Century homes — the semis and Victorians of Toronto and the older cores of many GTA towns — are the most interesting tile work we do. Floors are rarely level, walls are rarely plumb, and no two rooms are quite the same size.
Layout planning is the whole job
In a new build you can start from a centre line and work out. In a 1910 semi, if you do that you end up with a half-inch sliver of tile at one doorway and a full tile at the other, and it will bother you every day.
We dry-lay the first rows before mortaring anything. It takes an hour and it decides how the finished floor reads. Where a room is badly out of square, the right answer is usually to line the layout up with the most visible sightline and absorb the difference where nobody looks.
What else these houses throw up
- Original plank subfloors that need plywood over them before tile
- Real slope — an inch across a room is not unusual
- Narrow stairs and no parking, which changes how material gets in
- Old wiring or plumbing occasionally found mid-demolition
- Rooms that used to be three rooms, with subfloor changes where walls once stood
Condos are a different set of rules
Condo work comes with its own constraints: building rules, elevator bookings, quiet hours, protecting common areas, and often an insurance certificate filed with property management before work can start. We handle all of it, but it needs planning, and it is why condo timelines are less flexible than house timelines.
Be wary of a quote given over the phone
For an older house in particular, a number given without a site visit is a number that will change. We would rather come out, look properly and give you something you can rely on. More on why the floor underneath matters.
Get a free estimate
Ultra Renovations Inc has been installing tile across Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa and the wider GTA for over ten years. We are a registered Ontario corporation with general liability insurance.
Call (647) 648-8985 or request a free estimate and we will come out, measure properly, look at your subfloor, and give you a written quote for your home at no cost.