North York
Bungalow bathrooms off a central hall are small and square. A wider door, a walk-in shower in place of the tub and better venting make the biggest change.
Bathroom renovations in Toronto
Toronto bathroom renovation
A Toronto bathroom is often the only one in the house, tucked under a sloped roof or squeezed into a condo floor plan. We build it so it stays dry and you are not without a shower for longer than needed.
How much does a bathroom Reno cost in Toronto?
The price is set by what happens to the wet area and the pipes, more than by the tile you choose. A same-spot swap of tub, toilet and vanity costs far less than moving a drain or building a walk-in shower. In Toronto, old cast iron stacks and condo limits on noisy work can add lines too. We list every one in writing after a free visit.
Under the old tile
What older Toronto bathrooms hide
Many pre-war houses have one bathroom upstairs with a cast iron tub and tile set in a thick bed of mortar. That floor is heavy, and the wood under it has often taken years of small leaks.
We open the floor before we promise a curbless shower. Joists sometimes need sistering, and an old cast iron stack may need a new section where the toilet connects.
A second bathroom is a common goal in a semi. The hard part is the drain, so we look at where the stack runs before we draw the room.
A house that old may also have a lead water service from the street. Toronto Water tests a tap sample for free, and the result tells us whether new supply pipes belong in the plan.
Covered here as well
Bathrooms in North York, Scarborough and Etobicoke
All three sit inside Toronto's city limits, so one permit office covers them. What differs is the house.
Scarborough
Backsplits often hide the main bathroom half a floor up, over the garage or crawl space. Cold floors there are a good reason to add a heated mat.
Etobicoke
Our nearest Toronto district. Lakeshore condo bathrooms here mean tight deliveries and board approval, while the older bungalows inland get full gut jobs.
Condo owners
Before a condo bathroom starts
Your building has rules we follow from the first day. These are the papers and bookings we sort out with management.
- Board or management approval for the scope of work
- Our certificate of insurance sent to the office
- The service elevator booked for demolition and delivery days
- Quiet hours for tile cutting and drilling
- A check of shut-off valves that may serve more than one suite
- Floor protection from the elevator to your door
Booking the inspector
How Toronto Building inspects a bathroom permit
The permit holder calls in each inspection, and on our jobs that is us. These are the City's own rules for those visits, and what they mean for your bathroom.
- Requests go in online at any hour, from the next business day up to four weeks ahead
- Inspectors work Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and phone ahead to set a time
- Anything covered before its inspection must be opened again and passed before the permit can close
- So new drain and supply pipes stay in plain view until the plumbing check is signed
- The shower membrane goes on only after the pipes behind it have passed
- We call for each visit once that stage is truly done, so a failed check does not push back the tile
- The ESA inspects the fan, heated floor and GFCI wiring on its own schedule, apart from the City
The local details
Permits and travel for a Toronto bathroom
| Permit office | Toronto Building. A drain that moves, a new bathroom or a wall that comes out needs a permit. A like-for-like fixture swap does not. |
|---|---|
| Wiring | A new fan circuit, heated floor or GFCI outlet is filed with the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA). |
| Distance | City Hall is roughly 32 km as the crow flies from our Oakville base, by the QEW and the Gardiner. |
On a tight budget
Can I renovate my bathroom for $5000?
You can refresh it, but a full renovation costs more. Keep the tub, toilet and pipes where they are and spend on a new vanity, tap, light, mirror and paint.
Re-grouting and recaulking a sound tub surround also helps a lot. Once the tile comes off or a pipe moves, the job is a renovation and the budget has to grow with it.
Around Toronto
More bathroom pages close by
The bathroom photos are sample rooms for ideas, not jobs we did. Ask us for real Toronto bathroom photos when we come to measure.
Sources we checked for this page