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Modern open-concept kitchen and living area renovation.

PROJECT STORY - THE BEACHES, TORONTO

A century home, levelled and reopened

The Beaches, Toronto — full main floor renovation, structural levelling, and an open-concept rebuild.

100+ year old home

Full main floor gut renovation

Structural floor levelling

Plumbing stack relocation

01 — THE SITUATION

Ground that never stopped moving

Over a hundred years old, this Beaches home had settled unevenly over time — one side was visibly sinking, and the floors on both levels had gone noticeably crooked. It wasn't just cosmetic. The floor system itself needed to be corrected before anything else could be rebuilt on top of it.

The homeowners came to us wanting a full main floor renovation — a real open-concept layout joining the living room, kitchen, and dining room into one space. But the lean in the house meant that job started below the floorboards, not with the finishes.

Kitchen with white cabinets and dark countertops in Reno
Modern kitchen with white cabinets and mosaic backsplash.
Stepped wall staircase in a Beaches century home renovation.

02 — THE BUILD LOG

01

Demolition & discovery

We gutted the entire first floor down to the studs. This gave us full access to the original floor structure and confirmed what the lean upstairs had already suggested: the framing had shifted and settled unevenly across the footprint of the house.

Exposed lath wall and staircase during home renovation

02

Structural levelling

Our structural engineer reviewed the existing framing and confirmed what the unstable soil below had caused. Rather than tearing out the original structure entirely, we built a new, levelled floor system on top of the existing framing — engineered and signed off to bring the entire first floor back to true. Permits for the structural work were reviewed and approved without issue.

Exposed wooden floor joists and wall framing in The Beaches century reno.

03

Plumbing stack relocation

The home's main plumbing stack originally ran straight through the middle of the first floor — the single biggest obstacle to an open layout. We relocated it into the adjacent wall, freeing up the centre of the home entirely. All plumbing work was permitted and approved through the standard city process. This move also let us add a new powder room, tucked neatly into the reworked layout.

Interior home renovation showing exposed wood wall framing.

04

Soundproofing the party wall

This home shares a wall with the house next door, and there was no soundproofing between them at all — every sound crossed straight through. While the wall was already open, we built a full acoustic assembly: insulation between the studs, a layer of drywall, resilient metal channels, an acoustic panel, and a final layer of drywall on top. The result: neither household can hear the other anymore, and no sound leaks between the two homes.

Green waterproof wall membrane in a home renovation site next to wooden stairs.

05

Open-concept build-out

With the floor levelled and the stack out of the way, we rebuilt the main floor as one continuous space — living room, kitchen, and dining room flowing into each other, framed by clean sightlines and natural light.

Modern kitchen renovation in The Beaches with green cabinets

06

Scope expansion: the second floor

Partway through the project, the homeowners saw what levelling the main floor had done for the home and asked us to take it further — extending the same structural levelling up to the second floor. We renovated the upstairs bathroom as part of this, raising its floor to match the new, levelled second-floor height throughout.

Modern bedroom interior in The Beaches Century Reno.

03 — THE RESULT

Level, open, and finally whole

A century-old home that finally sits level — inside and out. What was once a sinking, crooked structure is now a bright, open main floor where the living room, kitchen, and dining room move as one space, plus a new powder room and a fully levelled second floor with a renovated bathroom to match.

Modern kitchen renovation in The Beaches with green cabinets.
Modern home office with standing desk and black chair
Modern renovated bedroom at The Beaches Century Reno
Modern kitchen hallway in The Beaches Century Reno
Modern black frame windows in a renovated room with plants.
Black floor vent in The Beaches Century Reno kitchen floor
Modern living room with white sectional and large window

04 — WHY HOMEOWNERS TRUST US

Fully insured.
Fully documented.
Fully accountable.

WSIB Coverage

You carry zero liability for our workers.

Fully permitted

Structural & plumbing permits approve

One in-house team

Design, engineering & construction, no subs

$5M insurance

Commercial liability for peace of mind

2-year warranty

Minimum on all completed work

Zero failed inspections

Clean record since founding

05 — FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can a 100+ year old home actually be levelled?
Yes. Older homes settle unevenly over decades as the original framing and foundation shift. A structural engineer can assess exactly where and how much a floor has moved, and in most cases a corrective floor system can be engineered and built on top of the existing structure — no need to tear the home down to its foundation.

What causes a house to lean or sink on one side?
It's usually gradual settlement — soil movement or aging foundations. In this case, the soil beneath the street was once a riverbed, and ground like that settles unevenly over decades. It's a common story in older Beaches homes.

Do you need permits to relocate a plumbing stack or level a floor?
Yes, and we handle that as part of the project. Structural and plumbing work of this kind requires permits and inspection sign-off, which we coordinate in-house from start to finish.

Will a project like this disrupt the whole house?
It depends on scope. A main-floor renovation with structural correction is a significant project, and if it expands — as this one did to include the second floor — the timeline and disruption grow with it. We'll walk you through what to expect for your specific home before work begins.

Can I change the scope partway through the project?
Yes — as this project shows. If you see the impact of the work in progress and want to expand it, we can scope that in, though it will affect the timeline. We'll always be upfront about what a scope change means for your schedule.

Can you soundproof a shared wall between semi-detached or row houses?
Yes. If a wall is already open for other work, it's an efficient time to add a full acoustic assembly — insulation between the studs, a base layer of drywall, resilient metal channels, an acoustic panel, and a final drywall layer. Done properly, it can eliminate sound transfer between homes entirely.

Modern living room with sectional sofa and large window

Is your century home settling unevenly?

We'll assess the structure, tell you honestly what's involved, and handle the whole project in-house — from the engineer's report to the final floor.

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