Renovation guide · Planning
How to plan a kitchen or bathroom renovation in Ottawa
Most of a kitchen or bathroom renovation is decided before anyone picks up a tool: whether anything moves, how much room each part needs, what the house is hiding, and which paperwork applies. Here is each decision, in the order it comes up.
8 min readUpdated By SS Carpentry and Renovations
Key takeaways
- Decide first whether any fixture moves. Replacing cabinets with the plumbing fixtures in place needs no City building permit; moving plumbing does.
- NKBA recommends a kitchen work aisle of at least 42 inches (48 for two cooks), and 30 inches of clear floor in front of every bathroom fixture.
- In a house built before 1990, have a professional test for asbestos before demolition. Built before 1960, assume lead paint.
- Electrical work is reported to the Electrical Safety Authority, separately from any building permit.
- With a second bathroom you can live at home through the work. In a kitchen, the sink and cooktop are out during rough-in and cabinet fitting.
Does anything need to move?
The first decision shapes everything after it: do the sink, toilet, shower and tub stay where they are? The City of Ottawa exempts replacing kitchen or bathroom cabinets from a building permit, provided the plumbing fixtures remain in the same location. Plumbing alterations, additions and extensions are on its list of work that needs one, along with adding or removing walls and enlarging or moving a window. Our guide sets out the City’s full list of permit-exempt work.
| What changes | Keep the layout | Change the layout |
|---|---|---|
| Building permit | Not needed to replace cabinets with the fixtures in place | Needed to move plumbing, add or remove a wall, or change a window opening |
| City inspections | None, though the work must still meet the Ontario Building Code | At the stages on the permit, such as plumbing rough-in and plumbing final |
| Electrical | An ESA notification for most electrical work | An ESA notification for most electrical work |
| Time on site | 3 to 4 weeks | 3 to 4 weeks, plus the permit review and inspection holds |
Both are routine for the kitchens and bathrooms we build. The difference is the paperwork and the calendar, which is why it is the first thing to settle. Yes. We check joist direction and plumbing clearances at the first visit so any changes meet the Ontario Building Code.
How much room does a kitchen need?
The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) publishes planning guidelines for kitchen and bathroom design. Three of its kitchen recommendations cover most layouts:
- A: Work aisle: at least 42″, or 48″ for two cooks
- B: Walkway: at least 36″
- C: Work triangle (dashed, joining fridge, cooktop and sink): 26 ft or less in total, each leg 4 to 9 ft
- A. Work aisle: at least 42 inches. The space between facing counters, or a counter and an island, where someone cooks. NKBA recommends 48 inches when more than one person cooks.
- B. Walkway: at least 36 inches. Any path people walk through without working in it.
- C. Work triangle: 26 feet or less. The three distances between cooktop, sink and fridge should add up to no more than 26 feet, with no leg shorter than 4 feet or longer than 9, and no leg cutting across an island by more than 12 inches.
One more figure decides where the sink goes: NKBA recommends at least 24 inches of counter on one side of it and 18 inches on the other, so there is somewhere to put things down on both sides.
How much room does a bathroom need?
NKBA’s bathroom guidelines work the same way. It recommends 30 inches of clear floor in front of every fixture (toilet, vanity, tub and shower) before you meet a wall or another fixture, a shower at least 36 by 36 inches inside, and the centre of a sink at least 20 inches from a side wall.
If the bathroom is for someone 65 or older, or someone eligible for the disability tax credit, work that makes it safer or easier to use may qualify for the Home Accessibility Tax Credit, on up to $20,000 of eligible expenses a year.
What should you check in an older house first?
Kitchens and bathrooms are where demolition goes deepest, through tile, plaster and the layers under them. Health Canada says that before 1990, asbestos was mainly used for insulating homes, and lists floor and ceiling tiles, cement and plaster, drywall, caulking and pipe insulation among the materials that may contain it. Its advice is to have a professional test before renovating, and to have a qualified asbestos removal specialist take out anything found.
Paint is the other question. In Health Canada’s words, a home built before 1960 probably contains lead-based paint, and between 1960 and 1990 the exterior may. It says not to use sanders, heat guns or blowlamps on it. To find out, send paint chips to a lab or hire a contractor with x-ray equipment.
Which permits and notifications apply?
If the layout changes, the building permit comes first: the City says construction, including demolition, can only start once the permit is issued. The work is then inspected at the stages listed on the permit, booked at least 48 hours ahead. For a kitchen or bathroom, those can include a tested plumbing rough-in before the walls close and a tested plumbing final once the fixtures are in. Our guide to how much time a permit and its inspections add covers the review periods.
Electrical work is a separate question. Almost all of it in Ontario is reported to the Electrical Safety Authority through a notification of work, filed before the work starts, and in ESA’s words, having a building permit isn’t the same as filing an electrical notification. Plumbing on our jobs is done by a licensed plumber; electrical is done to ESA requirements, with a licensed electrician where the work calls for one.
In what order does the work happen?
Once the decisions are made, the build runs in a fixed order. On site, a kitchen or a bathroom takes us 3 to 4 weeks.
Step 01
Measure and assess
We measure and check the layout, services and structure: joist direction, plumbing clearances, and what can move.
Step 02
Itemised quote and design
One fixed figure, line by line, with the target build phases. A $2,000 design deposit starts the design.
Step 03
Selections
We supply the fixtures, tile and vanities. Cabinetry is built in-house or supplied, depending on the job.
Step 04
Protection and demolition
Dust barriers go up before anything comes out, then demolition and any framing.
Step 05
Rough-in
New drain, supply and electrical lines. On a permitted job, the plumbing rough-in is tested and inspected before the walls are closed.
Step 06
Cabinetry and tile
Cabinetry and tile fitted tight, starting from the same flat, stiff subfloor as the floor and tile work we do through a house.
Step 07
Fixtures and walkthrough
Fixtures go in, the plumbing final is inspected where there’s a permit, and then the walkthrough: together we check every hinge, drawer glide, tile joint and silicone bead.
Can you live at home during the work?
“With a second bathroom, living on site is straightforward. In kitchens, sinks and cooking appliances are out of service during rough-in and cabinet fitting.”
That shapes two things to plan before the start date:
- For a kitchen: where you will cook and wash up during rough-in and cabinet fitting, when the sink and cooking appliances are out of service.
- For a home’s only bathroom: which days the toilet and shower will be disconnected, so you can plan around them.
What drives the cost?
We don’t publish prices, because the honest number depends on the room and the materials. It follows a site visit as one fixed, itemised figure, the same way we price our home renovation work across Ottawa. What moves that figure most:
- Moving fixtures. New plumbing runs, a permit and its inspections.
- Cabinetry. Built in-house or supplied, and how much of it.
- Tile. How much wall and floor it covers, and what the surface under it needs first.
- Electrical changes. New circuits or moved outlets, with the ESA notification that comes with them.
- What the walls hide. In an older house, testing, and any removal a test calls for.
Guidance only, not a design or code ruling. NKBA’s figures are design recommendations; the Ontario Building Code, the City of Ottawa and the Electrical Safety Authority set what your project must meet.