City of Toronto
Old Toronto, East York, York, Etobicoke, North York and Scarborough — from the Victorian semis of Cabbagetown, Riverdale and the Annex to the post-war bungalows of Scarborough and Etobicoke.
Mississauga
Mississauga's houses range from the older lots in Port Credit, Clarkson and Lorne Park, many with masonry chimneys over wood fireplaces, to the 1970s to 1990s subdivisions of Erin Mills and Meadowvale, where a brick chimney often carries a fireplace plus a furnace or water heater flue.
Brampton
Brampton mixes older brick homes around downtown and Bramalea with large newer subdivisions in Springdale, Castlemore and Mount Pleasant. The older houses have masonry chimneys that need repointing and caps; many newer ones have factory-built wood fireplaces with metal chimneys that still need sweeping and a WETT check.
Vaughan
Vaughan homes, from Woodbridge and Thornhill to Maple and Kleinburg, are often larger, custom-built houses with more than one fireplace, stone or brick surrounds and tall chimneys with several flues.
Markham
Markham ranges from the heritage buildings of Main Street Unionville and Markham Village to newer communities like Cornell and Berczy Village. Heritage-area houses need mortar that suits old, soft brick, while newer homes mostly need sweeping and inspections.
Oakville
Oakville's older neighbourhoods near the lake — Old Oakville and Bronte — have century houses with brick chimneys exposed to the wind off Lake Ontario. Newer areas like Glen Abbey and Joshua Creek have larger homes with one or two fireplaces.
Burlington
Burlington's older streets in Roseland, Aldershot and around downtown have mid-century brick homes with wood fireplaces, while the north end — Headon Forest, Millcroft, Alton Village — is newer construction with prefab fireplaces.
Hamilton
Hamilton has some of the oldest brick housing in the region. Neighbourhoods like Durand, Kirkendall and Westdale are full of century homes with tall brick chimneys, and many of them have seen a century of freeze-thaw with only occasional patching.
Newmarket
Newmarket and nearby Aurora sit north of the city, where winters run colder and wood-burning is more common than downtown. Many homes here heat part of the house with a wood stove or insert, which means more creosote and more sweeping.
Durham Region
East of Toronto, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby and Oshawa combine older brick homes near the lake and in downtown Oshawa and Whitby with large post-2000 subdivisions. Further out, Brooklin, Courtice, Bowmanville and Port Perry have more wood stoves and rural chimneys.
Further out
We also go to Barrie, Orangeville, Milton, Bradford and the towns between. Call (289) 819-4700 and we will confirm the day.
