Laneway houses in Etobicoke
Driveways are wide and side yards are workable, and the Humber and Mimico Creek put many lots inside a conservation authority's regulated area. The garage comes down, the services are trenched from the house or the street, and the new house goes up at the back of the lot with deliveries from the lane. A laneway house is a self-contained home at the back of a lot that fronts a public lane, built where the garage stood, and the lot check comes before anything is drawn.
Etobicoke, on the ground.
Etobicoke is Kingsway brick two-storeys and postwar bungalows in Alderwood, Humber Valley and Islington, most on lots wide enough to work from the driveway. In Etobicoke that means checking the lane, the fire access route and the lot depth against the rules before the design starts. The Etobicoke brief is usually a second storey on a bungalow, a rear addition with a new kitchen, or a custom home where the old house has run its course.
Read more about building in Etobicoke or the full laneway houses page.
On the drawing.
A lot check against the laneway by-law: lane frontage, fire access route, setbacks, height, lot depth
Engineered drawings and a rendering of the laneway house
Building permit filed and followed by us, with the demolition permit for the garage
Foundation, framing, envelope, roof, mechanical, electrical and finishes
Services from the main house or the street as the drawings call for
A deficiency walk with the list closed before the last payment, and a written warranty
Paper first.
A laneway house needs a building permit with engineered drawings and a demolition permit for the garage, and the fire access route is part of the review. Toronto Building issues the permit; lots along the Humber and Mimico Creek add a conservation authority review first.
- A building permit with engineered drawings is required, plus a demolition permit for the garage.
- In Toronto, laneway suites are permitted as-of-right on qualifying lots under the City's by-law; a lot outside the rules goes to the Committee of Adjustment.
- The fire access route from the street is part of the permit review.
- Other municipalities have their own additional residential unit rules. [Kam confirms which ones Savino has built under.]
The paperwork wall: WSIB, insurance, licences, the HCRA status and the warranty, on one page and dated.
| Driver | What we look at |
|---|---|
| Storeys and floor area | One storey or two, and how much of the allowed footprint is used. |
| Services | Water, sewer, gas and hydro run from the main house or from the street, and the distance sets the trenching. |
| Fire access | The route for a fire hose from the street decides whether sprinklers or other measures are needed. |
| The old garage | Demolition and whether the old slab and footings can go. |
| Finish level | Kitchen, bathroom and flooring chosen from the catalogue. |
No price per square foot on this site. The lot check and the drawings set the number.
It needs lane frontage, a fire access route from the street and the setbacks and lot depth the rules call for. We check the lot before drawings. [Kam confirms the Etobicoke rules Savino has built under.]
the City of Toronto (Toronto Building) issues the building permit and the demolition permit for the garage, and the fire access route is part of the review.
If the lot is inside the conservation authority's regulated area, its review comes before the permit and sets the limits on what can be built and where. We check the mapping at the zoning stage.
Usually. The 1950s bungalows in Alderwood, Humber Valley and Islington were built on foundations that often carry a second floor with reinforcement at the corners, and the lots have the width to crane the trusses in. The engineer confirms it from a test pit before drawings.