House Painters in Willowdale, North York
Willowdale runs up Yonge Street from Highway 401 and Sheppard to the hydro corridor north of Finch, Bathurst Street on the west edge and Bayview Avenue on the east. North York City Centre, centred on Yonge at Empress and Park Home, is the core of it. The city keeps the tall building on Yonge itself, so the towers line the main street and the houses sit behind.
The census numbers show how lopsided that is. In Willowdale East, 72% of the 23,901 private dwellings are apartments in buildings of five storeys or more, and 73% of occupied dwellings are condos. Across the City of Toronto those same two figures are 44% and 26%. Willowdale West is quieter but still 61% apartments, with single-detached houses making up 27% of 8,054 dwellings.
The age of the stock catches people out. Willowdale is not an old neighbourhood. Only 7% of Willowdale East dwellings were built before 1960 and 57% went up in 2001 or later. Willowdale West is older at 22% pre-1960, still under the city average of 33%. So the first question here is not how old the place is. It is tower unit or house behind Yonge.
What Painting in Willowdale Actually Deals With
Take Doris Avenue, running parallel to Yonge behind North York Centre. It sounds like a house street. It is not. Doris carries The Boulevard at 188, a 21-storey building at 238, The Imperial I at 256 and The Imperial II at 260, and the 33-storey Grand Triomphe 2 at 500. On a street like that, painting is a building job first.
Every one of those buildings writes its own rules, and under Ontario's Condo Act everyone inside follows them, contractors included. So we book the service elevator through the property manager before we lock in your date, send the certificate of insurance the corporation wants, pad the lift and corridor, and park where we are told. The dock is shared with movers, so that booking sets your start day.
Hours are the other one. The Toronto noise bylaw blocks construction noise from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays, until 9 a.m. Saturdays, and all day Sunday and statutory holidays. Most boards tighten that further. We keep the loud work inside the window the building allows.
Interior and Exterior Painting in Willowdale
Inside, condos need low-odour paint, protected hallways, and a crew that respects the building rules. Most one-bedroom units finish in a day or two.
The houses behind Yonge are a different job. Cracks above door frames, wood trim buried under a dozen coats, hallways worn by family traffic. Newer walls are drywall and older ones can be plaster, and the repair is not the same, so we check before we quote. Then we cut the cracks open, fill, prime, and finish in low-VOC paint.
Outside, sun on the south wall and Toronto freeze-thaw lift paint off wood siding every few years. We scrape back to solid wood, prime, and repaint when the weather allows. See our interior painting and exterior painting pages for more detail.
Residential and Commercial Painting
Most of our Willowdale work is homes and condos. We also paint the small retail and office units along Yonge and Sheppard, working evenings and weekends when the tenant needs it.
Old Paint and Lead in the Older Willowdale Houses
This never comes up on a 2008 condo, and most of Willowdale is that new. On the older houses it does, and the advice you usually read is wrong. Canada did not regulate lead in paint until 1976, not 1960. Assume any house built before 1980 has it, inside and out, and that exterior paint from before 1990 can still carry high levels. Before 1960 it ran as high as 30 to 50% pure lead, worst on the surfaces people touch: window trim, baseboards, banisters, doors and porches.
So we do not dry sand old paint and we never use a heat gun. A heat gun turns lead into vapour. Dry sanding turns it into a fine dust that travels through the house. We seal the room, prep wet, vacuum with a HEPA filter, and sheet the ground outside so the scrapings stay out of the soil.
The Painting Services We Offer
These are the jobs we handle on a North York home, most of them on the same visit.
Interior painting
Walls, ceilings, trim, doors, and closets, patched and primed first. Low-odour paint, so most rooms are back in use the same day.
Exterior painting
Wood siding, aluminum, brick, porches, and railings. We wash, scrape, and prime first, because that is what lasts a Toronto winter.
Cabinet painting
Doors come off, get degreased, sanded, and sprayed, so there are no brush marks. See cabinet painting.
Drywall and plaster repair
Cracks, holes, water stains, and open seams, skimmed flat and primed so the repair disappears. See drywall and plaster repair.
