1-888-910-7366 
Handyman and Renovation Services in Leaside, Toronto
Leaside is one of Toronto’s most established residential neighbourhoods – a community of well-built brick homes, mature trees, and streets that have barely changed in character since the 1940s and 50s when most of the housing stock was built. These are solid homes that have stood the test of time. They also come with the specific challenges of their era: low basement ceilings, dirt floors in older properties, high water tables in parts of the neighbourhood, and the kind of original construction details that require experience to work with correctly.
We’ve been working in Leaside for years from our East York office on Woodbine Ave. We know this neighbourhood and we know its homes.
What Makes Leaside Homes Distinctive
Leaside sits on land with a water table that can be significant – particularly in spring, when groundwater pressure is at its highest. For homeowners who want to finish or renovate their basements, this isn’t a reason to hesitate. It’s a reason to make sure the waterproofing is done properly before anything else happens. We’ve learned, from working in this neighbourhood specifically, that skipping or underspecifying waterproofing in Leaside is a mistake that shows up within a few seasons.
We also see more dirt-floor basements in Leaside than in most other Toronto neighbourhoods. Homes built in the 1940s and 50s often didn’t have proper concrete basement slabs – the floor was simply compacted earth. Transforming these spaces into livable rooms requires excavation, grading, a proper concrete pour, and waterproofing – all before the finishing work begins. We do all of it.
Real Project: A Dirt Basement Becomes a Family Room
A Leaside House
A Leaside family – two parents and their young children – needed more livable space. The basement was the obvious answer. The problem was the starting point: a raw dirt floor, original concrete block walls, exposed joists overhead, and a water table that made proper waterproofing non-negotiable.
We started at the ground. The dirt floor was excavated, graded, and compacted, then a concrete slab was poured. Before any framing went up, we addressed the water: an interior drainage membrane was installed along the base of the foundation walls, directing any groundwater to a new sump pump. Then we added a second, battery-powered backup sump – because in a Leaside spring, when the ground is saturated and the power occasionally goes out during a storm, the backup is what stands between a dry basement and a flooded one.
Into a Leaside Home.
The ductwork that ran through the middle of the space was rerouted to the perimeter and enclosed in a bulkhead. A new wall was framed to separate the utilities – furnace, hot water tank, laundry – from the living space, giving the family a clean, uninterrupted room on one side and full access to all the mechanical equipment on the other.
From there: insulation, drywall, pot lights, vinyl plank flooring, grey walls, white baseboards. The whole space.
The finished room became the family room they needed – movie nights, toy chaos, the kind of space where kids can be loud and nobody minds. Same house. Completely different life in it. Full story on our basement renovation page.
What We Do in Leaside
Basement Renovations and Waterproofing
Basement work is our most common service in Leaside – and waterproofing is the foundation of all of it. We assess the specific water situation for each property before recommending a solution. Interior drainage membrane and sump pump is the right approach for most Leaside homes. Where the water table is particularly high or the risk is significant, we’ll tell you honestly. The City of Toronto’s Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program offers eligible homeowners rebates toward sump pump and waterproofing installation – we advise on eligibility as part of every basement quote.
Bathroom and Kitchen Renovations
Leaside homes often have original kitchens and bathrooms that have been well-maintained but are ready for a meaningful update. We do complete gut renovations – fixed price, dedicated project manager, a day-by-day schedule you know in advance. See our bathroom renovation and kitchen renovation pages.
Decks, Fences, and Roofing
Leaside’s mature tree canopy is one of the neighbourhood’s defining features – and one of the things that accelerates wear on roofs, eavestroughs, and wood structures. We do roofing, deck building and repair, fence installation, and eavestrough work across the neighbourhood.
Handyman Services
For smaller jobs, our handyman services team is available without the overhead of a full renovation quote.
Our Full Service Range in Leaside
Ready to Talk About Your Leaside Home?
The first step is a conversation. Call us at 647-427-7366, toll-free at 1-888-910-7366, or click Request a Quote. Our East York office on Woodbine Ave serves Leaside and the surrounding east-end neighbourhoods.