Sawdust & Steel
York region

Residential carpentry in Richmond Hill.

Richmond Hill is a second-storey addition town. The lots are big, the 1980s–90s stock is ready for a serious upgrade, and homeowners here have the patience for a six-month build. We've lost count of how many Richmond Hill bungalows we've put a new second floor on — it's become a specialty without us really planning for it.

Second-storey addition wall framing in progress on a Richmond Hill bungalow
Richmond Hill
0+Projects completed
0Years in business
5-YearWarranty on all work
0%Licensed & insured
on the ground in richmond hill

What we see when we work here.

The houses

Richmond Hill is dominated by 1980s and 1990s subdivisions — Bayview Hill, Mill Pond, Devonsleigh, Richvale — brick and stucco two-stories on fifty-foot lots with walkout basements where the grade allows. Oak Ridges and the Yonge-corridor stock has older ranch bungalows from the 60s and 70s that are perfect candidates for second-storey additions because the foundation is usually oversized for a single storey. The post-2005 estate stock in Jefferson and Mill Pond North has engineered floor systems and builder-spec trim — our job on those is usually a kitchen update or a basement finish rather than a structural reno. We do a lot of load-bearing wall removals in the Bayview Hill stock — original kitchens were closed-off and owners want open-concept.

The site

Richmond Hill's north end sits on the Oak Ridges Moraine, which is a TRCA-regulated aquifer recharge zone. Anything north of Stouffville Road needs a Toronto and Region Conservation Authority review if it touches the regulated area — setbacks from wetlands are strict and drainage grading gets scrutinized. South of 19th Avenue the soil is clay till — standard for the Oak Ridges subdivisions — and frost footings behave predictably. Walkout basements throughout Bayview Hill are the single biggest condition we watch for: the existing grade-level framing is often one course of block away from making structural sense, and adding a second floor means checking it with a PEng before we touch anything.

The permits

Permits go through City of Richmond Hill Building Department at 225 East Beaver Creek. Richmond Hill's review is thorough but predictable — the plans examiners flag the same four things on every second-storey addition (floor plan dimensions, stair rise/run, smoke detector locations, and the attic baffle detail) so we pre-empt all of it on the drawings. Oak Ridges Moraine lots add a TRCA layer; heritage designation along Yonge Street north of Major Mackenzie adds another. Typical second-storey addition permit timeline is 6–10 weeks from submission. Read our LVL vs steel vs glulam beam guide before you hire anyone for structural work here.

services in richmond hill

Six trades. One crew.

Custom Decks & Patios

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

Custom Decks & Patios in Richmond Hill →Kitchen Renovations

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

Kitchen Renovations in Richmond Hill →Bathroom Remodels

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

Bathroom Remodels in Richmond Hill →Framing & Structural Work

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

Framing & Structural Work in Richmond Hill →Finish Carpentry & Trim

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

Finish Carpentry & Trim in Richmond Hill →Roofing & Siding

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

Roofing & Siding in Richmond Hill →
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 Richmond Hill.

questions & answers

Things homeowners ask.

  • Not formally, but we've built so many of them here that it feels like a specialty. The math works in Richmond Hill because a 1970s bungalow in Bayview Hill sits on a 60-foot lot that's now worth more than a new two-story. The [living through a second-storey addition](/blog/living-through-a-second-storey-addition-gta) post is a real Richmond Hill build from start to finish.

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