# Kitchen Renovation Contractors in Hamilton, Ontario and Burlington > Kitchen renovations in Hamilton and Burlington: when plumbing, electrical or structural changes trigger a permit, what a quote should itemise, and one form to reach a vetted general contractor. Source: https://905trades.ca/services/renovations/kitchen/ · Last updated: 2026-08-30 · 905 Trades --- The one question that decides your kitchen budget: does anything move? Here is how to read a kitchen quote, when the City has to be involved, and how to get a vetted general contractor to price it. Two kitchens with the same cabinets and the same counters can be far apart in price, and the difference is almost always the plumbing and the walls. Keep the sink, stove and fridge where they are and you have a finishes job: cabinets, counters, backsplash, flooring, lighting. Move the sink to an island, take out the wall to the dining room, or add a second oven on a new circuit, and you have a construction job with a permit, drawings and inspections. Neither is wrong. The mistake is pricing one and building the other. ## When a Hamilton kitchen needs a permit The City of Hamilton does not list "kitchen" as a permit category. It lists the things a kitchen renovation may involve. Its [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 whether load-bearing or not, creating or enlarging door and window openings, and material alterations such as installing or replacing drywall and insulation. The same page says no permit is needed for installing minor millwork and cabinetry, for flooring, for painting, or for replacing existing plumbing fixtures in the same location. So: a new sink where the old sink was, no permit; a sink moved to the island, permit. Where a permit is needed and no new floor area is created, 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, subject to a minimum permit 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 ### Layout change Every fixture that moves drags a trade with it: the plumber for supply and drain, the electrician for the new circuit, the HVAC contractor for the range hood vent through an exterior wall. That is why an island with a sink is the single most expensive idea in a kitchen. ### Walls, and what holds the house up Opening the kitchen to the dining room in a 1950s Mountain bungalow often means a load-bearing wall and a beam sized by a designer or engineer. In a pre-war lower-city house it can also mean discovering that the floor above was framed to a different standard. Both are on the City's permit list and both need drawings. ### Cabinetry tier Stock, semi-custom or custom. Stock boxes in standard sizes with filler strips are the budget end; custom cabinetry built to the room is the top. The middle tier covers most Hamilton kitchens and is where most of the visible money goes. ### Counters and backsplash Laminate, quartz, granite or porcelain slab, with the cut-outs, edge profile and seams all affecting the fabricator's price. Backsplash tile is small in area and large in labour per square foot. ### What is behind the old cabinets Wiring that predates grounded outlets, a plaster wall that crumbles when the old uppers come down, a subfloor with three layers of vinyl on it. The quote should carry an allowance for this, with a rule for how the extra gets priced and approved before the crew continues. ## What a kitchen quote should itemise - Demolition and disposal of the old kitchen. - Cabinetry by maker and tier, with the drawing the order is based on. - Counters by material, with fabrication, cut-outs and installation. - Plumbing and electrical as separate lines, each stating whether anything is being relocated. - Range hood venting: recirculating or ducted, and the route if ducted. - Flooring, backsplash, paint, lighting and hardware as separate lines. - Permit drawings and fee, if walls, openings or plumbing move. - A schedule, and the payment stages tied to it. ## How long it takes Cabinet lead time is usually the longest single wait, and it starts when the drawing is signed off, not when demolition starts. A keep-the-layout kitchen is measured in a couple of weeks of site work once the cabinets arrive. Move plumbing or take out a wall and add the permit review and inspection stages on top. Plan to be without a kitchen for the whole of it. ## Common questions ### Can I keep my existing cabinets and just do counters and a backsplash? Yes, and it is the cheapest kitchen there is. New counters on old boxes need the boxes to be level and sound, which the contractor checks before quoting. ### Does replacing the range hood need a permit? Replacing a hood with a like-for-like unit in the same spot is a fixture swap. Running a new duct through an exterior wall is a new opening, which the City lists as permitted work. ### Who orders the cabinets, me or the contractor? Either works, but one party has to own the measurements. If the contractor is installing, let the contractor measure and order, so a wrong dimension is their problem and not yours. ### Should I do the floor before or after the cabinets? The contractor decides based on the flooring type and whether the cabinets are being replaced. Ask, and make sure the answer is in the quote, because it changes the square footage. See also [bathroom renovations](https://905trades.ca/services/renovations/bathroom/), [basement finishing](https://905trades.ca/services/renovations/basement-finishing/), and the [renovations overview](https://905trades.ca/services/renovations/). For flooring on its own, our [flooring partner](https://905trades.ca/services/flooring/) quotes that directly. 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/) [Bathroom renovation](https://905trades.ca/services/renovations/bathroom/) · [Basement finishing](https://905trades.ca/services/renovations/basement-finishing/) · [Flooring](https://905trades.ca/services/flooring/) ## 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/)