House Painters in St. Andrew-Windfields, Toronto
St. Andrew-Windfields is City of Toronto neighbourhood 40, in the former municipality of North York. Locally it is just called York Mills, and the corner everything hangs off is Bayview Avenue and York Mills Road. York Mills Road runs 7.5 km east from Yonge Street out to Victoria Park Avenue, crossing Bayview, Leslie, Don Mills Road and the Don Valley Parkway. Highway 401 runs through the neighbourhood rather than around it.
The street names give away what used to be here. Foursome Crescent, The Links Road, Tournament Drive, Medalist Road, Troon Court and Zaharias Court all sit on the old St. Andrew's Golf Course, which ran south of the 401 and east of Yonge from 1927 into the 1950s. Stanley Thompson designed it, it hosted the Canadian Open in 1935 and 1936, then it was redeveloped for housing. A second cluster carries mill names: Anvil Millway, Powderhorn Millway and Sugar Millway. There are 118 named residential streets inside the boundary.
The rest of the map is the everyday stuff. St. Andrew's Park on Knollwood Street, Dunlace Park, Mossgrove Park. York Mills Collegiate Institute at 490 York Mills Road, Windfields Junior High on Banbury Road, Owen Public School on Owen Boulevard. St. John's York Mills at 19 Don Ridge Drive, founded in 1816. Longo's at 808 York Mills Road, York Mills station and Oriole GO. It is a driving neighbourhood, and sidewalks are often only on one side of the road.
What Painting a St. Andrew-Windfields Home Involves
A house here is not an old Toronto house and it is not a new one. Only 18% of the dwellings were built before 1960, against 33% across Toronto, while 47% went up between 1961 and 1980, against 31% city-wide. That one number decides most of the work.
Start with lead, because nobody can see it. Lead in paint was first regulated in Canada in 1976, so assume any house built before 1980 has lead in the paint indoors and out. Exterior paint took longer to regulate, so coats applied before 1990 may also carry high levels. About 65% of the housing here predates 1981. The worst of it sits where a repaint lands: window trim, baseboards, banisters, cupboards, doors and porches. So no dry sanding and no heat gun. We seal the room off, keep the surface wet while we scrape, and run a HEPA vacuum throughout.
Then the stock itself. The original houses run from ranch bungalows and split-levels to Tudor-inspired manor houses and English Cottage designs, built from the late 1920s through the 1960s. Plenty have been heavily renovated and custom builds keep replacing the rest. On a solid 1960s or 1970s house, refinishing beats replacing, and on kitchen cabinets refinishing here means painting. We do not stain cabinets.
Ravines change access, not the paint. The Toronto ravine system is prominently featured here and the greenery is a protected and distinguishable feature of it. Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 658 says no person shall injure, destroy or remove a tree on land in a protected area without a permit, and the same goes for placing fill or altering the grade. Painting is not tree work. It matters when the only way to a back elevation is to stage off a slope.
Last, the calendar. Paint needs a dry, mild stretch to cure, so exterior work goes in between late April and mid-October. See our interior painting and exterior painting.
Residential and Commercial Painting in St. Andrew-Windfields
St. Andrew-Windfields is two housing markets sharing one boundary. 51% of the 6,685 private dwellings are single detached, more than double Toronto's 24%, and 67% of households own against 53% across the city. That is the whole-house side of the work: interiors after a renovation, trim and doors, split-level stair walls and kitchen cabinets, on streets like Fenn Avenue, Owen Boulevard, Banbury Road, Dunlace Drive and Harrison Road.
The other market is towers. 27% of dwellings here are apartments of five storeys or more, another 9% are under five storeys, 1,180 units are condos, and a third of households rent. The buildings sit close together: 740 and 750 York Mills Road at 18 storeys each, 17 Farmstead Road at 18, 20 and 26 Carluke Crescent at 13, and 18, 28 and 38 William Carson Crescent. That work is suites between tenants or before a sale, plus corridors and common areas, on the building's hours.
There is commercial stock inside the boundary too. The office cluster runs along Duncan Mill Road at 180, 225 and 240, seven to nine storeys, with 105 Moatfield Drive at 13, and Lesmill Road and Scarsdale Road beside them. Offices get painted after hours. Same crew, same prep list, bungalow or office floor.
The Painting Services We Offer in St. Andrew-Windfields
The jobs we handle on a St. Andrew-Windfields home, most on the same visit.
Interior painting
Walls, ceilings, trim, doors and closets, in low-odour paint.
Exterior painting
Siding, fascia, soffits, trim and brick, washed, scraped and primed first.
Cabinet painting
Doors off, degreased, sanded and sprayed. No brush marks. See cabinet painting.
