Aluminum Siding & Exterior Aluminum Contractor in Scarborough

• In the 2016 Census, 38.1% of Scarborough’s dwellings were built between 1961 and 1980.
• Single-detached houses made up 37.7% of Scarborough’s dwellings in 2016, the largest single type.
• The Scarborough Bluffs stretch about 15 km along Lake Ontario and rise up to 100 m.
• Original aluminum often lasts decades, but the paint, fasteners and the trim behind it wear out.
• Re-cladding a house of up to three storeys in non-combustible material is on the City’s no-building-permit list.
• Free estimates, a written contract and a 5-year workmanship warranty on every job.

Why does so much of Scarborough still wear original aluminum?

Scarborough grew up in the same decades that aluminum siding and trim were at their most popular, so a large share of its houses either were built with it or had it added during a renovation a few years later. Much of that cladding is now 40 or more years old.

The history explains the timing. Scarborough was named in 1793 by Elizabeth Simcoe, became a township in 1850 and was mostly farmland well into the twentieth century. The Canadian Encyclopedia notes that only 3,711 people lived in the township in 1900. After the Second World War it grew quickly, like every municipality bordering Toronto. It became a city in 1983 and was amalgamated into the new City of Toronto in 1998.

That post-war boom filled Scarborough with brick-and-siding bungalows, side-splits and backsplits, semis and, later, townhouse complexes and two-storey detached homes. Many of them had painted wood fascia, soffit and window trim that owners later wrapped in aluminum to stop repainting. Those wraps, and the siding on gables and upper floors, are what we’re now asked to replace.

Scarborough’s housing, in numbers

The City of Toronto’s 2016 Census profile for the Scarborough community council area gives a clear picture of the housing stock. These figures come from that profile, listed in the sources below.

The 1991–2016 row adds the profile’s four separate periods together. Statistics Canada rounds figures randomly, so totals can differ slightly. Scarborough’s total population in that census was 631,890.

Roughly three in four Scarborough dwellings were built before 1991, and 1961 to 1980 is the largest single period. Aluminum siding and trim capping were a popular choice in those decades, which matches what we find on the houses themselves.

10 signs your original aluminum siding or capping is finished

Old aluminum rarely fails all at once. Instead it collects small faults until patching no longer makes sense. If you see four or more of the signs below on your house, it’s worth getting a replacement quote rather than another round of repairs.

1. Chalk on your hand. Rub the siding on the sunny side. A heavy white or coloured residue means the factory finish has broken down. Painting can buy time, but it becomes a maintenance job again.
2. Faded and mismatched colour. South and west walls fade faster than shaded ones, and any patch panels added over the years never quite match.
3. Dents and creases. Aluminum dents easily from hail, hockey pucks, ladders and lawn equipment. A few are cosmetic, but rows of them near the ground usually mean the bottom courses have taken years of hits.
4. Rattling or flapping in the wind. Panels that have come unlocked at the seams, or nails that have backed out, make noise in storms. On lake-facing houses that’s often the first thing owners notice.
5. Wavy walls. Ripples or bulges usually point to panels nailed too tight when they were installed, or to the sheathing or strapping underneath moving.
6. Open or split capping at windows. Old window and door capping often has failed caulking at the corners and sills. Water gets behind it and soaks the wood it was meant to protect.
7. Soft wood under the trim. Push on the bottom corners of capped sills and door frames. If the capping gives, the wood behind it has probably rotted.
8. Sagging or perforated soffit. Old soffit droops between supports, and chewed or bent panels let wasps, squirrels and raccoons into the roof space.
9. Stains and peeling paint inside near windows. Interior water marks under a window often begin with failed exterior capping, not the window itself.
10. Crumbling insulation board. When a panel comes loose and you can see thin, brittle board or bare sheathing behind it, the house has lost what little extra insulation and moisture protection it had.

What does each common Scarborough house type usually need?

Scarborough’s house types each wear their siding differently, and the best upgrade path depends on the shape of the house more than the age of the cladding. These are the five layouts we see most, with the work that usually matters on each.

