Sawdust & Steel
York region

Residential carpentry in Markham.

Markham is our quietest city to work in and one of our favourites. Clients here tend to know exactly what they want, ask sharp technical questions, and care about how the thing gets built — not just how it looks. We do a lot of built-ins, home-office work, and finish-carpentry upgrades on the Cornell and Berczy new-builds, plus the occasional heritage job in Unionville.

Custom built-in library wall with adjustable shelves in a Markham home office
Markham
0+Projects completed
0Years in business
5-YearWarranty on all work
0%Licensed & insured
on the ground in markham

What we see when we work here.

The houses

Markham splits into three waves of housing. Unionville and Main Street Markham are heritage — 1800s and early 1900s homes, Victorian and Edwardian trim profiles, protected streetscapes. Berczy Village, Cathedraltown, and Cachet are 1990s–2000s large-lot subdivisions with monster two-stories — engineered floor systems, coffered ceilings, full custom millwork in the original builder spec. Cornell is the 2005-onward new-urbanist district — narrower lots, rear-lane garages, tighter architectural controls. We do different work in each. Cornell clients usually want custom built-ins and home offices; Berczy clients want kitchen updates; Unionville clients want trim restoration that matches what's already there.

The site

Markham's soil is predictable clay till across most of the city — frost footings behave, drainage is standard. The Rouge River corridor runs through the east side of the city and anything near it falls under TRCA regulation, but most Markham jobs are well away from it. The quirk we watch for is engineered floor systems — Markham has more I-joists per square mile than almost any other GTA city, and cutting one for a duct run or a plumbing drop is not the same as cutting a solid 2x10. We always check the span tables and reinforce with LVL bottom chords when we have to. If you're removing a load-bearing wall in a Markham two-story, the LVL sizing is often driven by the I-joist spans more than the actual load.

The permits

City of Markham Building Standards at 101 Town Centre Boulevard. The plans examiners are sharp — we've had them flag a joist-hanger nailing pattern that was technically OBC-compliant but non-ideal, and they were right to flag it. Typical permit timelines: deck 3–5 weeks, kitchen/bathroom reno 5–8 weeks, second-storey addition 8–12 weeks. Heritage Markham reviews anything in the Unionville heritage conservation district and adds 4–6 weeks. Cornell architectural review is handled by a separate committee for exterior work and is usually fast if your submission is clean.

services in markham

Six trades. One crew.

Custom Decks & Patios

From cedar classics to modern composite — outdoor living spaces built to endure.

Custom Decks & Patios in Markham →Kitchen Renovations

Full gut renovations down to cabinet refacing — one crew, one timeline, one final bill.

Kitchen Renovations in Markham →Bathroom Remodels

Walk-in showers, custom tile, accessibility upgrades — built to feel like the rest of your house, not a hotel.

Bathroom Remodels in Markham →Framing & Structural Work

New builds, load-bearing wall removals, structural repairs — with the structural engineer on speed-dial.

Framing & Structural Work in Markham →Finish Carpentry & Trim

Crown molding, built-ins, wainscoting — the work you'll look at every day for ten years.

Finish Carpentry & Trim in Markham →Roofing & Siding

Asphalt, cedar shake, vinyl siding — keeping your home protected from the top down.

Roofing & Siding in Markham →
the process

  1. 01

    The visit

    We come out, walk the space, and listen. Photos and measurements if it helps the quote. No sales pitch.

  2. 02

    The quote

    A line-item quote within three days. Labour, materials, and a named contingency for anything we can't see until a wall is open. You see the math, not a lump sum.

  3. 03

    The build

    The same three or four people on site every day. Clean-up at the end of every shift. A photo update at the end of every week, because that's what we'd want from a crew working in our own house.

  4. 04

    The walkthrough

    A walkthrough together, a punch list, the punch list closed, then the warranty binder. Five years on every nail — we come back for anything in the binder. That's what the paperwork means.

workshop notes

Reading that mentions Markham.

questions & answers

Things homeowners ask.

  • Yes — Unionville, Main Street Markham, Berczy Village, Cathedraltown, Cachet, Cornell, Thornhill (the Markham side), Milliken, and Greensborough. The drive from Oakville is 45–55 minutes so we plan Markham jobs as full-day stays rather than morning bounces.

Tell us what you want to build.

Get a free, no-obligation quote. We’ll get back to you within 24 hours.

(905) 555-0147