of the main floor.
In the detached houses, refinishing and board repair usually beat replacement on cost and look.
Floating vinyl plank or laminate over concrete is quick to fit between tenancies or before a move-in.
Acoustic underlay runs $0.80 to $3.50 per sq ft and cuts impact noise for the unit below.
High Park’s detached brick houses, between Bloor Street, Runnymede Road, Annette Street and the rail line, stand two or three storeys tall, so a house can have two full flights of stairs. Those treads take every trip between floors and wear faster than the rooms. We check each tread for cupping, split nosing and loose stringers first. Sound treads are sanded and refinished for $100 to $200 per step. Worn-through treads are replaced with new hardwood treads and risers at $185 to $350 per step, before 13% HST, stained to match the landing floor.
Condo declarations and landlord rules can set underlay type and work hours. We supply spec sheets for approval.
Material deliveries and removal are scheduled around the building's elevator bookings.
Older vinyl floor tile can contain asbestos, so a lab test comes before removal.
We replaced the flooring throughout our condo, and the results exceeded our expectations. The installers worked efficiently and paid close attention to every detail.
Excellent flooring installation from start to finish. The team was professional, punctual, and left our Toronto home spotless. Our new hardwood floors look incredible.
No. High Park is not a City of Toronto Heritage Conservation District, so heritage rules do not shape your flooring choice here.
It depends on the building. The Ontario Building Code sets an airborne sound rating between units (STC 50, or ASTC 47 for the whole assembly), but impact targets come from each condo's declaration or rules, or the landlord. We match the underlay to what your building asks for.
Replacing floor finishes generally does not need a permit. Structural changes to joists or subfloor framing may, as the <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/building-construction/apply-for-a-building-permit/when-do-i-need-a-building-permit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">City of Toronto permit page</a> explains.