Cabinet boxes and doors
The biggest single line. Painted doors on good boxes cost far less than a full set of new ones.
Kitchens rebuilt in Pickering
Pickering kitchen renovation
Lots of Pickering homes went up in the 1960s and 1970s, with a closed kitchen tucked behind a wall. We help you decide how much of that room to change, then price it plainly.
What is a good budget for a kitchen renovation?
A good budget is one that matches the size of job you pick: a refresh, an update, or a full renovation. Keeping the sink, stove and walls where they are keeps the number lower. Moving any of them adds trades, a permit and more days. We price your plan line by line after a free visit, so you can trim before you sign.
Homes from the 1960s and 1970s
Open up a Bay Ridges kitchen
Bay Ridges, near Frenchman's Bay, was built mostly in the 1960s and early 1970s. Homes from that time often hide the kitchen behind a wall off the dining room.
Taking that wall out is the change most owners ask about. First we learn what the wall carries. If it supports the joists above, it needs a beam and a permit.
Wiring of that age was not planned for today's appliances. A dishwasher, a microwave and an induction range each want their own circuit, so we look at the panel early.
Setting your number
Write these down before you pick a budget
A budget is easier to hold when you know what is on the list and what is not.
- Which walls you want gone, if any
- Any skylight or bigger window you hope to add over the work area
- Whether the sink or stove should move to a new spot
- How many new appliances are coming, and which ones stay
- The counter you like, and a cheaper one you could live with
- Floor in the kitchen only, or running into the next room
- A small reserve for surprises found once the old cabinets come down
Spending it wisely
Where the money goes in a Pickering kitchen
These four parts decide most of the final price. Two of them you control on paper before work begins.
Counters
Laminate, quartz and stone sit at very different prices. A peninsula adds length, so it adds cost.
Trades behind the walls
Plumbers and electricians are paid by the change. Leaving pipes in place saves real money.
Permit and structure
Only needed if a wall or pipe moves. When it is needed, the beam, drawings and inspections all go on the quote. In Whitevale, a new skylight or window can add a heritage permit to that line.
Pickering details
What to know about a job here
| Distance | Pickering sits roughly 63 km east of our Oakville office, measured straight. We drive the 407 or the 401. |
|---|---|
| Who issues permits | The City of Pickering's Building Services, not Durham Region. They review plans and inspect plumbing work. |
| When a permit applies | Taking out a wall or changing plumbing. Swapping cabinets and counters where the old ones stood needs none. |
| Electrical work | Each new circuit goes on an ESA notification, and an inspector sees it before drywall goes up. |
Whitevale and the City portal
Paperwork for a Pickering kitchen, in order
When a kitchen plan moves a wall or a pipe, the permit file goes in through the City portal at mycity.pickering.ca. Drawings are uploaded as flattened PDF files with no password on them.
The City also counts a change in how a room is used as permit work. Turning the old dining room into the new kitchen can fall under that rule, even with little building.
Inspections are asked for on the City's Building Inspection Request form. We send one when the new beam is in place and one while the moved drain is still open to view.
The hamlet of Whitevale is a Heritage Conservation District, protected by By-law 4074/92 since June 1993. There, new windows, doors, skylights or siding can need a heritage permit.
A skylight over the island or a wider window above the sink falls into that group. We speak with the City Development Department before ordering either one for a Whitevale house.
The City's heritage list is about the outside of a building. New cabinets, counters and lights inside a Whitevale kitchen stay a Building Services question.
Pick the size of job first. The budget follows from that choice, not the other way round.
Near Pickering
Other kitchen pages along the lake
Sample rooms fill the photos on this page to spark ideas. They are not Pickering homes we built.
Sources we checked for this page