The PYB Blog

Every so often, Toronto surprises you with a piece of history that refuses to blend into the background. Tucked along St. Patrick Street stands one such wonder, a Victorian home sliced cleanly in half, or so it would appear.

This is 54½ St. Patrick Street, better known as the Half House. Behind that unusual shape is a story about stubbornness, city-building, and the strength of preserved survey plans.

Every day, millions of people use advanced AI technologies to help them in their day-to-day lives, and many of these tools do an impressive job of making complex information simple and accessible. However, property boundaries, easements, and land survey plans depend on precise legal and physical data that many AI tools do not possess the ability to comprehend.

There’s something fascinating about uncovering an old land survey plan, it’s like holding a time machine on paper, showing exactly how a place once looked and how it has changed over time. Recently, I looked at some 19th and early 20th-century survey maps of Lambton (in Toronto), and they tell an interesting story about how this little mill village changed over time.

A fallen tree can be a stressful situation for homeowners. The aftermath is enough to send a person spiraling with questions about what to do next. Who removes the tree? And if there is damage, who is responsible?

First, take a deep breath, then continue reading this article on what to do when a tree falls on your property.

When travelling along the paved roads and concrete paths of Toronto, many people are unaware that they are closer to a river than they think. Beneath the ground and carefully designed parks of Toronto flow a network of buried rivers, creeks, and brooks that once carved deep ravines through the city's landscape. Today, many of these waterways are hidden, but historical surveys help to keep their memory alive.

Waterfront properties can be some of the most beautiful and valuable real estate in Ontario. Whether enjoying the view while sipping your coffee, taking your boat out on the water, or taking a dip off the dock, there are so many reasons why waterfront ownership is desirable for so many.

With all the positives associated with waterfront ownership, it may come as a surprise to learn that there could be legal risks related to your land bordering a body of water.

How to Use the Protect Your Boundaries (PYB) Website

At Protect Your Boundaries (PYB), we help homeowners, real estate professionals, and surveyors across Ontario access land survey plans, understand property boundaries, and uncover title risks quickly and easily.

Here’s your step-by-step guide to using the PYB website and getting the property information you need fast.

Sometimes, exploring historic surveys requires a bit of detective work. You find something interesting, look for information, follow signs, hit a dead end, and eventually you uncover a small detail that flips a switch in your brain, like someone just turned the light on upstairs.

The Long Branch community is one with a rich history and a past worth exploring. In the Protect Your Boundaries archives, we recently uncovered a 1906 subdivision survey completed by Unwin Brown & Sankey that captures Long Branch in a dramatically different light than the neighbourhood we recognize today.

In a recent story out of Hamilton, a homeowner found themselves in hot water with the city after building a $400,000 poolside oasis on public parkland. The situation has sparked widespread discussion about property rights and the importance of doing your due diligence before starting any build.

One call to Protect Your Boundaries could have helped this homeowner avoid catastrophe and saved them hundreds of thousands of dollars. Here’s how.

How Did This Happen?