Guides
Straight answers about building here.
What things cost in Northumberland County, which permits you actually need, and who inspects the work. Written from jobs we have done, not from a template.
Permits
Building permits in Clarington
The ten square metre line that decides most of it, the work that needs no permit at all, what the permits cost, and the two separate tests that catch a deck.
Read the guideBathrooms
What a bathroom renovation costs in Cobourg
What sets the price, when a plumbing permit is required, and why Northumberland County inspects work the Town permits.
Read the guideADUs
ADU rules in Clarington
How many units the map allows on your lot, setbacks and height limits for a garden suite, parking, and why the Region goes first on a septic.
Read the guideHeritage
Heritage permits in Port Hope
Why heritage approval comes before the building permit, which work skips the committee, and the two Mondays that decide your start date.
Read the guideWaterfront and rural
Building on the shoreline
Which conservation authority covers your lot, what triggers a permit beyond putting up walls, and why advice written before April 2024 is out of date.
Read the guideSeptic and wells
Septic and wells on a rural build
Who issues the permit, what the County charges, the three inspections that set your schedule, and who is allowed to dig a well.
Read the guideDecks and porches
When a deck needs a permit, and when it does not
The two size limits that do different jobs, why the threshold changes between neighbouring towns, guard heights, footing depths and the approvals that come first.
Read the guideKitchens
What drives the cost of a kitchen
Where the starting price goes, the four decisions that move the number, and the three separate authorities a kitchen renovation can answer to.
Read the guideHome Additions
What a home addition costs
The four decisions that set the number, the four authorities an addition can answer to, and why enlarging your own house does not attract a development charge.
Read the guideCommercial
Commercial fit-outs and change of use
Why changing what a building is used for can need a permit when you are building nothing at all, which occupancy groups trigger it, and what Cobourg actually charges.
Read the guideMore guides are coming. In the meantime, see what we build across our services, or the questions we get asked most.