Baird Park Laneway House

Currently under construction, Baird Park Laneway House is an all-electric income suite nestled in a west Toronto neighbourhood. The property is owned by multiple family members, some of whom live in the main house, with others living elsewhere in Ontario. The family wanted to enhance their investment in the property, and to add a beautiful rental home to the neighbourhood.

The main objectives for the design were that it be durable, easy to maintain, and very energy efficient with low utility bills. It also needed to have at least two-bedrooms and be designed with budget at top of mind.
The two-storey laneway suite is built only to the size required to meet the objectives, and no larger. The property size would have allowed for the largest building footprint permitted under the bylaw, but to keep costs down the final design is smaller, while still providing all the desired elements.

The design of this laneway house is efficient and elegant, providing large, light-filled spaces and well-appointed rooms in just 1,132 sq ft. Entering from the laneway, the front hall provides a bench, closet, and access to the powder room and a storage room that houses the small mechanical systems.

From the entry you move into the living-dining room, a 24ft x 10ft open-concept space with large window and sliding door opening onto the shared backyard. Open to the dining area is a galley kitchen with lots of countertop and storage space.

In the centre of the plan are a set of switchback stairs. At the top, you see straight out to the garden through the window of a small den/home office nook. On each side, overlooking the laneway, are two spacious bedrooms that fit queen-sized beds and are equipped with built-in closets. One of the bedrooms has an ensuite three-piece bathroom with a large walk-in shower. Next to the other bedroom is a laundry closet with stacked washer-dryer, and a four-piece bathroom with a combination bathtub-shower.

The wide property provides space beside the building for a generous two-car tandem parking pad. For any future electric vehicles, the building is roughed in for an EV charging station that can be easily added at any time.

The exterior of the building is modern and cost-effective, with targeted special moments like the tall narrow window at the stairs that draws your eye up and fills the stairs with light. The main entry door is sheltered by a canopy and celebrated with a fun reveal panel that goes up the full height of the building. The siding is exposed-fastener steel panels, which are very durable and maintenance-free.

Baird Park Laneway House is being constructed with the great care and expertise of Joël Campbell and his team at Laneway Custom Build.

As with many laneway and garden suite projects, the extent of the excavation is a big factor in the success of the construction process. In tight laneway properties, minimizing excavation helps to avoid undermining adjacent buildings, parking pads, and even the laneway, without incurring the cost of shoring.

To reduce the extent of excavation for this project, the building foundation is helical piles with a grade beam on top. An engineered void between the grade beam and the soil ensures that the beam is bearing on the piles and not on the soil, thus avoiding any impacts of freeze/thaw. This helical pile system only needs to go 18-inches below grade, versus a typical frost wall footing that requires a depth of 48-inches. Another benefit is that it works well in any kind of soil condition, avoiding the need for soil testing or remediation.

The exterior walls are simple yet elegant, contributing to a very efficient and air-tight envelope. Walls are stick-framed and have the air barrier on the outside of the sheathing, with exterior insulation on the outside of that. Inside the assembly, the space between the studs is filled with mineral wool batt insulation. In this project, the sheathing is Zip Wall panels by Huber, which – once properly taped – also act as the air barrier all in one.

The Level 2 floors are constructed with Triforce open-webbed floor joists. This enables most of the ductwork to run through the joists, requiring only minimal bulkheads on the ground floor below. The roof is built with solid joists and is spray-foamed for insulation. Insulation values for the building include R58 for the roof, R24 below the slab, and R34 for the exterior walls.

The windows are triple-glazed vinyl units called Frank by Ostaco, and the exterior doors are fibreglass by Anderson Windows and Doors that also include triple-glazed window panels. All the windows and doors are supplied by Dundas Specialty Windows and Doors.

The property had two trees near the location of the building footprint that were both structurally unsound. Permission was granted early on to remove them, and new trees will be planted on the property in lieu. Another large tree – a healthy Silver Maple – is protected by a generous tree protection zone, which is well out of the construction area.

(Construction photos provided by Joël Campbell, Laneway Custom Build)