Whole-home renovations in North York
A whole-home renovation rebuilds a house around the family living in it now: walls out under steel, the kitchen where it should be, bathrooms added, mechanical and electrical replaced, and finishes from a catalogue you keep. In North York the brief is usually a custom home on a tear-down lot, a second storey on a bungalow worth keeping, or a whole-home renovation with a new rear wall.
North York, on the ground.
North York is 1950s bungalows on 50 foot lots, many already replaced by two-storey custom homes, with ravine lots along the Don and Humber tributaries. That is the stock where a whole-home renovation in North York makes sense: a house worth keeping with a plan that no longer works. Lots are wide enough for a crane and a bin in the driveway, but many streets are lined with new builds, so the by-law envelope is well defined. The house is stripped to the studs where the plan changes, the structure and the services are rebuilt, and the finishes go in last, with the schedule written into the contract and daily photos while it runs.
Read more about building in North York or the full whole-home renovations page.
On the drawing.
A measured survey of the house and a redesigned plan with a rendering of the finished space
Engineered drawings for every wall that comes out and every beam that replaces it
Building permit filed and followed by us
Strip-out to the studs where the plan changes, with dust walls where you are staying
Structure, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, insulation, drywall and finishes by our crew and our trades
A deficiency walk with the list closed before the last payment, and a written warranty
Paper first.
A whole-home renovation needs a building permit wherever structure, plumbing or the envelope changes, with engineered drawings for every wall that comes out. Toronto Building issues the permit; ravine lots add a conservation authority review and the City's ravine by-law before the application goes in.
- A building permit is required where structure, plumbing or the building envelope changes, which a whole-home renovation nearly always does.
- Every load-bearing wall that comes out needs engineered drawings as part of the permit.
- Electrical work is inspected under the Electrical Safety Authority's permit, pulled by the licensed electrician.
- Heritage listing adds a review of anything visible from the street.
The paperwork wall: WSIB, insurance, licences, the HCRA status and the warranty, on one page and dated.
| Driver | What we look at |
|---|---|
| How much of the plan changes | Moving a kitchen and adding a bathroom moves plumbing and structure; refinishing the same plan does not. |
| Structure | Every load-bearing wall that comes out is a beam, posts and footings sized by the engineer. |
| Mechanical and electrical | Whether the furnace, the panel and the plumbing stack are replaced or extended. |
| Finish level | Kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, millwork and stone chosen from the catalogue. |
| If you stay | Working around a family in the house is slower than working in an empty one, and the schedule reflects it. |
No price per square foot on this site. The measured survey and the drawings set the number, and the number holds because of them.
Sometimes, if the work can be staged floor by floor with a kitchen and a bathroom kept in service. Often moving out is faster and costs less. We tell you which at the site walk.
Yes, wherever structure, plumbing or the envelope changes, which it nearly always does. the City of Toronto (Toronto Building) issues it, and we prepare the drawings and file it.
It comes down to the foundation and the plan. If the footings can carry a floor and the ground-floor layout is worth keeping, a second storey saves the cost of a new foundation. If the plan needs to change everywhere, a new house on the same lot is often the cleaner path. We answer that at the site walk with a test pit and a look at the drawings.
The City of Toronto, through Toronto Building. North York has had no separate permit office since 1998.