Caledon covers a lot of ground: farmland, the Niagara Escarpment and the Oak Ridges Moraine, with village cores like Inglewood, Belfountain, Caledon East and Palgrave scattered between and suburban streets in Bolton and Mayfield West. A draughty farmhouse off a concession road and a recent Mayfield West build rarely need the same things. One wants warmer rooms and straighter floors; the other, a finished basement and a kitchen that has outgrown the builder's package.
Escarpment, moraine and the growing south
The Town of Caledon dates from 1974, when the townships of Albion and Caledon, the villages of Bolton and Caledon and part of Chinguacousy Township were combined, and at close to 690 square kilometres it is by far the largest municipality in Peel. Its ground changes from one end to the other. The Niagara Escarpment runs through the west, past Terra Cotta, Cheltenham, Belfountain and the Forks of the Credit; the Oak Ridges Moraine begins at the Escarpment and runs east across the north of the town; and most of the new housing sits in the south, in Mayfield West and Valleywood and on the newer streets around Bolton.
Each landscape brings its own reviewers. Credit Valley Conservation covers the Credit side of the town and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority the Humber side, while a small area in the north drains toward the Nottawasaga River. Over those sit provincial plans, the Niagara Escarpment Plan, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and the Greenbelt Plan, which between them take in much of the rural land. Which of them applies depends on the exact lot.
Century houses on the concession roads
Many of Caledon's villages grew around mills and crossroads in the 1800s, and the Town publishes self-guided heritage walking tours of Alton, Belfountain, Cheltenham, Inglewood, Terra Cotta and other villages. Their older houses, like the farmhouses along the concession roads, have usually been renovated several times already, and owners want modern comfort without losing what makes them worth owning.
Floors, framing and past repairs
We expect sloped floors, joists notched for long-gone ductwork or plumbing, and walls built in different eras with different materials. Once those are mapped, uneven walls are shimmed or furred out and low spots in the floor are built up before drywall, flooring and trim go in, while the original features you want to keep, such as wide-plank floors, staircases or deep window sills, stay put. Thin or missing insulation is dealt with in the same opened walls, and any old wiring is left to a licensed electrician.
Getting materials down the lane
Rural jobs bring logistics a subdivision never sees. During the spring thaw the Town limits vehicles on its roads to 5 tonnes per axle, from March 1 to April 30 on paved roads and until May 15 on gravel ones, which can rule out a loaded bin truck or a full lumber delivery. We book heavy deliveries around those dates and look at the lane itself on the first visit, since its width, soft spots and turning room decide how large a bin can come in.
Rebuilding after storms and water damage
When water gets into a basement or a storm damages part of a house, the first calls usually go to a restoration or drying company and to your claims adjuster. Once the space is dry and safe, the rebuild is where we come in, working directly for homeowners or as a subcontractor to restoration companies:
- Removing damaged drywall, insulation and flooring that the drying crew has not already taken out
- Replacing framing, insulation and vapour barrier
- New drywall, taping and paint matched to the rest of the house
- Flooring, trim and tile to finish each room
In Mayfield West and Valleywood, a rebuild is often a matter of matching builder finishes. In a century home it can be a chance to fix old problems while the walls are open. Either way, you get a written, itemized scope that you can share with the adjuster.
