Home Renovation in Roncesvalles
Home Renovation in Roncesvalles Starts With a Narrow Edwardian Lot
A home renovation in Roncesvalles usually means reworking a semi-detached house built in the early 1900s, on a lot that is narrow at the front and very deep at the back. That shape decides most of the design: where the stairs go, how light reaches the middle rooms, and how far back a rear extension can reach.
Ashford Homes has done this work on Fern Avenue and Grenadier Road, and we handle the drawings, the permits and the build ourselves. On Fern Avenue we moved the staircase to the centre of the house to open the main floor front to back, then rebuilt a failing rear addition on a new foundation. If you are weighing a full gut against smaller changes, our whole-home renovation page explains how we scope it.
Neighbourhood file
Roncesvalles at a Glance
Roncesvalles grew up along the streetcar line in the early 1900s, between High Park and the rail corridor. Its side streets are lined with brick semis that were built for families and still house them, which is why most of our work here keeps the original shell and rebuilds the inside.
Nearby neighbourhoods we renovate
- Main building era
- Early 1900s; the main street was largely built 1908 to 1924
- Typical house
- Brick Edwardian semi, often in the foursquare style
- Typical lot
- Narrow and deep, e.g. 17 ft by 165 ft on Lynd Ave
- City ward
- Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park
- Variance panel
- Committee of Adjustment, Toronto and East York
- Our work here
- Fern Ave and two Grenadier Rd renovations
What Makes Roncesvalles Homes Tricky to Renovate
Houses here are more than a century old, and most share a wall with the neighbour. Here is what we run into on Roncesvalles side streets, and how we plan around it before demolition starts.
What We Find in Roncesvalles
- Dark middle rooms on long, narrow semis
- Basements too low for a family room or rental suite
- Shared party walls that carry the neighbour's house too
- Tired rear additions built on shallow foundations
- Big houses split into flats decades ago
How We Plan for It
- Central stairs, wider openings and skylights to pull light inward
- Engineered underpinning that respects the shared wall
- Structural drawings and neighbour notice before any digging
- Rebuilding the rear addition properly, not patching it
- Converting back to one home, or legalising the units
Services in Roncesvalles
Renovation Services for Roncesvalles Homes
Most Roncesvalles projects combine two or three of these. A main-floor opening often leads to a basement lowering, and a rear extension often follows a full gut. One team plans them together.
01
Whole-Home Renovation
Full gut renovations of Edwardian semis, from the basement slab to the third-floor dormer, planned so every floor works together.
02
Basement Underpinning
Lowering 1900s basements for real ceiling height or a legal suite, engineered around the wall you share with next door.
03
Home Additions
Second and third-storey additions that add bedrooms on a lot too narrow to grow sideways.
04
Home Extensions
Rear extensions that use the deep Roncesvalles lot for a bigger kitchen, family room or mudroom.
05
Interior Redesign
Opening closed Edwardian floor plans, moving stairs and widening openings so light reaches the middle of the house.
06
Architectural Design & Permits
Measured drawings, permit sets and variance support for Roncesvalles semis, prepared in-house by our BCIN-qualified team.
Permits and Heritage on Roncesvalles Streets
Roncesvalles sits in Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park, so variance requests go to the Toronto and East York panel of the Committee of Adjustment. In 2020 the City recommended adding 162 buildings on Roncesvalles Avenue and Dundas Street West to its Heritage Register. Nearly all of them are main-street storefronts, not the houses on the side streets. Most residential work here needs a building permit and a set of permit drawings. Mature trees are common too, and the City requires a permit to injure or remove a private tree 30 cm or wider. Our architectural design and permit team checks all of this before you commit to a plan.
What Will Your Roncesvalles Project Cost?
Costs on a century-old semi depend on the foundation, the party wall and how much of the house opens up. Book a visit and we will price your actual house.
Why Choose Us
Why Roncesvalles Homeowners Hire Ashford
We Know the Roncesvalles Semi
We have opened up these houses on Fern Avenue and Grenadier Road, so we plan for shared walls, old foundations and long, narrow floor plans from the first visit.
Design and Permits In-House
Our team is BCIN-qualified, so we draw your plans and file the permit applications ourselves instead of passing you to an outside designer.
A 5-Year Warranty
We stand behind our labour and materials for five years after handover. Read what past clients say on our testimonials page.
