Cosmetic refresh
Paint, a new mirror, light and hardware. Nothing behind the walls is touched.
Peterborough and Lindsay bathrooms
Peterborough bathroom renovation
Peterborough sits a long drive from our Oakville office, so we take on larger bathroom jobs here and book them well ahead. That gives time for permits, orders and any heritage questions.
What are the four types of remodeling?
People usually sort remodeling into four sizes: a cosmetic refresh, a partial remodel, a full remodel, and an addition or layout change. It is a handy way to talk about scope, not an official rule. Each step up touches more pipes, walls and permits. Telling us which size you have in mind is the quickest way to a useful price.
The four sizes in a bathroom
What each kind of remodel means in practice
Here is how the four sizes play out in a real bathroom. For a Peterborough job, we mostly take on the last three.
Partial remodel
One part is replaced, such as the vanity and floor, or the tub surround. The rest stays.
Full remodel
The room is stripped to the studs and rebuilt, with a new membrane, tile, fixtures and fan, on the old drains.
Layout change or addition
Fixtures move or a new bathroom is built from another space. Drains, permits and inspections become the main work.
Heritage streets
Old West End homes in The Avenues
In 2016 the City named The Avenues and Neighbourhood its first Heritage Conservation District. Many of its houses date from the early 1900s.
Changing a property in that district calls for a heritage permit first. A bathroom usually stays indoors, but a new fan vent or a changed window can reach the outside wall.
So we draw the vent route early and raise it with City staff before work starts. Inside, plaster walls and floors with a slight slope need care when we set a shower base.
Bathrooms below grade
A Peterborough basement bathroom and the flood reduction subsidy
A bathroom in the basement sits closest to the sewer, so a backup can reach it first.
The City of Peterborough runs a Flood Reduction Subsidy Program for pre-approved work. It helps with labour and materials for jobs such as a backwater valve, or a sump pit and pump.
Owners can apply if the City has contacted them about a sewer connection that does not meet the rules, or if the basement has flooded before.
Proof that you own the home is part of the application.
The City says all permits and approvals must be in place before the work is done. So your subsidy application comes before we cut the slab.
Downspout and roof drain disconnection are on the City's list of eligible work too. Both are outside jobs that can happen before the bathroom starts.
The City also bans new foundation drain connections to the sanitary sewer. If we find an old one while the floor is open, we plan the fix with you.
A backwater valve costs less to fit while the floor is already open for the new drain.
Lindsay included
Bathrooms in Lindsay, City of Kawartha Lakes
Lindsay belongs to Kawartha Lakes, a separate city from Peterborough. It sits about 124 km from our Oakville base, measured straight.
The permit office
Kawartha Lakes Building and Septic Division, 180 Kent Street West, Lindsay. A new bathroom or moved drain goes through them.
Homes on a septic system
The City asks for a sewage system review when a renovation adds plumbing fixtures. A new bathroom on septic should be checked before anything else is ordered.
Homes in town
Houses on the town sewer skip the septic step. The normal building permit and inspections still apply.
Far from our office means planned early. A Peterborough bathroom starts on paper months before the crew arrives.
Getting here and getting approved
Peterborough details at a look
| Distance | Around 144 km from Oakville on a map line. The crew takes the 407 or 401, then Highway 115 north. |
|---|---|
| Permits | City of Peterborough Building Services Division, at City Hall, 500 George Street North. |
| Heritage | The Avenues and Neighbourhood district, set up in 2016 in the Old West End. |
| Second units | An additional residential unit needs its own bathroom, and in most cases City water and sewer. It may have no more than two bedrooms. |
| Wiring | Any new bathroom circuit goes on an ESA notice, the same rule used across Ontario. |
| Lindsay | Covered on this page. Its permits and septic reviews come from Kawartha Lakes. |
Toward the lake
Durham bathroom pages on the way
The pictures are stock bathrooms picked for ideas. None is a room we renovated in Peterborough or Lindsay.
Sources we checked for this page
- City of Peterborough, building services and permits
- City of Peterborough, heritage conservation district
- City of Kawartha Lakes, building permits and guides
- City of Kawartha Lakes, septic permits
- Electrical Safety Authority website
- City of Peterborough, flood reduction
- City of Peterborough, sump pump
- City of Peterborough, creating a new additional residential unit