Question 1

What does a whole-home renovation cost?

Accepted Answer

We do not publish a whole-home range, because we would be adding a kitchen quote to a bathroom quote and calling the result a price — and it is not one we have ever charged anybody. What we can tell you is what the rooms cost: kitchens start at $20,000, powder rooms at $4,000 and three-piece bathrooms at $14,499. A multi-room quote is itemised by room, so you can see exactly where the number comes from before you commit to any of it.

Question 2

Can we live in the house while you work?

Accepted Answer

Usually yes, and it is the single biggest factor in how we sequence the job. The normal approach is to finish one bathroom first so the household has one that works, then take the kitchen, which is the longest and loudest part. We agree which weeks you will be without which room before anything is demolished, rather than discovering it partway through.

Question 3

Do you do basements?

Accepted Answer

In a whole-home project, yes — and not as a handoff. The crew that runs our whole-home builds is the same crew that has built this group’s basements for decades, the work behind FinishedBasement.ca’s 4.95/5 from 335 HomeStars reviews. A standalone basement, on its own, still goes to FinishedBasement.ca — same people, under the brand that holds the record for it.

Question 4

Who is responsible for my project?

Accepted Answer

Paul, our Director of Renovation Sales & Design, is the one responsible for whole-home projects — one person accountable for the whole scope rather than a different contact per room. He runs the walk-through, owns the sequence, and is who you call when anything needs deciding.

Question 5

Do you handle windows, stairs and structural changes?

Accepted Answer

As part of the wider project, yes — windows, stairs and structural wall removals are all in scope, along with the engineering and permits behind them. Thirty years in this trade means long-standing partners in every specialty we do not carry in-house. What we do not do is any of it as a standalone job.

Question 6

Is it cheaper to do several rooms at once?

Accepted Answer

Somewhat, and for unglamorous reasons: one mobilisation instead of three, the same trades already on site, one disposal bin, one permit application covering the scope, and materials bought together. Those are real reductions. Be sceptical of anyone offering a large percentage off simply for bundling — that is usually a discount on a first price that was high.

Question 7

How long does a whole-home renovation take?

Accepted Answer

It depends far more on whether you are living there than on how many rooms are in scope. The fixed part is the cabinetry: two to four weeks to build, all of it before anyone arrives at the house. The rest of the schedule is arranged around that window rather than queued behind it — demolition, rough-ins and anything structural happen inside it. With the house empty we can run trades in parallel and compress the whole thing. With the household in place we phase it room by room so you always have a working bathroom, which is safer and slower. You get the week-by-week sequence with the quote, not after you have signed.

Question 8

In what order do you do the rooms?

Accepted Answer

This is the decision a multi-room job lives or dies on, and we make it with you before anything is demolished. Where there is more than one bathroom, one is finished first so the household keeps one that works. The kitchen follows, because it is the longest and the loudest. Flooring, lighting and paint run last and run across the whole floor at once — that is what makes the rooms read as one house rather than four projects that shared an address.

Question 9

Will I need a permit?

Accepted Answer

On a multi-room renovation, almost certainly. A single room often needs none at all, but work that touches structure, moves a plumbing stack or adds circuits does, and a scope this size usually touches all three. One application covers the whole scope of work rather than each room separately. Permits are issued by your municipality; the electrical is inspected by the Electrical Safety Authority, which works the same way everywhere in Ontario. Permit fees are set by the municipality and charged on top of the quote, never buried inside it.

Question 10

What is in the quote, and what is not?

Accepted Answer

The quote is itemised by room, so you can see what each one carries: demolition and disposal, rough-in work, materials and fixtures at the allowances we agree, labour, and the permit application. What runs between the rooms is listed separately — flooring, lighting, trim and paint — because on a multi-room job that is where more of the money goes than people expect. Appliances and furniture are not included, and permit fees are charged at cost.

Question 11

What happens when you find something behind a wall?

Accepted Answer

On older houses we usually do. The honest position is not that surprises never happen, but that they are priced and agreed before the work is done rather than turning up on a final invoice. A multi-room job helps here rather than hurting: the same knob-and-tube, the same settled floor, the same undersized panel tends to appear in every room, so finding it once during the measure tells us what the rest of the house is likely hiding.

Question 12

Can I finance a project this size?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it comes up more often on multi-room work than on single rooms, for obvious reasons. Financing is available so the cost can be spread rather than paid across the schedule. It is worth raising at the consultation rather than at signing, because the order the rooms are done in can be arranged around what you want to spend and when.

Question 13

Is the in-home measure really free?

Accepted Answer

Yes — and on a project this size it is a longer visit than you might expect, because every room in scope is measured in one appointment. That is the only way to write a quote that is itemised rather than estimated. No fee, no deposit, no obligation to proceed. If the scope and the budget do not meet, we would rather say so at your kitchen table than three weeks into a job.

The GTA renovation guide

What should I know before starting a renovation in Ontario?

Renovating more than one room? That is the easy case for one team.

What we take on

What we don’t do on its own

Six steps from first call to the last room finished

A call about the whole plan

A free in-home measure

Design and material selections

A sequence, not a pile of jobs

One written scope and quote

Build and final walkthrough

Every claim here is checkable

Where we work

What is true of every renovation, whichever room it is

Permits come from your municipality

Electrical inspection is provincial

Inspected before anything closes up

What a written scope should contain

Changes are priced before they happen

Who is actually in your house