---
title: "LF Builders — General Contractors | Houzz"
canonical_html_url: https://www.houzz.com/professionals/general-contractors/lf-builders-pfvwus-pf~794048028
markdown_url: https://www.houzz.com/md/professionals/pf~794048028.md
entity_type: LocalBusiness
business_name: "LF Builders"
category: ["General Contractors"]
image: https://st.hzcdn.com/fimgs/ac73e23309f31c72_0401-w400-h400-b0-p0--.jpg
address: "125 Norfinch Dr, North York, Ontario M3N 1W8, Canada"
latitude: 43.7453
longitude: -79.5169
phone: "(416) 909-6181"
website: https://home.renovation.reviews
rating: 0
review_count: 0
last_updated: 2026-08-27
---

# LF Builders

Original Houzz profile: [LF Builders](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/general-contractors/lf-builders-pfvwus-pf~794048028)

## Professional summary

- **Primary category:** General Contractors
- **Location:** North York, ON
- **Serves:** North York
- **Houzz rating:** 0.0 out of 5 (0 reviews)

## About

### Houzz Badges

- Houzz Influencer

For over 50 years, LF Builders has proudly served the Toronto area, delivering high-quality, durable, and aesthetically pleasing construction solutions. With more than 30,000 completed projects, our expertise spans everything from interlock pathways and stunning flagstone patios to aluminum work, kitchen and bathroom renovations, and even waterproofing. Our team is dedicated to bringing your vision to life with craftsmanship you can trust.

### Services Provided

- Home Remodeling
- Bathroom Remodeling
- Kitchen Remodeling
- General Contracting
- Home Additions
- Custom Homes
- New Home Construction
- Home Extensions
- Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
- Deck Building

### Areas Served

- North York

### Typical Job Cost

CAD 5,000 - CAD 120,000

Low to mid/high end Phase development if necessaary.

## Business Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Business Name | LF Builders |
| Address | 125 Norfinch Dr, North York, Ontario M3N 1W8, Canada |
| Phone | (416) 909-6181 |
| Website | https://home.renovation.reviews |

## Contact

- **Houzz profile:** [LF Builders](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/general-contractors/lf-builders-pfvwus-pf~794048028)
- **Website:** https://home.renovation.reviews
- **Phone:** (416) 909-6181

## Ideabooks

- [LF's Ideas](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/185168293/list/lf-s-ideas) — 4 ideas

[See all 1 ideabook](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/users/lf-manager)

## Community Q&A

**Q: Backyard design and layout** *(in Landscape Design)*

Need help designing my small backyard

A: Small backyards work a lot better once you stop treating the size as the problem.

Zoning is the main thing -- even 200 sq ft reads bigger when there's a seating surface and a planting border doing different jobs. All one thing (pure lawn, pure patio) usually makes it feel flatter, not just different.

Surface choice matters. Flagstone is really well suited to tight spaces: works with irregular shapes, no edge restraints needed, and the joints hold low groundcover if you want green in the surface itself. We've done a lot of these in the GTA and wrote up a guide on it: https://home.renovation.reviews/t/flagstone-patios-and-walkways-ontario/47208 -- stone species, joint options, base depth for different soil types.

A low border wall along the fence (12-18 inches) adds more than it costs -- visual depth and a raised planting bed without giving up floor space.

And in tighter lots, screening at the boundary to 6 or 7 feet changes the feel of the whole space. Cedar panels, climbing plants, or both. Usually worth doing before the furniture goes in.

What shape is the yard, and how does the sun track across it? That makes the material and plant calls a lot easier.

**Q: Struggling with our deck** *(in Porches & Decks)*

We inherited this deck (which used to have a ramp) We took the ramp out and added steps with a small landing for our grill and a chair. It now feels like our deck is more steps than actual deck! And it functionally doesn't work as we had hoped. We made very deep upper steps so that they could also act as seating and I could place large planters on it but when we have many people over, it just feels overcrowded and uncomfortable...like there's not enough space because the steps are needed to go up and down the deck and would feel weird to sit there.
And when it is just us, it feels like the steps are such a waste of space and real state. 
I think one way to go about this, is to make these upper steps less deep and make that second landing slightly bigger so it can actually be a place to sit. But I don't want to second guess; in a perfect world, I could hire an actual designer to do this at this moment we can't afford one and are wondering if there's a way to rethink the steps. Thank you!

A: Inherited decks are usually like this -- whoever built it wasn't thinking about how people move through the space, and the steps end up eating it.
Shortening the tread depth is the right call. Most deck stairs run about 10-11 inch treads with a 7-inch rise. If yours are deeper than that, cutting them back reclaims horizontal space without changing the elevation at all. Same height between levels, just a shorter run.
The lower landing is where you get the most back. Going 5x8 or 6x8 turns it from a pass-through into an actual usable area. Bigger difference than anything furniture does.
One thing to flag when you're getting quotes: if the deck is more than 600mm above grade, rebuilding the steps means the railing has to meet OBC 9.8.8 -- height, picket spacing, graspability requirements. Aluminum is what most contractors here go with because it handles freeze-thaw without repainting. We put together a guide on what the spec requires and where inspections tend to catch people: https://home.renovation.reviews/t/aluminum-railings-for-ontario-decks-obc-height-rules-costs-and-what-fails-at-inspection-2026/48080
How high is the deck above grade?

**Q: Front Steps - finishing ideas** *(in Landscape Design)*

Any ideas on how to finish these front steps? And tie into the vibe of the house.
(Garage door will be anthracite, as well as front door. Drive/stone/slabs will be redone)

A: Texture before color on outdoor steps. Honed granite and polished slate look sharp but go slick when wet. Natural split face, brushed finish, or flamed surface all give you enough grip that you stop thinking about it.