Drywall and plaster repair
Cracks, holes, stains and the seams where new drywall joins an original wall. See drywall and plaster repair.
Deck and fence staining
Ravine lots keep wood damp and shaded. See deck and fence staining.
Wallpaper removal
Scored, steamed, stripped and skimmed smooth.
Ceiling painting
Water stains sealed first so they do not bleed through.
Trim, doors and railings
Baseboards, casings, and the stair walls and railings in the split-levels.
Power washing
Dirt, chalk and mildew off before any exterior coat goes on.
Great customer service, job done professionally, very happy with the result, definitely recommend.
Why choose us
Why St. Andrew-Windfields Homeowners Choose Co Painting
The 1961 to 1980 house is our normal week
Split-level sightlines and long runs of original trim are not a surprise on site. We can read where these houses show a bad cut line.
Lead-era prep comes standard
About 65% of the housing here predates 1981, so on the original stock we treat lead as a given and prep wet and contained. Not a special request.
We already know these streets
Detached houses off Fenn Avenue one day, a suite on William Carson Crescent the next. A crew that works both knows where the time goes, so the estimate holds.
The price is in writing and the work is backed
We look at the actual house and put the numbers in writing before we start. Insured and licensed in Ontario, with a three-year warranty and up to twelve years on cabinets.
Detailed Written Estimates in St. Andrew-Windfields
Our shop is at 25 St Dennis Drive, south of the neighbourhood. These are routed, not guessed. 6.4 km and about 12 minutes to York Mills Collegiate at 490 York Mills Road, up Don Mills Road and Lawrence Avenue East. 7.9 km and about 13 minutes to Bayview and York Mills. 9.6 km and about 16 minutes to Yonge and York Mills. Call or fill in the form and we come out, walk the rooms or elevations with you, and leave a detailed written estimate.
Co Painting, 25 St Dennis Drive, Toronto, ON M3C 1E6. Call (416) 319-8444.
FAQ
St. Andrew-Windfields Painting Questions, Answered
Do you actually paint in St. Andrew-Windfields, or just nearby?
We paint there every week. From 25 St Dennis Drive it is 6.4 km and about 12 minutes to York Mills Collegiate at 490 York Mills Road, and about 16 minutes to Yonge and York Mills.
Most houses here were built between 1961 and 1980. Should I worry about lead paint?
Treat it as a given on the original stock. Lead in paint was first regulated in Canada in 1976, so assume any house built before 1980 has lead in the paint indoors and out. Exterior coats applied before 1990 can still carry high levels. The risk comes from dry sanding and heat guns, and we use neither.
Is my house in a heritage district that controls the exterior colour?
No. Toronto has 29 designated Heritage Conservation Districts and not one covers St. Andrew-Windfields, York Mills or Bayview north of Lawrence, and no HCD study is running here either. Individual properties can still be listed or designated on the Heritage Register, so look your address up in the City's Heritage Property Search if you want certainty.
My lot backs onto a ravine. Does that change the job?
It can change access, not the paint. Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 658 says no person shall injure, destroy or remove a tree on land in a protected area without a permit, and it says the same about dumping fill or altering the grade. Painting is not tree work, but if the only way to a back elevation is off a slope, we plan that before the day.
Can you repaint my 1970s kitchen cabinets instead of replacing them?
Yes, and on a solid wood kitchen it is usually the better call. Doors come off and get sprayed, so there are no brush lines. Refinishing here means painting. We do not stain cabinets, and the cabinet work carries a warranty of up to twelve years.
Do you paint suites in the buildings on York Mills Road and William Carson Crescent?
Yes. 27% of the dwellings here are apartments of five storeys or more, with 1,180 condo units. Suites between tenants or before a sale, plus corridors and common areas, on the building's hours.
We opened up walls in a split-level. Will the new drywall match the old?
It will once it is prepared. Where fresh drywall meets original wall, the joint telegraphs through the paint if you just roll over it. We skim those seams flat and prime them, so the room reads as one surface.
When is the best time for exterior painting in St. Andrew-Windfields?
Late April to mid-October. Paint needs a dry, mild stretch to cure and Toronto gives you only so many. The exterior calendar fills early, so call ahead.
Are you insured, and how do I get a price?
Fully insured and licensed in Ontario, and we can show you the paperwork before we start. For a price, book a visit. We come out, look at the actual rooms or elevations, and leave a detailed written estimate.
See the Other Areas We Serve
Three neighbourhoods that share a boundary with St. Andrew-Windfields have pages here: Bayview Village, Parkwoods and Don Mills. We paint the rest of North York too, including York Mills, Willowdale, Don Valley Village and Henry Farm.