Home Renovation Service
Home Renovation in Highland Creek
Old Kingston Road · Military Trail · Highland Creek valley · Morningside Park
Highland Creek: an old village core and houses that step down into the valley
Highland Creek began as a village where Kingston Road crossed the creek, and Old Kingston Road still carries a few buildings that predate the suburbs around them. Most of the houses, though, came in the 1950s through the 1970s: bungalows, back-splits, and two-storeys spread over bigger lots than in central Scarborough. The University of Toronto Scarborough campus sits along Military Trail on the north edge. What sets Highland Creek apart for renovation is the land. The valley of the creek and its branches cuts through the area, so many lots slope, and a lot of houses have a basement that opens to grade on the low side. Those walkout and lookout basements are bright and roomy, but the exposed wall needs more attention than a buried one. Lots right against the valley also fall under TRCA regulation for anything done outside, which we check at the start.
Price ranges: Scarborough · cost guide
Proof of work
Recent projects in Toronto, near Highland Creek
We have not yet published a project in Highland Creek itself. Below are 3 of the 23 projects we completed in Toronto, the city Highland Creek sits in — the same crew, the same drive. See all Toronto projects.
Highland Creek lots and the houses on them
Old Kingston Road village
A handful of older houses near the original crossroads. Mixed framing, plaster, and wiring of various ages. We open a few test spots before quoting a full interior.
Valley-edge streets
Houses stepping down toward the creek with walkout basements. Interior work is ordinary; any deck, retaining wall, or regrading near the slope needs the conservation authority first.
Military Trail and the campus
Bungalows and back-splits near the university. Some owners finish a lower level for family; others ask about a legal unit and its separate exit requirements.
Morningside Park side
Larger lots near the park trails. Owners renovating the whole main floor at once, often with a new kitchen facing the backyard and ravine.
Ellesmere Road edge
More uniform 1960s back-splits. Lower family rooms with a brick fireplace wall that owners want refaced or removed.
Finishing a Highland Creek walkout basement
We begin at the walkout door. Is water reaching the sill in heavy rain? Is the slab sloped toward it? We correct what we can inside, seal the door frame, and recommend exterior grading work to the right trade if needed. Then the walls: insulation on the buried sides, a vapour-open approach on the exposed side, and new windows where old ones fog. Because the walkout gives natural light, it is a good spot for a family room or a bedroom with a full-size exit. A bathroom ties into the existing drain. Flooring is vinyl plank or tile near the door. Most walkouts take six to eight weeks. Older village-era houses on Old Kingston Road take longer, since we open test holes first and the wiring usually needs replacing.
People also ask
Home Renovation questions - Highland Creek
What drives the cost of a home renovation in Highland Creek?
On a sloped Highland Creek lot, the walkout wall decides the basement budget. The downhill side gets daylight but also takes rain against the door and windows. Sealing that wall, checking the door sill and drainage at the threshold, and choosing flooring that tolerates damp are the variables. In the village’s older houses, a panel upgrade and plaster removal can add more than the finishes do.
Our Highland Creek house backs onto the valley. What approvals do we need?
For work inside the house, only the City’s building permit where structure or plumbing changes. Outside, the TRCA regulates development near valleys and watercourses, and the City has its own ravine protection by-law covering trees and grading. A deck, addition, or new retaining wall near the slope usually needs a TRCA permit. We check your lot’s mapping before planning anything outside.
Is a walkout basement harder to keep dry?
It has one extra risk: the door. Rain can drive against it, and if the patio slopes toward the house, water pools at the sill. A good sill pan, a slight slab slope away, and a drain outside the door fix most cases. The above-grade wall is actually drier than a buried one, so the rest of the room is often easy.
Let’s talk
Contact Osoba Renos & Design
Planning a home renovation in Highland Creek? Book a free in-home estimate.
- Phone647-562-4275
- E-mailosobarenos@gmail.com
- Service areaMississauga & GTA