Deck and fence staining
Backyard wood greys out fast. We wash, dry, and stain it so it sheds water. See deck and fence staining.
Wallpaper removal
We score, steam, strip the glue, and skim the wall smooth so it is ready to paint.
Ceiling painting
Flat, even ceilings with the water stains blocked first. On a wavy ceiling, flat paint hides the dips instead of lighting them up.
Trim, crown molding, and doors
Baseboards, casings, crown, and doors filled, caulked, sanded, and finished hard enough to take daily knocks.
Stucco and siding
We prep stucco, aluminum, and vinyl, then use coatings that move with the surface instead of cracking off.
Power washing
Dirt, chalk, and mildew washed off before any exterior paint, so the new coat grabs the surface.
Co Painting did an amazing job on our home interior. They were professional, punctual, and the quality of work exceeded our expectations.
Why choose us
Why Willowdale Homeowners Choose Co Painting
We've painted a lot of North York homes
Condo units, postwar bungalows, brick two-storey houses, and the newer rebuilds are our normal week. That is a crew that knows this part of the city, not one learning on your job.
We prep pre-1980 homes the safe way
On anything built before 1980 we treat lead as a given, so we contain the dust and prep wet. The City's neighbourhood profiles carry the census housing data for your own street.
You get the price in writing, with no surprises
We look at the actual house or unit, walk you through what it needs, and put the estimate in writing. No add-ons at the end.
We are insured, and we stand behind it
100% insured and licensed in Ontario, rated 5.0 across 70 Google reviews, with a three-year warranty on the work.
Free Estimates in Willowdale
We paint across Willowdale regularly, from the towers near North York Centre to the streets south of Finch. Call or fill out the form and we come to you.
The run up from our shop is St Dennis Drive to Wynford Drive, through Concorde Place and Concorde Gate, north on the Don Valley Parkway, then west on Highway 401 and north on Yonge. About 14.5 km and 17 minutes to North York Centre on clear roads, 13.8 km and 15 minutes to Yonge and Sheppard.
We work all over this stretch: the towers around North York Centre station and Empress Walk, the civic block at 5100 Yonge with Mel Lastman Square, the houses near Earl Haig Secondary at 100 Princess Avenue, and the streets around Gibson House and Edithvale Park.
Co Painting, 25 St Dennis Drive, North York, ON M3C 1E6. Call (416) 319-8444.
FAQ
Willowdale Painting Questions, Answered
Do you paint condos in Willowdale near North York Centre?
Yes, all the time. We handle elevator bookings, parking, and work-hour rules, and most one-bedroom units finish in a day or two.
Do you paint the older homes behind Yonge, not just condos?
Yes. The bungalows and brick two-storey houses on the side streets are a big share of our Willowdale work, inside and out, along with the newer houses that replaced them.
How old are most Willowdale homes?
Newer than people assume. Only 7% of dwellings in Willowdale East were built before 1960 and 57% went up in 2001 or later. Willowdale West is older at 22% pre-1960, which is still under the Toronto average of 33%.
My building has strict painting hours. Can you work within them?
Yes. We book with the concierge or property manager and work to the building rules instead of fighting them.
Is the paint safe for kids and pets?
Yes. We use low-VOC, low-odour paint so you are not driven out of the unit for days.
My house is from the 1950s. Should I worry about lead paint?
Assume yes. Canada did not regulate lead in paint until 1976, so any house built before 1980 can have it, and exterior paint from before 1990 can still carry high levels. We seal the room, prep wet, use a HEPA vacuum, and never dry sand or use a heat gun.
Does my condo board have to approve the work first?
Usually something has to be filed. Under the Condo Act the building rules apply to everyone inside, contractors included. We deal with the property manager, send the certificate of insurance, and book the service elevator before we set your date.
Can you paint my kitchen cabinets?
Yes. We spray them for a smooth finish. See our cabinet painting page.
When should I book exterior painting?
Late spring through early fall. We fill the exterior calendar early, so it helps to call ahead.
How do I get a price?
Call or fill out the form. We look at the actual job and give you the number in writing.
See the Other Areas We Serve
We also serve the neighbourhoods around Willowdale: Bayview Village, York Mills, North York Centre, Don Valley Village.