# Bathroom Renovation Contractors in Hamilton, Ontario and Burlington > Bathroom renovations in Hamilton and Burlington: the plumbing and ventilation rules that decide whether you need a permit, what a fair quote includes, and one form to reach a vetted contractor. Source: https://905trades.ca/services/renovations/bathroom/ · Last updated: 2026-08-30 · 905 Trades --- Bathrooms are small rooms with every trade in them. Here is what decides the price, when the City has to see it, and what a fair bathroom quote itemises. A bathroom is the densest room in the house: plumbing, electrical, ventilation, waterproofing, tile and carpentry in a space the size of a parking spot. That is why a "small" bathroom is never a small job, and why the gap between a good bathroom contractor and a bad one shows up two winters later as a stain on the ceiling below. ## When a Hamilton bathroom needs a permit The City of Hamilton's [building permit page](https://www.hamilton.ca/build-invest-grow/construction-renovation/residential-building-renovation/building-permit) requires a permit for new or relocated plumbing, adding or removing walls, and creating or enlarging window openings. It does not require one for replacing existing plumbing fixtures in the same location, for painting, or for flooring. In practice: a new toilet, vanity and tub in the old positions is a fixture swap and needs no permit. Moving the toilet, converting a tub to a walk-in shower with a new drain location, or adding a bathroom where there was none is relocated or new plumbing and needs one. Where a permit applies and no floor area is added, the City's [fee schedule](https://www.hamilton.ca/build-invest-grow/construction-renovation/residential-building-renovation/building-permit-fees) charges one percent of the value of the work, with a minimum fee of **$291** ([City of Hamilton, building permit fees, verified 30 Aug 2026](https://www.hamilton.ca/build-invest-grow/construction-renovation/residential-building-renovation/building-permit-fees)). ## What drives the price ### Moving fixtures Relocating a toilet means a new drain rough-in through the floor, and in a lower-city Hamilton house that can mean opening the ceiling below. Relocating a shower drain is the same job. Keeping fixtures where they are is the biggest saving available in a bathroom. ### Tub to shower The most requested change. A prefabricated shower base and wall kit is the budget route; a tiled curb or curbless shower with a proper waterproofing membrane and a linear drain is the premium route, and the waterproofing is the part that must not be cheaped out on. ### Ventilation Many older Hamilton bathrooms have a fan that vents into the attic or nowhere. A fan ducted to the outside is what stops the mould, and running that duct is a real line item, especially on the Mountain where bungalow attics are low and on the escarpment brow where exterior walls are masonry. ### What the old tile is hiding Behind a 1960s tile surround there is usually water damage in the wall, and under an old floor there may be a rotted subfloor around the toilet flange. Both are common enough that a quote should carry an allowance for them. ### Finish tier Ceramic versus porcelain versus natural stone; a stock vanity versus a custom one; a standard toilet versus a wall-hung unit with an in-wall tank. The tier decides the material total. ## What a bathroom quote should itemise - Demolition and disposal, including the old tub, which is heavy and awkward to get out of a second-floor bathroom. - Plumbing, stating whether any fixture is relocated. - Electrical: a ground-fault protected circuit, lighting, fan, and any heated floor. - Ventilation, with the fan ducted to the exterior and the route named. - Waterproofing system for the shower, by product name. - Tile by area, wall and floor separately, with the substrate. - Fixtures and vanity, either supplied by the contractor or by you, stated either way. - Permit drawings and fee if plumbing moves or walls change. ## How long it takes A fixture-swap bathroom is usually a matter of days once materials are on site. A relocated-plumbing bathroom adds the permit review and inspections, and tiled showers need cure times between membrane, tile and grout that cannot be rushed. If it is the only bathroom in the house, ask the contractor what the plan is for the days without it. ## Common questions ### Can I add a bathroom in the basement? Yes, and it is new plumbing, so it is permitted work. If the drain sits below the sewer line, it needs a pump. See [basement finishing](https://905trades.ca/services/renovations/basement-finishing/). ### Do I need a permit to replace a bathtub? Not if the new tub goes where the old one was; the City lists replacing existing plumbing fixtures in the same location as not requiring a permit. Convert the tub to a shower with a moved drain and you are into permitted work. ### Is heated flooring worth it? It is a comfort item, not a structural one, and it is cheapest to add while the floor is already up. It needs its own circuit and thermostat, which the electrician prices. ### What is curbless, and why is it more expensive? A curbless shower has no step at the entry, which means the floor inside the shower has to be lowered or sloped within the subfloor and waterproofed as one plane with the bathroom floor. More labour, more waterproofing, and a design that has to be right the first time. See also [kitchen renovations](https://905trades.ca/services/renovations/kitchen/) and the [renovations overview](https://905trades.ca/services/renovations/). For a tile floor on its own, the typical Hamilton range is on [Hamilton Home Costs, tile installation](https://hamiltonhomecosts.ca/cost/flooring/tile-installation/). The renovations partner for the 905 is being confirmed. Send the request anyway: it comes to us, and we hand it to the contractor the day they sign. 905 Trades is paid a referral fee by the contractors it introduces. It does not change your price. You hire the contractor directly, on their quote and their contract. [How 905 Trades works](https://905trades.ca/how-it-works/) [Kitchen renovation](https://905trades.ca/services/renovations/kitchen/) · [Basement finishing](https://905trades.ca/services/renovations/basement-finishing/) · [Tile and grout cleaning](https://905trades.ca/services/carpet-cleaning/) ## Get this done Send a request: https://905trades.ca/request/ --- 905 Trades is paid a referral fee by the contractors it introduces. It does not change your price. You hire the contractor directly, on their quote and their contract. More: [all services](https://905trades.ca/services/) · [service areas](https://905trades.ca/areas/) · [how it works](https://905trades.ca/how-it-works/) · [request a contractor](https://905trades.ca/request/)