The 1950s and 1960s brick bungalow

Mostly brick, with aluminum on the gable ends, under the eaves and around the windows. The siding area is small, but the trim is everywhere. The best value here is usually new soffit and fascia, a new eavestrough, and fresh capping on every window and the front door. Full siding replacement is usually limited to the gables.

The backsplit or side-split

Split-levels have several roof levels, short eave runs and an upper floor often clad in siding above a brick lower level. That means plenty of inside and outside corners, J-channel and flashing where roofs meet walls, so water gets behind old siding easily. Replacing the upper-level siding and the trim around it as one job usually makes more sense than piecemeal repairs.

The semi-detached house

Scarborough semis often have siding on the upper floor and a shared roofline with the attached house. New siding and eavestroughs need a clean finish at the party line. A colour that works next to the neighbour’s cladding, even if it doesn’t match exactly, will look better from the street.

The 1970s and 1980s two-storey detached

These houses often have more siding than brick, sometimes with a full upper storey, a garage front and larger window openings. They’re good candidates for a complete aluminum siding replacement, ideally done together with the soffit, fascia and window capping so all the new materials match and are covered by one warranty.

Townhouse and row-house complexes

Row houses made up 9.5% of Scarborough dwellings in the 2016 profile. In condominium or co-op complexes, exterior cladding is often common property, so owners usually need the corporation’s approval and the complex’s standard colours before changing anything. Check your declaration and rules before asking for quotes.

How exposed is your house to wind off the lake?

Your house’s position relative to Lake Ontario and the Bluffs affects how your siding should be installed as much as which product you choose. Wind loosens panels by working them back and forth, and it drives rain and snow into any gap in soffit and trim.

The Scarborough Bluffs stretch about 15 kilometres along the lakeshore and rise up to 100 metres, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia, which also notes that erosion still occasionally threatens houses near the edge. A 2024 climate report prepared for the City describes the April 14–15, 2018 windstorm as producing the highest waves measured on Lake Ontario in at least 45 years, with shoreline damage from that storm and the 2017 flooding totalling about $28 million.

We use a simple three-level exposure check to decide how much extra care a wall needs. It’s our own working rule of thumb, not a building-code classification.

Being close to the Bluffs raises a second question: drainage. Water from your roof shouldn’t be directed toward an unstable slope. If your lot backs onto the Bluffs or a ravine, ask the City and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority about any rules for your property before you change grading or where your downspouts discharge.

Repair, re-cap or replace: which makes sense?

The right choice depends on what’s failing. Panels and paint can often be patched, but if water has got behind the trim, only a full re-cap will solve it. The table below compares the three main options for a typical older Scarborough house.

Aluminum again, or vinyl this time?

Some Scarborough owners replacing original aluminum consider vinyl because it costs less upfront. Both are reasonable choices, and the trade-offs come down to how the house is exposed and what you value.

Whichever siding you choose, window capping, fascia and soffit are normally aluminum, because it can be bent on site to fit each opening.

Choosing a colour and profile for a Scarborough street

Most original Scarborough aluminum is a horizontal lap profile in white, cream, beige or brown. Replacing it is a chance to change the look, but a few practical points apply. Darker colours show fading sooner on south and west walls, while very light colours show mildew on shaded walls under big trees. On a semi or a townhouse, a colour that sits well beside the neighbour’s matters more than an exact match. And on brick bungalows, the trim colour usually does more for the house than the siding, because there’s so much more trim than siding to see. Bring photos of houses you like to the estimate, and ask to see physical samples outside in daylight, not just a printed chart.

How does a full re-side of an older Scarborough house work?

A full replacement on a typical bungalow or backsplit is a sequence, and the order matters. Each step protects the one before it, and doing the trim and drainage in the same project avoids having to remove new material later.

