How a move-in visit works
- Send your list before move day. The furniture on order (links or article numbers), what goes on the walls (TV size, art, mirrors, shelves, rods and blinds) and any small fixes you noticed on your walk-through.
- Get one written quote. A flat rate for the whole list, so you know what setting up the unit costs before you move in.
- Pick the slot. After your move, once the movers have handed back the elevator. Tell us your building’s contractor rules: sign-in, permitted hours and parking.
- Work through it in order. Furniture usually comes first, so the pieces can be placed; wall work follows, now that you know where the furniture stands; small fixes come last. Where your building limits drilling to certain hours, the wall work moves to fit them. We finish by walking through the list with you.
What Toronto condo buildings usually ask of contractors
Rules come from each building’s governing documents. The Condominium Authority of Ontario says everyone in a condo community must follow them, and that rules must be reasonable and consistent with the Condo Act. The details vary from building to building, but the same items come up again and again:
- Sign-in: contractors check in with the concierge or security, often with your unit number and name.
- Elevator: moves and large deliveries need the service elevator, booked by the resident for a time slot, sometimes with a refundable deposit.
- Noise: drilling is usually limited to daytime hours, and some buildings do not allow it on Sundays or holidays.
- Waste: flattened cardboard goes to the recycling room, and bulky items follow their own rules.
Walls in a new condo
Condo walls are either concrete or drywall on steel studs, and each takes different hardware. Concrete needs a hammer drill and concrete anchors; steel studs need toggle-style anchors, because thin steel gives a screw little to grip. Window coverings often go into a concrete ceiling or a drywall bulkhead above the window, so we check which before choosing anchors. The TV mounting page covers each wall type in more detail.
Builder-grade light fixtures are a common thing to change in a new unit. Replacing one is electrical work, and in Ontario only a Licensed Electrical Contractor may be hired to do it; we coordinate one and add their price to your written quote.
Moving-day timing
Most buildings give each move a fixed elevator slot. Book the setup for after your slot rather than during it, so the movers and the assembler are not competing for the elevator and the hallway. Ask the movers to leave every box in the room where its piece will go, and keep the hardware bags taped to their boxes.
New buildings and the Tarion warranty
If your unit is brand new, defects in the builder’s work fall under Ontario’s new-home warranty, run by Tarion. Tarion asks owners to tell the builder first and then report unresolved items on its forms; the first, the Initial Form, covers days 1 to 41 after you take possession. Report a defect before anyone repairs it, including us, so the claim stays clean. If we notice something that looks like a builder defect, we tell you instead of fixing it.
What to have ready
- Your delivery confirmations, so we know what is arriving and when.
- Measurements for anything going on the walls: TV size and weight, frame sizes and rod widths.
- Your building’s contractor rules, and where we can park.
- Blinds and rods, if you bought them, still in their packages.