In this installment of Warmboard Works, we talk to Dwight Simpson, owner and founder of Simpson Properties Contracting. Located in Toronto, Dwight is an Electrical Technologist by day and Real Estate Investor/Builder by night. Dwight and his young family are doing an extensive renovation on their Toronto home which is being documented for his YouTube series titled “Invest.Remodel.Repeat” which will be released in early 2020. He is candidly sharing his experience with us and all the exciting details of renovating their 1960’s backsplit into an innovative modern dream home.
PROJECT DETAILS
Type: Single family home, renovation
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Total Square Footage: 3,000 square feet
Lot Size: 37’ wide x 200’ deep
Energy: Natural gas, IBC boiler
“My wife and I always knew our first home would eventually become a rental as we strongly believe in real estate investment and building equity through property ownership. When this home became available in a neighborhood we love, due to both the large, deep lot sizes and the location, we jumped on the opportunity and purchased the home. Our plan was to remodel eventually, but it ended up happening more quickly than expected because we ultimately decided to dive right in and do it while our kids are still young.
I consider my remodel and real estate investment business my side hustle and currently am only working on my personal projects. The house is a back split built in the 1960’s and the remodel was extensive as we only kept the shell of the existing home. The floor joists and the exterior brick walls were all that remained which allowed us maximum flexibility with the architectural design of the home and the features that we wanted built into it.
We dreamed of something modern, open, and airy and were thrilled to work with architect Joel Tanner, Principal and Architectural Technologist at SMPL Design Studio. Joel did an incredible job designing our home and included some features we never would have thought of such as uniquely placed skylights. We have two 4’ x 4’ operable skylights, one in the main floor dining area that opens all the way up to the roof and another in a stairwell, and both completely change the feeling and atmosphere of those areas. Joel really helped guide us in making our vision become a reality.
My personal goal when starting the renovation was to challenge myself in all aspects of the build and learn new skills. I came across radiant floor heating when researching this remodel and learned how healthy and efficient it is. The most important selling feature for us though was the comfort that it provides. We experience cold, harsh, long winters here and we wanted a high performing and efficient system that we could enjoy for the lifetime of the home.
We started the renovation in March of 2018 and moved into the home in April 2019, so we haven’t lived through a winter with Warmboard yet. The system was installed by BLACKROCK HVAC and operational during construction while drywall was installed. It was unbelievable! The system wasn’t 100% calibrated and I was very impressed with how comfortable and silent it was. Needless to say, we’re excited for winter to come this year so we can fully experience our radiant floor heating.
Another aspect of radiant heating we really like is the ability to zone different areas of the home on independent thermostats. We have 5 zones in total, one in the basement slab and one on each floor of the home so we’ll easily be able to meet our changing heating needs throughout the day. The finished floor coverings we selected are engineered white oak throughout and porcelain tile in the bathrooms.
The customer service I experienced from Carey was phenomenal! He was always available to help when I had questions and always responded to my requests. It was a reassuring feeling to know that help was just a phone call away!
As I said earlier, we’re excited for winter to come and to fully experience our Warmboard radiant heating system and all the benefits that go along with it. This experience has been challenging and rewarding for both my wife and I but we are eagerly awaiting all the memories that will be made in our home as our family grows up.”
We’ll check back with Dwight towards the end of the winter to see how him and his family are enjoying their Warmboard and their dream home.
Photos courtesy of Dwight Simpson.
Dwight Simpson
Simpson Properties Contracting, Ltd.
647-298-7833
simpsonpropertiesltd@gmail.com
