This house was located on the 15th Line (43.209141,-80.745743) in Woodstock, Ontario. It’s since been demolished. My family decided to accompany me to see what I do when I go exploring. They watched from the road as I went inside and took photographs. It’s nice when your family takes an interest in what you do for a hobby.

A Notice of Possession sign on the front window indicated that this property was vacant since 2011. A re-zoning notice on the front lawn indicated that the land was likely to change use.

The kitchen was modern while the remainder of the house was boring to explore. In the basement are signs that there was a large flood of water as evident by the black mold lining the walls. The property was located in New Tecumseth.

The house has now been demolished.

This property had the look that experienced explorers tend to keep a watch out for. It’s in a residential area but the overgrown driveway and grass told me that it might be worth looking into. All of the doors were locked, but a piece of plywood on the rear door told me that the process of entry had already begun. I returned about one month later to find that the rear door was now unlocked.

Perhaps the real mystery here are the new fridge and stove appliances, with cold bottled water in the fridge. There are no signs of life at this house, and the surrounding properties are already waiting for the developer to build upon them. While there wasn’t a lot to see inside this house, and the rooms were somewhat small, I did enjoy the kitchen and retro bathroom as well as the basement pool room.

Note: While this address is listed as being destined for redevelopment, there were trucks in the driveway on my last visit.

This is simply known as the Bradley House. Note the old style doorbell which you’d turn to ring a bell on the inner side of the door. The house is no longer standing.

This property is known as the Adjala Dartboard House because it’s located in Adjala-Tosorontio and a dartboard used to hang on a wall with a multi-coloured carpet backdrop. The dartboard has gone missing since my initial visit in 2012. I’d never been back here until June 2021.

This was a four bedroom farmhouse with barn, drive shed and grain storage. Some of the doors had the old-style glass door knobs.

Given that this house is situated along a busy highway, the house has been thoroughly trashed, spray painted and all the other stupid things people do abandoned houses.

Caution: The basement can be flooded up to the main floor and there’s a hornet nest under the floor where the top door overlooks the front yard. There’s also a large hornet nest in a room on the ground floor.

Location: 44.123239,-79.909637

A random find along the highway as we traveled from one destination to another. There wasn’t much of photogenic value to be found inside. The rear patio door was open and several leaves had blown inside the dining room, confirming to me that this was indeed a vacant property.

There is a theory that the floor being cut away in the third photo is a result of someone having passed away in the home.

The house is likely to be demolished.

This house was part of our itinerary for the day. I had no idea what to expect from it. As we approached, the driveway was overgrown and it was difficult to see the house. There were three, perhaps four buildings on the property. I drove up the driveway (thank you 4×4) and we approached the house. As the doors were boarded, Forsaken Ontario hopped up on a chair and made his way in through the window. Meanwhile my companion had discovered that there was a cellar door in the back. We walked down into the cellar and discovered a set of stairs that led us to the main floor – no window entry required.

The house is described as having a gable dormer, a three-bay front facade with concrete stills and a covered porch with a gable roof dominate.

A calendar on the wall indicated the house was possibly last lived in April of 2013. Eight years of nature have pretty much made the property invisible to passers by. I’ve included a Google Street View showing the house visible from the road during the fall.

At some point during our road trip, we stopped to check ourselves for ticks. ForsakenOntario had one on him, and I’d later find one on my body when I returned home. The risks of exploring in summer.

As fate would have it on this day of exploring, the two most sought locations were locked up. At the same time, fate also decided to hand us several random houses along the road. Several times throughout the day we found ourselves making a U-turn to investigate potential abandoned places.

This particular four-bedroom, three-bathroom house is located in prime real estate territory, along a busy road and next to several businesses. I don’t know if a develop purchased the land or if the owners decided to sell of their own accord. The property is worth $3,499,000.

There was little of interest inside although the electricity was still functional. In an upstairs bathroom, I noticed a bird trapped and unable to find a way outside. I tore open the screen (it was already torn) but the bird flew into another bedroom. The other bedroom had no screen, and so I opened the window allowing the bird to fly to freedom.

In 1968, a Jewish businessman named Stan founded a company in the State of New York. Stan’s company sold sealants used for roofing, pools and various construction purposes. The company grew to two N.Y. warehouses and eight warehouses in Ontario, Canada.

In 1978, Stan’s wife Elaine purchased a Santa Fe-style house located in a prestigious area of Toronto known for its million-dollar homes. The property may have already been in the family name as it was transferred to her for an amount of $2.00 which is common for inter-family transfers.

Around 1994 the sealant company changed their name to reflect the larger variety of merchandise they carried. The company’s product line included insulation foam, disinfectants, adhesives and roofing supplies. At around the same time, a child company was formed that sold retail pools, spas and pool cleaning supplies.
 
The couple’s son, David worked at the family business as the Vice President of Finance from 1995 to 2008. In 2009, he was promoted to the position of CEO, which he held until 2017. In 2017 the business was sold to a new business interest.

The pool and spa business still operate several locations across Ontario. Current reviews seem to suggest that they’re having current difficulty in maintaining customer satisfaction.

In 2002, Stan’s name was added to the house title which had previously been in his wife’s name. Stan passed away in February of 2018 and his wife, Elaine, passed away in June of 2019.

The house was sold in November of 2020 for $5,780,000. The couple who purchased the property hired an architectural firm to design a new home. In April 2021, an application was made to the City of Toronto to demolish the property and build the new home. There were objections from the neighbours, particularly with regards to the clear cutting of trees along the road. The City has so far declined to allow the new construction to go forth.

The home features an indoor pool with sky lights and patio doors leading to the back deck. The front entrance features two stain glass windows. A winding staircase leads to the upper and lower floors. On the main floor is a washroom with some unique gold wallpaper and a gravity toilet. Perhaps the most modern portion of the house is the kitchen with marble counter tops, ceramic floors and stainless steel appliances.

The basement has been completely done in bamboo wicker (real or artificial) and with a tiki bar and wine rack in the corner. The bar’s counter top is set upon four wine barrels with spouts. There’s also a pool room with over sized table.

Photos & Research: TWP
Thanks to UrbexIsLife for the location

Like so many of Toronto’s aging homes, this property fell into the cross-hairs of a property developer and now awaits its day with the bulldozer. The property was built in 1966 and features a three car garage. The front door and fireplace are exceptionally wider than found in most homes today.

The property is located in North York.