Home Renovation Service
Home Renovation in Islington Village
Dundas Street West · Islington Avenue · Montgomery’s Inn · Burnhamthorpe Road
Islington Village keeps a small old core around Dundas, ringed by post-war split-levels
Islington started as a crossroads village on Dundas Street, and you can still see it: Montgomery’s Inn, the stone inn from the 1800s that is now a museum, and a short run of shops on Dundas with murals telling the area’s history. A few older houses stand on the streets just off that strip. Most of the neighbourhood, though, was built after the war, when the farms around the village were subdivided into bungalows, side-splits, and back-splits, with apartment buildings closer to the main roads. So the work here comes in two kinds. Near the old core we deal with older framing and some homes that may be listed on the City’s heritage register. On the post-war streets, we work with split-level plans that have their own logic, where opening one room affects the stair and the floors above and below. We plan both kinds from a first visit with a tape measure and a flashlight.
Price ranges: Etobicoke · cost guide
Proof of work
Recent projects in Etobicoke, near Islington Village
We have not yet published a project in Islington Village itself. Below are 3 of the 9 projects we completed in Etobicoke, the city Islington Village sits in — the same crew, the same drive. See all Etobicoke projects.
Islington Village pockets and what we plan for
Dundas strip and old core
The few early houses and the buildings near Montgomery’s Inn. For anything with heritage listing, interior work generally needs only a building permit, but we confirm the property’s status first and keep exterior changes out of our scope.
Side-split streets
Four-level side-splits from the late 1950s and 60s. The kitchen usually sits on the middle level, half a flight above the family room. Opening it toward the living room means reworking the stair railing and sometimes the wall above.
Bungalow streets toward Burnhamthorpe
Brick bungalows on good lots. Full-height basements make a lower-level suite practical. Owners also ask about turning the third bedroom into a larger primary closet and ensuite.
Mimico Creek side
Streets near the creek and its parks sit lower. Drainage, sump pits, and backwater valves get attention before we finish a basement here, and valley lots carry conservation authority rules.
Apartments near the main roads
Rental and condo buildings along Dundas and Islington. Unit renovations run under management rules: noise hours, elevator bookings, and sometimes restrictions on what flooring can go down.
Opening up an Islington side-split without losing its levels
The job we see most often here is a side-split whose closed kitchen sits half a level above the family room and half a level below the bedrooms. We remove the kitchen and the wall between it and the living room first, then look at what that wall carries; in many side-splits it supports the floor above the bedrooms. An engineer sizes a beam. The solid half-wall along the stairs comes out and is replaced with a glass or spindle railing, which opens sightlines between three levels at once. The new kitchen runs along the outside wall with an island facing the living room. The family-room level often gets new flooring, a gas fireplace surround, and a powder room in the old laundry nook. Surprises tend to be ducts running through the bearing wall. Expect ten to twelve weeks.
People also ask
Home Renovation questions - Islington Village
What drives the cost of a home renovation in Islington Village?
Islington Village mixes a handful of older houses near Dundas with streets of post-war bungalows, side-splits, and low-rise apartments. The older houses carry the most unknowns: settled floors, mixed wiring, and occasionally heritage questions. Side-splits are cheap to refinish but awkward to open up because their half-levels stack floors in odd ways. Apartment and condo units add building rules and longer scheduling.
Can you open up a side-split?
Yes, though it takes more planning than a bungalow. The levels mean one wall often supports floors above it, and the stair is part of the layout. We check what each wall carries and how the ducts run before designing anything. A beam and a new railing usually do most of the work. The result connects three levels, not just two rooms.
Is my house near Montgomery’s Inn designated as heritage?
A few properties around the old Islington core are on the City’s heritage register; most houses in the neighbourhood are not. We look up your address before planning. If it is designated or listed, interior work usually goes ahead normally, but changes to the outside need heritage review, and we do not take on exterior work ourselves.
Let’s talk
Contact Osoba Renos & Design
Planning a home renovation in Islington Village? Book a free in-home estimate.
- Phone647-562-4275
- E-mailosobarenos@gmail.com
- Service areaMississauga & GTA