Home Renovation in Runnymede
Home Renovation in Runnymede: Working With 1910s Brick and Oak
Planning a renovation in Runnymede usually starts with a two-storey brick house built between 1912 and 1923, in the years the Bloor streetcar reached Runnymede Road (1917) and then Jane Street (1921). Many are Craftsman or Edwardian, with deep front porches trimmed in oak, and well over half the homes here are detached. That leaves more room to work than a row of semis, but a century-old foundation and a low basement come with it.
Most of our Runnymede conversations cover three things: getting real headroom downstairs through basement underpinning, adding space at the back instead of tearing down, and keeping the porch and trim that give these streets their look. Our closest finished project is the Brookside renovation in Bloor West Village, where a rear addition, partial underpinning and a new second-floor suite went into one older house. The home additions page shows how we approach that kind of growth.
Neighbourhood file
Runnymede in Brief
Runnymede joined the City of Toronto in 1909, along with West Toronto Junction, and filled in quickly once the streetcar came. By the 1920s the streets north of Bloor were largely built, which is why so many houses here share the same age and the same basement problems.
Nearby neighbourhoods we renovate
- Main building era
- Mostly 1912 to 1923
- Typical house
- Two-storey brick, Craftsman or Edwardian, often detached
- Local feature
- Deep front porches with oak trim
- Hidden ground
- Wendigo Creek ravine, filled at Bloor in 1915
- City ward and panel
- Ward 4; Toronto and East York panel
- Our work nearby
- Brookside project, Bloor West Village
Why Runnymede Houses Need a Careful Plan
These houses are solid, but they were built for coal furnaces and 1910s families. Here is what tends to surface once we open the walls and floors on Runnymede streets, and how we deal with each one before it costs you time.
Common Runnymede Surprises
- Low basements on footings never meant for a family room
- Ground filled over the buried Wendigo Creek ravine
- Slopes west of Jane and east of Glendonwynne Road
- Oak porches and trim worn by a century of weather
- Old drains in a City basement flooding study area
What We Do About Them
- Engineered underpinning that lowers the floor in stages
- A soil check before deep digging near the old creek line
- Grading and drainage designed in, not added later
- Porches repaired or rebuilt to match the original oak details
- Backwater valves, sump pumps and waterproofing with the right permits
What Runnymede Homes Need
Runnymede Renovation Services, Ranked by Fit
Underpinning and rear additions come up first on these detached brick houses, because the basement is low and the lot usually has room behind. A whole-home renovation often ties the two together.
01
Whole-Home Renovation
Whole-house updates for 1910s and 1920s brick homes: new wiring, plumbing and insulation behind the plaster, with the oak trim kept where it can be.
02
Basement Underpinning
Lowering Runnymede basements for a family room or a legal suite, engineered for old footings and, near the buried creek, for the soil underneath.
03
Home Additions
Rear and second-storey additions that give a detached house more bedrooms or a primary suite, often in place of a knock-down rebuild.
04
Home Extensions
Single-storey rear extensions for a bigger kitchen or family room, planned around the slope of the yard and any mature trees.
05
Interior Redesign
Reworking closed 1910s floor plans into rooms that suit how you live now, while keeping the staircase, trim and porch door.
06
Architectural Design & Permits
Measured drawings, permit sets and Committee of Adjustment support for Runnymede houses, drawn in-house by our BCIN-qualified team.
Runnymede Permits, Zoning and Tree Rules
Runnymede is in Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park, which puts any minor variance in front of the Toronto and East York panel of the Committee of Adjustment. There is no Heritage Conservation District north of Bloor. Ward 4 is also one of the wards where Toronto allows up to six units in a detached house, which matters on streets where most homes stand alone. Underpinning always needs a building permit, and a Professional Engineer must design it when the new footing drops below the footing next door. Private trees 30 cm or wider need a City permit to injure or remove, and street trees of any size are protected. Our design and permits team pulls all of this together before you commit.
Pricing a Runnymede Renovation
The biggest swings come from the basement: how deep we lower it, what the soil is like and whether the old footings can stay. We price your house after we have seen it.
Why Choose Us
Why Runnymede Owners Choose Ashford
We Plan Basements First
Low basements are the most common limit in Runnymede houses, so we look at the footings, the soil and the drains on the first visit, before any layout is drawn.
Additions Before Knock-Downs
Some owners here are told to tear down and start again. We show you what a rear or second-storey addition can do with the brick shell you already have.
Drawings and Permits In-House
Our BCIN-qualified designers prepare the drawings and file the applications, so your project never waits on an outside office.
Five Years of Cover
Labour and materials carry a 5-year warranty from handover, and JobTread keeps your schedule, budget and site photos in one place.
