How we work in Scarborough
Scarborough visits are scheduled by area. Assembly and mounting bookings from the east end share days, and we fix the date with you when we quote, so a delivery date or a closing is worth mentioning early. The founder does that work himself, and a list of small repairs can ride along on the same visit.
Bigger jobs are quoted with licensed trade partners: electrical work with a Licensed Electrical Contractor, plumbing with a certified plumber, concrete with a concrete contractor. We coordinate them under one written contract, as the larger projects page explains, and confirm which partner covers a Scarborough address before you get a price. If your house is split into an upper and a lower unit, the two lists can be quoted together and done in one trip. Every quote is a flat rate, in writing, before work starts.
The homes, and the work they bring
Scarborough has more detached houses than any other part of Toronto: 81,510 at the 2021 Census, 37.2 percent of its 218,930 homes, according to the City's profile of the Scarborough community council area. Just over half of all its homes, 52.2 percent, were built between 1961 and 1990, and only about 6 percent since 2011. Another 7.3 percent are duplex flats, the census term for a house split into an upper and a lower unit, which is the highest share of the City's four community council areas. Towers are part of the picture too: 35.2 percent of Scarborough homes are in buildings of five storeys or more.
The wards differ. Scarborough Southwest, along the western Bluffs, has old housing, with 40.2 percent of its homes built in 1960 or before. In Scarborough North, 15.6 percent of homes are townhouses, and more than a quarter date from the 1980s. In Scarborough-Rouge Park, 54.7 percent of homes are detached and almost four in five are owned.
The work follows the housing. Houses from the 1960s to the 1980s want doors, caulking, trim and drywall put right; finished basements fill up with furniture to build and things to hang; and yards need their spring and fall cleanups. In the towers, the list looks like downtown's.
Near the Bluffs and the valleys
Scarborough’s lakeshore bluffs, Highland Creek and the Rouge valley all lie in the territory of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, which regulates work in and near valleys, stream corridors, wetlands and the Lake Ontario shoreline. TRCA treats building a new or replacement deck, shed or garage in a regulated area as development that needs a TRCA permit first, and the City cannot issue a building permit until TRCA has cleared the work. TRCA’s regulated-area search shows whether your lot is inside.
So if your house backs onto a ravine or sits near the top of the bluffs, ask before you order a shed kit or plan a deck. Assembly is the easy part; the permit decides whether the structure can go where you want it.
Dropping things off
The City’s Scarborough depot is at 1 Transfer Place. It takes garbage, yard waste, renovation waste, household hazardous waste and electronics, but not drywall, and it is one of only three City depots open for general drop-offs on Saturday mornings. Bring a vehicle; there are no walk-in drop-offs. Anything bigger than a car load is quoted as junk removal, in writing, by volume and time.
Neighbourhoods in our Scarborough area
- Birch Cliff
- Cliffside
- Cliffcrest
- Scarborough Village
- Guildwood
- West Hill
- Highland Creek
- Port Union
- West Rouge
- Morningside Heights
- Malvern
- Agincourt
- Milliken
- L'Amoreaux
- Tam O'Shanter
- Wexford
- Dorset Park
- Bendale
- Woburn
- Kennedy Park
- Clairlea
- Oakridge
Not sure whether your street is covered? Call (416) 474-0156 or email
help@homeresetters.ca.
Sources
- Community Council Area Profile: Scarborough, 2021 Census, City of Toronto
- Ward Profile: Scarborough Southwest, 2021 Census, City of Toronto
- Ward Profile: Scarborough North, 2021 Census, City of Toronto
- Ward Profile: Scarborough-Rouge Park, 2021 Census, City of Toronto
- Garages and sheds (permits in regulated areas), Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
- Decks (permits in regulated areas), Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
- Drop-off depot locations, City of Toronto
