What does Greening Homes do?

Greening Homes is a full-service, licensed, bonded and insured sustainable renovations and building consulting company. We work on renovation projects as small as a bathroom remodel or as large as a whole home renovation or addition.

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How are you different from any other renovations contractor?

Our level of expertise is unmatched in the city when it comes to renovating homes in a healthy and responsible manner. Our diverse crew include Journeymen Carpenters, LEED® APs, an engineer, and even an architectural designer. They are committed to helping our clients build amazing projects that meet their needs and budgets.

We follow our Core Values in everything we do, and work within this organized framework to meet the needs of each client. ‘Light green’ or ‘deep green’, you can be sure that every Greening Homes renovation will operate beyond conventional standards.

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Why should I renovate 'green'? (e.g. in a sustainable, healthy, energy efficient manner)

Because investing in ‘green’ is better for your long-term health and pocketbook, not to mention your community. We choose materials with low to no toxins and find innovative solutions to improve the energy performance of your home to help you safeguard the health of your family and reduce utility costs.

We do many things at no-added cost that other contractors do not, such as divert more waste from landfills than conventional renovations and use high-recycled content materials. Also, our crew uses vans and trucks only when necessary. This helps us keep our overhead costs lower than other companies, allowing us to invest in superb client service.

Whether you want to build a super-energy efficient home or simply want to lessen the impact of your renovation, our 5 pillar approach will make your home healthier for your family and our environment.

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Do you do anything other than renovations work?

Yes! We offer an Air Sealing Service as well as Landscaping services. We are also committed to providing education about green and alternative building practices. Chris Phillips, owner of Greening Homes, has taught several workshops for both the public and private sector, including seminars on building materials and health impacts for the Toronto Regional Conservation Authority and the Schools of Architecture at both the University of Toronto and Ryerson University. He has also provided general building consulting services and has worked as a court-approved expert witness on green building and IAQ issues. Greening Homes has also had the pleasure of building public projects such as the rammed earth rainwater harvesting cistern pad for the Hope Community Garden (Parkdale) and the Healthy Home at Downsview Park, in partnership with CMHC. Check out our community work too!

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Where are you based?

Greening Homes is located in the Junction Triangle, in the west end of Toronto, Ontario.

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How far will you travel for a project?

Greening Homes is primarily an urban renovations company servicing Toronto’s core neighbourhoods. The vast majority of our projects are easily reached by TTC. Our crew frequently uses public transit and bicycle to get to our sites in an attempt to minimize the use of big vans or trucks. Greening Homes is very interested in taking on unique ‘green’ projects located outside the City of Toronto if transportation arrangements are established.

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Do you specialize in any particular area?

Our ideal project might be taking a leaky and energy inefficient structural brick home built in the 1920 – 50s, opening it up, fixing its various structural and aesthetic issues, updating all its services, air sealing it, boosting its insulation, and remodeling the kitchen and/or bathrooms using sustainably sourced and non-toxic materials.

That said, we complete projects of all sizes for our clients. See Our Services page for more details.

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Who is your typical client?

Most of our clients hire us because of health concerns related to typical renovations work, an interest in improving their homes’ energy efficiency and/or an interest in reducing the environmental impact of their renovation projects. We have worked on several projects for new or soon-to-be parents worried about the health implications of the products used in their renovation and for clients who have energy efficiency goals linked to long-term savings.

Our clients also hire us because they are looking for a transparent and trustworthy home renovations contractor that keeps to budget. They appreciate our weekly budget reports!

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How much more do your services cost?

We believe in a transparent cost-plus pricing system that is fair to both our customers and our team. Wages are charged at a fixed labour rate for construction management and for crew labour. Where sub-trades are used, a fixed procurement percentage is charged (GC fee). Both wage and procurement rates are agreed upon at the beginning of a project and weekly reports are provided to ensure costs are known and monitored.

Our clients will agree that we are not the cheapest contractor, but we offer the very best value per dollar. The knowledge of our team, standards for client communication and daily operations are unparalleled in the Toronto area.

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What’s the next step?

Contact us at our office at 416.532.6811 or info@greeninghomes.com to set up your initial home consultation. This is a visit to your home by Chris Phillips, LEED® AP and Connor Malloy, LEED® AP and BID. There is a $50 + HST charge for this visit; however, should you choose to work with Greening Homes, this charge is credited toward your first invoice.

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Can I speak with any of your references or previous clients?

Greening Homes keeps a current reference list of recent clients. We would be glad to share this list with any prospective client following our initial home consultation.

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I have been told that Greening Homes is often booked for several months in advance. What can I do?

Greening Homes renovation projects can often be booked for up to 10 months in advance. We charge a non-refundable retainer determined by the size of your project to retain our services (typically between 1% – 5%). This amount is credited in full toward your account and subtracted from your first invoice. Plans sometimes do change for our clients and it is not unusual to be presented with the possibility of an earlier start date.

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Is there anything that you don’t do?

We do not build new homes. Although we consult with homeowners who are interested in building their own healthy and energy efficient homes, we are not part of the TARION New Home Warranty program and therefore cannot operate as a General Contractor on new construction projects.

Also, Greening Homes uses licensed sub-contractors to provide our electrical, plumbing, and HVAC needs.

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