Your Runnymede Project, Step by Step
Proof Close By, and the Streets Around Runnymede
The nearest finished Ashford project is the Brookside renovation in Bloor West Village, with a rear addition approved by the Committee of Adjustment, partial underpinning for a walkout and a new primary suite upstairs. If your house is south of Bloor, our Bloor West Village page covers the semis by the shops, and Lambton Baby Point explains the heritage rules just west of Jane.
Questions Runnymede Homeowners Ask Us
Can you lower the basement of a 1910s Runnymede house?
Usually, yes. Most Runnymede houses went up between 1912 and 1923 with basements too low for a family room or a suite. We lower the floor with engineered underpinning, dug in stages. Toronto requires a building permit, and an engineer must design the work when the new footing goes below the neighbour’s. Our guide to underpinning permit requirements explains the paperwork.
Is my Runnymede house built over the old Wendigo Creek ravine?
Possibly, if you live near the old creek line. Wendigo Creek once ran through a ravine about 15 metres deep at Bloor, with branches joining near Clendenan and Glendonwynne, and that ravine was filled in 1915. The creek now flows through storm sewers. For houses close to that line, we ask for a soil check before designing deep foundations or a large addition.
Can I turn my Runnymede house into a multiplex?
Possibly. Fourplexes are allowed across Toronto, and detached houses in Ward 4 can go up to six units under the City’s sixplex rules. Whether yours can depends on the lot, exits and fire separation. A basement unit also needs a ceiling of at least 1.95 m, or 1.85 m under beams and ducts. We test the idea before you spend on full drawings.
Should I renovate or rebuild a Runnymede house?
Some older Runnymede homes are being replaced with larger new ones, but a teardown is not the only route. A brick house from the 1910s often has a sound shell, and a rear or second-storey addition can add the space you need while keeping the porch and trim. We walk you through what an addition can do before you decide.
Is Runnymede in a basement flooding study area?
The City studied basement flooding in the Humber River and Bloor Street West area (Study Area 5, completed 2014), and in a Jane Street and St. Clair Avenue West area the same year. Whether your street falls inside depends on the address. Toronto also runs a basement flooding protection subsidy, and a backwater valve needs a building permit and inspection.
Do I need a permit to remove a tree for an addition?
If the tree is on your property and 30 cm or wider, measured 1.4 m above the ground, yes. Street trees are protected at any size. Since September 2026 the City also protects a new class of distinctive trees over 61 cm. When digging comes near a tree’s root zone, we bring in an arborist early so the permit does not hold up the job.
Can you lower the basement of a 1910s Runnymede house?
Usually, yes. Most Runnymede houses went up between 1912 and 1923 with basements too low for a family room or a suite. We lower the floor with engineered underpinning, dug in stages. Toronto requires a building permit, and an engineer must design the work when the new footing goes below the neighbour’s. Our guide to underpinning permit requirements explains the paperwork.
Is my Runnymede house built over the old Wendigo Creek ravine?
Possibly, if you live near the old creek line. Wendigo Creek once ran through a ravine about 15 metres deep at Bloor, with branches joining near Clendenan and Glendonwynne, and that ravine was filled in 1915. The creek now flows through storm sewers. For houses close to that line, we ask for a soil check before designing deep foundations or a large addition.
Can I turn my Runnymede house into a multiplex?
Possibly. Fourplexes are allowed across Toronto, and detached houses in Ward 4 can go up to six units under the City’s sixplex rules. Whether yours can depends on the lot, exits and fire separation. A basement unit also needs a ceiling of at least 1.95 m, or 1.85 m under beams and ducts. We test the idea before you spend on full drawings.
Should I renovate or rebuild a Runnymede house?
Some older Runnymede homes are being replaced with larger new ones, but a teardown is not the only route. A brick house from the 1910s often has a sound shell, and a rear or second-storey addition can add the space you need while keeping the porch and trim. We walk you through what an addition can do before you decide.
Is Runnymede in a basement flooding study area?
The City studied basement flooding in the Humber River and Bloor Street West area (Study Area 5, completed 2014), and in a Jane Street and St. Clair Avenue West area the same year. Whether your street falls inside depends on the address. Toronto also runs a basement flooding protection subsidy, and a backwater valve needs a building permit and inspection.
Do I need a permit to remove a tree for an addition?
If the tree is on your property and 30 cm or wider, measured 1.4 m above the ground, yes. Street trees are protected at any size. Since September 2026 the City also protects a new class of distinctive trees over 61 cm. When digging comes near a tree’s root zone, we bring in an arborist early so the permit does not hold up the job.
Do you take on kitchen renovations by themselves?
No. Kitchens and bathrooms are part of our larger projects, not stand-alone jobs. In a Runnymede house the kitchen usually moves when we open the main floor or add to the back, so we design it with the rest of the plan. That way the plumbing, structure and daylight all line up.