1. Measure and inspect. We measure every wall, opening and eave run, and probe sills, fascia and frames for rot. This is also when we rate the walls’ exposure.
2. Agree the written scope. The contract lists areas, materials, colours, how rot repair will be priced, and how scrap will be handled.
3. Remove old eavestroughs and soffit where needed. This gives clear access to the fascia and the top of the walls.
4. Strip the old siding. Panels, trims and old fanfold board come off one wall at a time, so the house isn’t left exposed overnight.
5. Repair what’s underneath. Rotten sheathing, sills and frame wood are replaced. If an older cladding layer turns up, work stops until it’s identified.
6. Add a weather barrier and insulation board if specified. This is the best chance to improve the wall behind the siding.
7. Install starters, corners and J-channel. These set the lines for the whole wall, so they need to be straight and well fastened, especially on exposed sides.
8. Hang the siding panels. Panels lock together and are nailed so they can move with temperature changes rather than being pinned tight.
9. Cap windows, doors and the garage frame. Custom-bent window capping and door trim go on over repaired wood, sealed where water would otherwise collect.
10. Finish with soffit, fascia and eavestroughs. New vented soffit, wrapped fascia and seamless eavestroughs go on last, with downspouts directed away from the foundation.

What should Scarborough homeowners prioritise if they can’t do it all at once?

Do the work that keeps water out first and the cosmetic work last. A phased plan over two or three seasons is perfectly reasonable, as long as each phase leaves the house watertight.

Phase one: drainage and rot

Fix eavestroughs, downspouts and any rotten fascia, sills or door frames. Our window and door frame repair replaces soft wood before it’s capped. This phase prevents damage, so it shouldn’t be put off.

Phase two: openings and roof edge

Replace window and door capping and the soffit. That closes off the most common water and pest entry points, even if the old siding stays for another year.

Phase three: walls

Replace the siding itself, starting with the most exposed elevations if the budget only covers part of the house. Order enough of the same colour and profile for the remaining walls, or plan to do them in the same season, because colours can vary between production runs.

What does replacement cost on a typical Scarborough house?

Typical GTA ballpark ranges (2026). Your written quote after an on-site measure is what counts. On Scarborough houses, the biggest variables are usually how much rot turns up behind old capping and whether insulation board is added under new siding.

To see how the ranges add up, picture a hypothetical bungalow with eight windows that need new capping. At $175–$450 per window, capping alone would come to about $1,400–$3,600, before any rot repair. That’s arithmetic from the ranges above, not a quote for your house.

Permits, heritage and downspouts: what applies in Scarborough?

Scarborough follows the same rules as the rest of the City of Toronto. For most aluminum work, the paperwork is light, but it’s still worth checking three things before you book.

• Building permits: The City’s guidance lists re-cladding a house of three storeys or less in non-combustible material (other than brick or stone veneer) as not needing a building permit. Porch additions and enclosures do need one, and zoning still applies. Confirm your scope with Toronto Building.
• Heritage: Inside a heritage conservation district, exterior alterations generally need a heritage permit. When we checked the City’s list of districts in force, none was in Scarborough, but the list changes and individual properties can be listed or designated anywhere. Look up your address on the City’s Heritage Register.
• Downspouts: Toronto requires downspouts to be disconnected from the City’s sewer system. Water must flow away from your foundation and not onto a neighbour’s property, driveway or City sidewalk. New eavestroughs are a good time to put the outlets where they belong.

Checklist: a spring walk-around for a Scarborough home

Once a year, after the snow has gone, take 20 minutes and walk around your house with this list. It will spot most problems before they become expensive.

• Rub the sunny walls to check for chalking, and compare colour to a shaded wall.
• Look along each wall for waves, bulges and loose panels, especially on the lake-facing and windward sides.
• Check corner posts and gable trim for gaps or lifted pieces after winter storms.
• Press the bottom corners of capped sills and door frames for softness.
• Look for split or missing caulking where capping meets the window.
• Check the soffit for sagging, holes and signs of animals or wasps.
• Look along the eavestroughs for sags, and watch them in the next heavy rain for overflow.
• Make sure every downspout discharges away from the house and not onto a walkway.
• Check the garage door frame and side door frames for impact damage.
• Take dated photos so you can compare them with next year’s.

Do you also work near Scarborough?

Yes. Our crews travel to homes across the GTA, and we don’t have a storefront in Scarborough or anywhere else. If you’re just over the border, see our pages for Markham and Pickering, where much of the housing is newer, or North York to the west. For the older city’s narrow lots and heritage streets, see our Toronto page.

We also offer aluminum capping for any wood trim on its own, without siding. To book a free estimate, call (647) 560-9038 or use our online estimate form.