Neighbours stop to look at the house at 63 Maria street, middle, in Toronto's Junction neighbourhood. The house is leaning heavily after excavation work went wrong, forcing the adjacent homes to be evacuated.J.P. Moczulski/The Globe and Mail
Construction in the basement of a Toronto home came to a jarring halt this week when the house suddenly shifted and started to list heavily to one side.
It stopped within inches of the house next door but sent emergency services scrambling Wednesday and temporarily shut down a well-known street in the Junction neighbourhood.
Next-door neighbour Tony Gatt was at home watching television with his wife when it all happened.
"I was watching a soccer game and I switched to The Young and the Restless and we heard a big noise," he said. "We thought maybe it was … an earthquake from how the house was shaking."
When he looked outside, he saw a construction worker running out of the house.
Mr. Gatt said they were digging in the basement and went down as much as five to eight feet below the home, which is located directly across the street from the Congregation Knesseth Israel – the oldest synagogue in the province.
Firetrucks, police and other emergency responders arrived immediately and taped off the area, according to neighbours. Construction crews and utility companies appeared on the scene throughout the day Thursday to shut off gas, water and hydro and determine what could be done with the home.
Mr. Gatt said he and the neighbours to the other side of the leaning house were evacuated from their homes and told they would be out for days.
He said a crew is expected to arrive Friday morning to demolish the home.
According to a land-registry search, the home was purchased by its current owners in May, 2011, for more than $550,000. They could not be reached for comment.
With a report from Timothy Appleby