The first thing to know about a renovation in Hamilton is not the price. It is whether the City has to see the drawings. The City of Hamilton's list of projects that require a building permit includes finishing or partially finishing a basement, relocating rooms or creating new rooms, adding or removing walls whether load-bearing or not, creating or enlarging door and window openings, new or relocated plumbing, and additions. The same page says a permit is not needed for installing cabinetry and flooring, painting, replacing plumbing fixtures in the same location, or replacing windows to the same size. Most real renovations land on the first list, and a general contractor who says otherwise is the wrong contractor.

What we send work for

Basement finishing: framing, insulation, drywall, a bathroom, egress, and the permit the City requires for it.
Kitchen renovations: keep-the-layout refreshes through to full gut-and-move jobs with plumbing and electrical changes.
Bathroom renovations: tub-to-shower conversions, moved fixtures, ventilation, waterproofing.
Additions and structural changes: quoted and permitted through the same contractor, and always with drawings.

What drives the price of a renovation

Whether anything moves

A kitchen that keeps its sink, stove and fridge where they are is a finishes job. Move any of them and plumbing, venting and electrical move with them, which is where the labour and the permit come in. The same is true of a bathroom: a new tub in the old tub's spot is a very different quote from a tub relocated across the room.

What the walls are hiding

Much of Hamilton's lower city was built before 1950, and Mountain bungalows date from the 1950s and 60s. Behind the drywall of either you can find knob-and-tube wiring, galvanized supply lines, undersized joists, or a subfloor that was never flat. A good quote names an allowance for what is found once the walls are open, rather than pretending nothing will be.

Drawings and the permit

Permit drawings, the application, and the inspections are real line items. In Hamilton the permit fee itself is set by the City's building by-law: the City of Hamilton fee schedule sets a minimum permit fee of $291 City of Hamilton, building permit fees, verified 30 Aug 2026 and prices finishing a basement at $4.06 City of Hamilton, building permit fees, verified 30 Aug 2026 per square metre of floor area. Where no new floor area is created, the same schedule charges one percent of the value of the work, subject to the minimum.

Finish tier

Stock cabinets versus custom, porcelain versus natural stone, a fibreglass shower base versus a tiled one. The tier decides the material total, and it is the one lever you fully control.

What a renovation quote should itemise

Demolition and disposal, as its own line.
Permit drawings, the permit application and fee, and who is pulling the permit. It should be the contractor, in their name, not you.
Each trade separately: framing, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, drywall, tile, flooring, paint, cabinetry, counters.
An allowance for what is found once the walls are open, with the rule for how changes get priced and approved before work continues.
A schedule with a start date, the inspection stages, and what "done" means.
Payment stages tied to milestones, never a large deposit for work not started.

Typical costs, with the source

905 Trades does not invent renovation prices. Two published Hamilton figures are worth having in hand: a basement subfloor over 700 square feet, which is the first thing a proper basement finish needs on a concrete slab, runs $2,850 to $4,750 Hamilton Home Costs, basement subfloor, verified 25 Jul 2026 as a typical Hamilton range for mid-range materials, HST excluded. A detached garage build of 400 square feet, the other structure homeowners most often add, runs $38,400 to $62,000 Hamilton Home Costs, detached garage build, verified 25 Jul 2026. Both are published estimator ranges, not quotes. Full kitchen and bathroom ranges are published on this site only once the general contractor's own price sheet has been verified, dated, and cited.

How long a renovation takes

A permit in Hamilton is reviewed by the Building Division before it is issued, and the contractor books inspections at stages such as framing, insulation and final. Plan a finished basement as weeks, not days, and a kitchen with moved services as longer than a kitchen without. The general contractor gives dates on the quote, and the schedule is one of the things you hold them to.

Common questions

Can the contractor pull the permit for me?

Yes, and they should. The permit is applied for in the name of the property owner with the contractor as the applicant, so the drawings and the inspections are the contractor's responsibility, not yours.

What if I skip the permit?

Unpermitted work can be ordered stopped or removed, it complicates selling or refinancing the house, and it is the contractor asking you to skip it who benefits, not you. 905 Trades does not refer to contractors who work without one where one is required.

Do I need drawings for a kitchen?

If walls, openings or plumbing move, yes, because the City needs them to review the permit. A keep-the-layout kitchen usually needs a layout drawing for the cabinet order, not a permit set.

Who does the flooring, the painting, the cleaning?

The general contractor runs the job and brings the trades. Where one of our other partners is the right fit, for the flooring for example, the contractors work it out between themselves; you still have one contract.

Start with basement finishing, a kitchen or a bathroom, or send the request below with whatever you have in mind.

Home renovations in Hamilton and Burlington, by a general contractor we know