Plenty of Oshawa homes are owned by landlords, including student rentals close to the Durham College and Ontario Tech University campus, while older houses surround downtown and new subdivisions fill the north end. We turn rental units around between tenants, carry out ongoing repairs, rebuild rooms after water damage and bring patience to the plaster walls of Oshawa's older homes.
Turnovers for Landlords Near the North Oshawa Campus
Durham College and Ontario Tech University share a large campus on Simcoe Street North, and many houses in nearby Samac and along the Simcoe Street corridor are rented to students, often by owners who live elsewhere. Leases turn over every year or two, the window between tenants is short, and the work has to be durable enough that it does not need doing again at the next changeover.
A typical turnover for us might include:
- Filling, patching and repainting walls in a hard-wearing finish that is easy to touch up
- Swapping worn carpet for a resilient floor that stands up to heavy traffic
- Repairing doors, hinges, trim, closet tracks and cabinet hardware
- Regrouting or re-tiling tired shower surrounds
Owners who manage from another city usually want a list they can approve in pieces, so each item is priced on its own line, marked as needed before move-in or able to wait for the following summer, and photographed as it is finished.
Simcoe Heights and the Streets Built for the Motor Company Years
Robert McLaughlin moved his carriage works to Oshawa in 1876, the family began building cars in 1908, and in 1918 the business became General Motors of Canada. Housing followed the jobs. Simcoe Heights, registered as a plan of subdivision on farmland north of the old core in 1912, saw most of its building from the early 1920s and was largely complete by the late 1930s, between Simcoe Street North, Rossland Road, Mary Street and Aberdeen Street. Its larger houses went to GM managers and executives, professional families and members of the McLaughlin family, with more modest homes on the streets beside them.
Houses of that age have rarely stayed as built. Owners added dormers and rooms over garages as families grew, kitchens moved, and the wiring and insulation now date from several eras, all behind plaster on wood lath. Before any demolition, we point out materials such as old plaster, textured ceilings or loose-fill insulation that should be tested first, and testing or removal is handled by qualified specialists. Where walls come down, new drywall goes up over insulation added while the cavities are open. Across Townline Road the housing changes character: Courtice, now part of Clarington, was mostly farmland until the mid-1980s.
When Water Gets In on an Older Street
A flooded basement in Oshawa usually starts with one of two calls. If sewage is backing up through a floor drain, the Region of Durham's Works Department depot inspects and tries to find the source. The Region repairs the sanitary connection from the property line to one metre outside the foundation; the last metre and every pipe inside the house belong to the owner, and the Region notes that tree roots are a frequent cause of blocked drains, which matters on streets lined with old maples. If the water came from a burst pipe or a failed water heater instead, a plumber stops it and the space is dried, often by a restoration company working for the insurer.
Our part is the rebuild after water damage: removing wet drywall, insulation and flooring that cannot be saved, then reframing, insulating, boarding, taping, painting and laying new flooring so the room can be used again. Each room gets its own line in the scope, so it can be matched against what the adjuster has approved, and no wall is closed until a moisture reading says it is dry.