For anthracite doors: charcoal bluestone or dark gray limestone with a saw-cut face. Bluestone handles freeze-thaw well, which is why it's the default for front entries in the GTA.

One thing worth sorting out now: you mentioned the drive and stone slabs are being redone too. If you spec the same stone family for the step caps before the driveway project starts, the whole front reads as one decision rather than pieces that happened to match. Retroactive stone matching is harder than it looks. Easier conversation to have while both scopes are still open.

We put a hardscaping material guide together covering stone selection, setting methods, and freeze-thaw performance — might be useful as you're choosing: https://home.renovation.reviews/t/concrete-vs-interlock-vs-asphalt-driveways-in-ontario-2026-how-contractors-make-the-call-and-what-changes-when-frost-and-drainage-are-the-real-constraints/48072

**Q: Brick backsplash?** *(in Kitchens)*

We have a farmhouse that we are renovating (a real farmhouse, not a farmhouse-themed suburban house).  The home's outside foundation is brick, so we want to use brick accents inside as well.  I would like to do a full kitchen backsplash of brick. The cabinets will be a barley wood color on maple.  We like the traditional red brick look, but the porous surface is impractical behind the stove.  Is there a cleanable brickface that could be used, or should I plan to put up a contrasting gloss tile stove backsplash?  If so, what material?  I considered a glass covered historical map or farm photo there, but I don't want it to be too busy or modern looking. What other prefab stove backsplashes would look good with the brick in the rest of the kitchen?  Thank you!

A: The porous surface concern is real, but thin brick veneer tile solves most of it. These are genuine clay brick sliced to about 1/2" thick and mounted on mesh backing -- they look identical to structural brick, install like large-format tile, and take a penetrating sealer that makes them practical behind a stove. Old Mill Brick, Z-Brick, and Eldorado Stone all make interior-grade versions. The grout joints are much tighter than structural brick, which helps with the cleaning problem considerably.

For the stove area, running the brick there too and applying a food-safe penetrating sealer (Miracle Sealants 511 or similar) annually is one option. The other is a contrasting panel that reads as traditional rather than contemporary. Handmade subway tile in an off-white or cream glaze, slightly irregular in surface texture, echoes the brick pattern without competing and wipes clean easily. A 3x6 or 3x9 in running bond keeps it in the same visual language as the brick field. Honed limestone in a warm gray or cream would also work well against barley maple -- it needs annual sealing but handles splatter better than brick and gives you a single clean field at the stove rather than two different masonry materials fighting for attention.

The glass-covered-photo idea is worth setting aside. It reads in a different visual register than aged brick, and almost always ends up looking more contemporary than intended. If you want a focal point at the stove that feels period-appropriate, hammered copper or a patinated tin ceiling tile in a simple field can work -- they have more material kinship with brick than printed glass does.

One practical note: whatever you use at the stove, run it to the same height as the brick on either side. The range hood handles the visual interruption -- you don't need a height transition on top of a material transition.

**Q: Siding and trim color for home** *(in Paint)*

Were replacing siding and having all trim, garage doors painted. What color siding with this color brick ans style of house? we also plan to replace rhe porch columns - eother with large square cedar ones or possibly same color as siding? Looking for new front door as well - pretty much an exterior facelift.

A: When replacing siding and trim at this scale, check the soffit and fascia condition before the quotes go out — not after.

New siding means the contractor strips all the trim runs first. That's usually when you find out the fascia boards behind the aluminum are rotted. Soft fascia and new soffit won't sit right; eavestroughs won't hang level either. Separate mobilization for the soffit/fascia later typically costs 25–30% more than getting it all done while the exterior is already open.

Porch columns: cedar looks good but needs refinishing every 3–5 years in a wet climate or it grays and starts to check at the base. Aluminum-wrapped columns hold up better. Cedar can be custom-profiled; aluminum is mostly standard sizes — that's the actual trade-off.

On color: warm neutrals, greiges, soft off-whites with a yellow or tan base all tend to hold against warm-toned brick. Cool grays can work but they need to be definitively cool or the undertone clash with the brick just reads muddy. The brick anchors the temperature range; work within it, don't fight it.

If the aluminum scope is part of this project, here's a write-up on what a complete scope should include and what to ask for in a quote: https://home.renovation.reviews/t/47246

**Q: driveway ideas for new house** *(in Landscape Design)*

Hi there.  Wanting to ask for ideas for driveway design.   Two garages on the right are closer together.  Need driveway ideas to access all three garage doors.  Thank you for the help!!

A: The geometry matters more than the design style here.

When two garages sit closer together on one side, you end up with an uneven face width. The apron has to span the full front of both structures, wide enough to approach any of the three doors without a multi-point turn. For three single-wide doors, 24 feet across is the floor. If the doors are spread farther than a car-width apart, 28 to 32 feet gives comfortable access.

A fan-shaped apron that flares toward the street handles the turning radius without needing a lot of depth. If the lot has the room, a split approach where the lane divides toward each garage cluster keeps things simple. A flat rectangular pad across the full front is easiest to build but uses the most space.

For paving: asphalt costs the least upfront and is the hardest to upgrade later. Concrete holds up better but cracks and stains in freeze-thaw climates. Interlock has the easiest repair story: individual units pull and replace without patching the whole surface. Add a contrasting border course at the perimeter and it works with most house styles.

That wide apron moves a lot of water. The grade should crown toward the edges rather than the house, and the runoff needs somewhere to go: a swale, catch basin, or permeable strip at the base of the garage face. A contractor worth hiring will have this in the site plan before quoting.

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*Source: Houzz professional profile. Reflects the profile as of 2026-08-27.*