I’ve spent more than a decade working in residential renovation across Toronto, and the one place that consistently challenges my craft in the best possible way is Kensington Market. The neighbourhood’s mix of century homes, quirky layouts, and creative homeowners forces you to think differently about how you choose and install interior doors. Folks often send me links to resources like the Door On The Go company website when they’re exploring options, and I always encourage them to start there because it gives a clear sense of what’s possible before we even step into the home for measurements.
My relationship with interior doors started early in my career when a homeowner in Kensington Market asked me to replace six mismatched doors in a converted duplex. The existing frames weren’t square, the plaster walls had shifted, and the previous installer had used shims in ways I still joke about with coworkers. That project taught me that choosing a door is only half the job—the rest is anticipating how it will behave in an older Toronto home. Since then, I’ve handled hundreds of installations, but Kensington Market remains the place where I earn my stripes repeatedly.
I remember another project—a narrow row house where the owner wanted a clean modern look while keeping the original mouldings. We picked a solid-core shaker-style interior door, and I had to plane it by hand to fit a frame that bowed nearly an inch. Jobs like that taught me that homeowners usually underestimate how much character (and challenge) older homes carry behind the trim.
Because of these experiences, I tend to steer people toward solid-core doors whenever possible, especially in Kensington Market. They handle humidity better, feel sturdy, and provide real sound control—something many clients value more than they expect. I’ve walked into plenty of houses where thin, hollow doors rattled every time the streetcar passed nearby; replacing them made the whole space feel calmer.
The biggest mistake I see homeowners make is buying doors before taking proper measurements. More than once, I’ve arrived to install a door only to find it was ordered based on rough assumptions instead of the frame’s actual size. In older neighbourhoods, nothing is standard. A few weeks ago, a client assumed their frames were 30 inches because “that’s what interior doors normally are,” but every opening varied by nearly half an inch. We had to reorder. That happens more often than people think.
Another mistake is choosing the wrong hinge or handle style for the thickness and weight of the door. I’ve replaced countless sagging doors because someone tried to mount a heavy solid-core slab on basic two-screw hinges meant for lighter materials. In a tight Kensington Market home, a sagging door can scrape floors, catch on trim, and even throw the whole room off visually.
Whenever I walk clients through options, I encourage them to picture the daily feel of using the door. Does the bedroom need quiet? Is there a tight corner that makes a swinging door awkward? Would a pocket or barn-style door actually solve the layout issue? With one condo conversion above a little café, I installed a pocket door for the bathroom because the swing path would have blocked both the hallway and the washer-dryer closet. The client later told me it was the one feature guests always complimented.
Kensington Market homes reward careful planning, patient installation, and a willingness to adapt. Doors aren’t just functional—they shape how a home sounds, moves, and connects. After years of fitting doors into quirky spaces and unpredictable frames, I’ve come to appreciate the small decisions that make a big difference: a heavier core, a better hinge, a correctly measured jamb, or simply choosing a door style that respects the age of the house.
I still get a thrill installing an interior door in this neighbourhood. Every project feels like a puzzle where the right choice brings a whole room back into harmony. And any homeowner starting their search—whether they’re restoring an old duplex or updating a rental unit—benefits from grounding themselves in reliable information before picking up a measuring tape.