Home Renovation in Oshawa

More than you expect, and this is the single biggest difference between renovating in south Oshawa and renovating in a 2000s subdivision. Houses of that era commonly still have 60-amp electrical service, original supply plumbing, low basement ceilings, and a single bathroom. A kitchen renovation that also needs a service upgrade is a different project financially than one that does not. We check the panel and the basement before quoting, precisely so this is a line in the estimate rather than a conversation in week three.

Yes, and they are worth doing carefully. Those 1920s and 30s houses have detailing, proportions and materials that are expensive to reproduce and easy to destroy. The approach is to modernise the services and the rooms that need to function, while leaving the things that make the house worth owning alone. Plaster, original trim profiles and leaded glass are usually worth repairing rather than replacing.

It depends on the house and it is a real question, not a formality. Many south Oshawa basements do not have the height for a comfortable finished ceiling, let alone a legal secondary suite. Underpinning solves it and is a significant structural job with its own permit and engineering. We will measure and tell you honestly whether the basement is worth finishing as it stands, worth underpinning, or better left as storage.

The City of Oshawa requires a building permit for structural work, basement finishing, new or relocated plumbing, and electrical changes. Given how often work in the older stock involves upgrading services rather than just moving them, permits come up more frequently here than in newer areas. We handle the application and inspection scheduling.

No. We are in Ajax, which is two towns west, and Oshawa is well inside the area we work in daily. It is far enough that we schedule Oshawa jobs in blocks rather than sending a crew back and forth, which is better for your schedule as well as ours.