You See Every Step
We run each job in JobTread, so your schedule, budget and site photos are visible to you throughout the renovation.
How a Roncesvalles Renovation Runs
Our Roncesvalles Projects, and Next Door
Looking for a renovation contractor near Roncesvalles? See the work behind this page: the Fern Avenue renovation with its relocated staircase, a three-storey Grenadier Road renovation that kept a legal basement apartment, and a Grenadier Road main-floor gut with a new engineered beam. If your house sits just north or west, our Junction Triangle and Swansea pages cover those streets.
Roncesvalles Renovation Questions
Can you underpin a semi-detached house in Roncesvalles?
Yes. Underpinning a Roncesvalles semi is common, but the shared party wall also supports the house next door. We work from a structural engineer’s drawings, notify the neighbour, and dig in sections so the wall is never left unsupported. See our basement underpinning page for how the work is sequenced.
How long does a full renovation of a Roncesvalles semi take?
Most whole-home renovations we take on run four to nine months of construction, plus time for design and permits beforehand. A main-floor gut can be faster: our second Grenadier Road project took about two months. We give you a realistic schedule once we have seen your house.
Do I need a building permit to renovate my house?
For most work beyond paint, flooring and cabinets, yes. Moving walls, structural changes, underpinning, new plumbing and additions all need a City of Toronto building permit. Because our team is BCIN-qualified, we prepare the drawings and file the application for you.
Is my Roncesvalles house in a heritage district?
Roncesvalles is not a Heritage Conservation District. In 2020 the City recommended adding 162 buildings on Roncesvalles Avenue and Dundas Street West to its Heritage Register, but almost all of them are main-street buildings. If your house is on the list, we check what that means for your plans before design starts.
Can I add a basement apartment to my Roncesvalles home?
Often, yes. Toronto allows secondary suites in most houses, but the basement needs enough ceiling height, proper exits and fire separation, which in older Roncesvalles homes usually means lowering the floor. On Grenadier Road we planned a full renovation around an existing legal basement apartment so it kept its status.
Do you take on kitchen-only jobs?
No. We only take on kitchens and bathrooms as part of a larger renovation, so every room is designed to work with the rest of the house. If you are planning a bigger change to a Roncesvalles house, that is exactly the kind of project we are set up for.
Can you underpin a semi-detached house in Roncesvalles?
Yes. Underpinning a Roncesvalles semi is common, but the shared party wall also supports the house next door. We work from a structural engineer’s drawings, notify the neighbour, and dig in sections so the wall is never left unsupported. See our basement underpinning page for how the work is sequenced.
How long does a full renovation of a Roncesvalles semi take?
Most whole-home renovations we take on run four to nine months of construction, plus time for design and permits beforehand. A main-floor gut can be faster: our second Grenadier Road project took about two months. We give you a realistic schedule once we have seen your house.
Do I need a building permit to renovate my house?
For most work beyond paint, flooring and cabinets, yes. Moving walls, structural changes, underpinning, new plumbing and additions all need a City of Toronto building permit. Because our team is BCIN-qualified, we prepare the drawings and file the application for you.
Is my Roncesvalles house in a heritage district?
Roncesvalles is not a Heritage Conservation District. In 2020 the City recommended adding 162 buildings on Roncesvalles Avenue and Dundas Street West to its Heritage Register, but almost all of them are main-street buildings. If your house is on the list, we check what that means for your plans before design starts.
Can I add a basement apartment to my Roncesvalles home?
Often, yes. Toronto allows secondary suites in most houses, but the basement needs enough ceiling height, proper exits and fire separation, which in older Roncesvalles homes usually means lowering the floor. On Grenadier Road we planned a full renovation around an existing legal basement apartment so it kept its status.
Do you take on kitchen-only jobs?
No. We only take on kitchens and bathrooms as part of a larger renovation, so every room is designed to work with the rest of the house. If you are planning a bigger change to a Roncesvalles house, that is exactly the kind of project we are set up for.
Which other West Toronto areas do you work in?
We work across West Toronto, from Parkdale and Junction Triangle to Bloor West Village, Swansea and the Kingsway. Each neighbourhood has its own housing stock, and our area pages explain what renovating there usually involves. See our About Us page for the full story.
