PROJECT STORY - HIGH PARK, TORONTO
Storm-Damaged Solarium, Rebuilt From the Studs Up
A fallen tree crushed the glass roof of this ravine-side sunroom. What we found underneath ruled out a patch job — so we rebuilt the entire structure on its original footprint, in six weeks.
LOCATION
High Park, Toronto
DURATION
6 Weeks
SCOPE
Full Demolition & Rebuild
STRUCTURE
Glass-Roof Solarium
01 — THE SITUATION
A tree came down. The damage went deeper than the glass.
This solarium was the heart of the home — a glass-roofed garden room overlooking a High Park ravine, filled with the owners' plants year-round. When a tree fell onto the roof, the family covered the broken panels with tarps and started looking for someone who could do more than replace glass.
Impact damage to a solarium is rarely just the panel you can see. The frame absorbs the load, joints shift, and seals fail — and once water gets in, it keeps working on the structure quietly. Our first assessment made it clear this would need to be opened up before anyone could promise a fix.
02 — THE BUILD LOG
Six weeks, documented at every phase.
We photograph our projects the way we run them — openly. Here is how the rebuild actually happened.
PHASE
01
PROTECT & CONTAIN
Sealing the home before a single cut
Before demolition began, every opening between the solarium and the main house was sealed with poly sheeting and Tuck Tape. Dust, debris, and weather stayed out of the living space for the entire project.
PHASE
02
DEMOLITION
Taking the damaged structure down safely
The crushed roof, glazing, and frame were dismantled piece by piece — a controlled teardown, not a wrecking job, on a tight ravine-side lot with the house wall just inches away.
PHASE
03
WHAT WE FOUND
Rot throughout the knee walls
With the structure open, the real story showed itself: years of trapped moisture had rotted the wood framing and sheathing along the base walls. This is exactly why a glass-only repair would have failed — the solarium was standing on compromised wood. Everything rotten came out, down to sound material.
PHASE
04
REBUILD
New framing, insulation, and vapour barrier
New walls went up on the original footprint: fresh lumber, full insulation, and a sealed vapour barrier — the details behind the finishes that decide whether a solarium stays warm, dry, and rot-free for the next few decades.
PHASE
05
THE NEW SOLARIUM
Same silhouette, new structure
The owners loved the original design, so we rebuilt the solarium in its exact form — same gable roofline, same glass walls, same connection to the ravine — with a brand-new frame, new glazing, and new sliding doors behind it all.
03 — THE RESULT
The garden room, back — better built than before.
Six weeks after demolition began, the family moved their plants back in. The solarium looks like the room they've always loved. Underneath, it's a new building: sound framing, proper insulation, a sealed envelope, and fresh glazing from roof to sill.
04 — WHY HOMEOWNERS TRUST US
Fully insured.
Fully documented.
Fully accountable.
WSIB Coverage
Every member of our crew is covered under WSIB. If anything happens on your property, you carry zero liability for our workers.
$5M Liability Insurance
We carry five million dollars in commercial general liability insurance — and we'll show you the certificate before work begins.
Documented Work
We photograph what's behind your walls — the rot we remove, the insulation we install, the barriers we seal — so you see exactly what you paid for.
05 — FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS