Guide · Kitchens
What drives the cost of a kitchen renovation.
Our full kitchen renovations start at $50,000. The gap between that and what a particular kitchen actually costs comes down to four decisions, and two of them pull in approvals from bodies that have nothing to do with each other.
What the starting figure covers
A full kitchen renovation at our starting price covers demolition, electrical, plumbing, cabinetry, countertops, tile and finish carpentry. One contract, one crew, one price agreed before the work starts.
A cosmetic refresh costs less than that. Moving plumbing or taking out a wall costs more. What follows is why, so you can look at your own kitchen and work out roughly which of those three you are in before anyone quotes you.
We are not going to publish a table of price bands for work we have not seen. Anyone who does is guessing, and the guess is always low.
The four decisions
Same room, same cabinets, very different number.
Two kitchens the same size, finished to the same standard, can be tens of thousands apart. It is almost never the cabinets that explain the gap.
01
Does the layout move?
Keeping the sink, range and fridge where they are is the single biggest saving available in a kitchen. Nothing structural changes, the drains stay put, and no permit is required for replacing cabinets, counters and fixtures in the same layout. Move the sink to the island and you have a plumbing project with a kitchen attached.
02
Does a wall come out?
This is the one that changes the project rather than the price. Removing a wall needs a building permit, and if the wall is carrying load it needs an engineered beam, a load path down through the floors to the footings, and drawings that show all of it. The opening is a day of work. Everything around it is not.
03
How much electrical is new?
Kitchens are the most electrically demanding room in a house. New circuits, counter receptacles and a relocated range or cooktop all mean altering circuits, which needs a permit and brings in a separate authority covered below. On an older house the panel itself sometimes decides the budget.
04
What is behind the plaster?
On a post-2000 house, predictable. In a village house in Port Hope or Newcastle, not. Knob and tube, balloon framing, old drain stacks and previous work done without permits all surface the moment the walls open. This is why we tell you what we expect to find before you sign anything.
Approvals
A kitchen can answer to three authorities at once.
People assume a building permit covers everything. It does not. The Electrical Safety Authority is explicit that a building permit does not replace an electrical notification, and that you may need both.
The municipality
Building permit, for structural work. Taking out a wall, altering an opening, anything that changes how the house carries itself. Nothing is required to swap cabinets and counters in place.
ESA
A provincial body, independent of your town. Almost all electrical work has to be reported to it through a notification of work, filed before the work starts.
Plumbing
A plumbing permit through your municipality where drains or supply move. On a property on septic, the County comes into it as well, because the question becomes what the system is being asked to carry.
Three bodies, three processes, three sets of timing. On a kitchen that stays in its own footprint you may deal with one of them or none. On a kitchen that opens into the living room and moves the sink, all three.
Electrical
How the ESA process actually runs.
Worth understanding properly, because it is the approval most likely to be skipped on a kitchen and the one that follows the house for decades afterwards.
It has to be a Licensed Electrical Contractor. If you hire someone to do electrical work in your home, ESA states it must be a Licensed Electrical Contractor. The contractor files the notification and requests the inspections. A homeowner doing their own work may file the notification themselves, but the filing still has to happen.
The notification goes in before work starts. It applies to new wiring and devices, and to repairing or replacing old ones. ESA describes it as creating a permanent record and triggering a review.
The rough-in gets seen before the drywall. The installation must be inspected before it is concealed or buried, which on a kitchen means before insulation and board go on. There are three inspection types: service, where a service is upgraded, relocated or replaced, inspected before power is restored; rough-in, before wiring is hidden; and final, after completion and after any defects are corrected.
Non-compliant work gets a defect notice listing what has to be put right.
Passing produces a Certificate of Acceptance, issued to whoever filed the notification. If a contractor filed it, ask them for a copy. ESA can also be called for one on 1-877-ESA-SAFE. Keep it with the house papers.
The part nobody mentions
Skipped electrical paperwork becomes the buyer’s problem.
This is the strongest practical argument for doing a kitchen properly, and it has nothing to do with workmanship.
An open notification is one with defects still to be corrected. On ESA’s own guidance for buying a renovated home: by law, the buyer assumes responsibility for doing this.
So uninspected or defective kitchen wiring does not quietly disappear when the house sells. It transfers. A buyer’s lawyer can request a Search of Records from ESA as part of the purchase agreement, and a buyer who did not can request Access to Information afterwards, which reports all electrical work completed with an ESA notification. Those records go back to 2000.
Which cuts both ways. If you are buying a house in Cobourg or Port Hope with a kitchen that was clearly redone at some point, that search is worth asking for. If you are renovating a kitchen you intend to sell one day, the certificate is part of what you are building.
Walls
Opening the kitchen into the living room.
The most requested change in a Northumberland kitchen, and the one where the quote depends entirely on a question nobody can answer from the doorway: is that wall carrying load.
If it is not, it is a permit and a tidy opening. If it is, the load above it has to go somewhere, which means a beam sized by an engineer, posts at each end, and a continuous path down through the structure to something that can carry it. In a basement that often means a new footing. The drawings have to show the whole path, not just the beam.
In a subdivision house in Bowmanville or Courtice the framing is predictable and this can be scoped tightly. In a village house going back to the 1800s it cannot be, because previous owners have usually already changed something. We work on both, and they are different jobs.
The honest version is that until someone has looked above that wall, a number for removing it is a guess. We would rather tell you what we need to look at than quote around it.
Two overlays
Rural, and designated.
On well and septic, a kitchen is a load question as well as a design one. Work that adds load to an existing septic system is assessed against what the house will actually put through it, and that assessment sits with Northumberland County rather than your municipality. Adding a second sink or a dishwasher where there was none is the kind of change that counts.
On a designated heritage property, interior work is usually outside what the designation controls, but the moment a kitchen project touches a window, an exterior opening or anything on the designated fabric, a heritage approval comes into it. Worth establishing which category you are in before the design is finished rather than after.
Both are covered properly in their own guides, linked at the bottom of this page.
What to ask before you sign anything
Four questions, whoever you end up using. Is the price fixed or an estimate. Who is filing the ESA notification and will I get the Certificate of Acceptance. Which permits does this scope need and who is applying for them. And what do you expect to find behind the walls, given the age of this house.
A contractor who answers all four in writing is telling you how the job will actually run. We have been renovating kitchens across Northumberland County since 1999, all trades in house, on fixed-price contracts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a building permit cover the electrical work in a kitchen?
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No. The Electrical Safety Authority states plainly that a building permit does not replace an electrical notification and that you may need both. They are separate processes run by separate bodies. The municipality deals with the structural side, ESA deals with the wiring, and clearing one does nothing for the other.
Do I need to notify ESA for a kitchen renovation?
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If any electrical work is involved, almost certainly. ESA says the Ontario Electrical Safety Code requires almost all electrical work to be reported through a notification of work, covering new wiring and devices as well as repairing or replacing old ones. The notification should be filed before the work starts. A kitchen that gains circuits, counter receptacles or a relocated range is squarely inside that.
Can I do my own kitchen electrical work in Ontario?
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A homeowner may do the work themselves, but they still have to file a notification with ESA. What is not allowed is hiring an unlicensed person to do it. ESA is specific: if you hire someone for electrical work in your home, it must be a Licensed Electrical Contractor. The contractor files the notification and requests the inspections.
What is a Certificate of Acceptance?
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It is what ESA issues when electrical work has been reviewed and passed, and it goes to whoever filed the notification. If your contractor filed it, ask them for a copy, or call ESA on 1-877-ESA-SAFE. It matters for insurance and for resale, so it belongs with the house papers rather than in a folder in someone’s van.
What happens if a previous owner’s kitchen wiring was never inspected?
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It can become your problem. An open notification is one with defects still to be corrected, and on ESA’s own guidance for buying a renovated home, by law the buyer assumes responsibility for doing this. Before closing, a lawyer can request a Search of Records from ESA as part of the purchase agreement. Afterwards, an Access to Information request reports all electrical work completed with an ESA notification. Those records go back to 2000.
When does a kitchen need an inspection before the drywall goes on?
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Whenever there is new or altered wiring. ESA requires the installation to be inspected before it is concealed or buried, which on a kitchen means before insulation and board. There are three inspection types: service, inspected before power is restored where a service is upgraded, relocated or replaced; rough-in, before the wiring is hidden; and final, after completion and after any defects have been corrected.
What does it cost to remove the wall between the kitchen and living room?
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It depends entirely on whether that wall is carrying load, and that cannot be answered from the doorway. A non-loadbearing wall is a permit and a tidy opening. A loadbearing one needs a beam sized by an engineer, posts at each end and a continuous load path down through the structure to something able to carry it, which in a basement often means a new footing. Anyone quoting that number before looking above the wall is guessing.
Why does moving the sink add so much?
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Because it stops being a cabinet job. Drains need fall, so relocating a sink means opening the floor or the ceiling below to re-route waste and vent as well as supply, and it brings a plumbing permit into the project. Keeping the sink, range and fridge roughly where they are is the single biggest saving available in a kitchen renovation.
Does a kitchen renovation affect a septic system?
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It can, on a property not on municipal services. Work that adds load to an existing system is assessed against what the house will actually put through it, and that assessment sits with Northumberland County rather than the local municipality. Adding a dishwasher or a second sink where there was none is the kind of change that counts, even though nothing outside the house moves.
Why is an older Port Hope or Newcastle kitchen harder to quote than a Bowmanville one?
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Predictability. A post-2000 subdivision house has known framing and mechanicals, so the scope can be tied down tightly before anyone starts. Village housing going back to the 1800s can hide knob and tube wiring, balloon framing, old drain stacks and work done by previous owners without permits, none of which is visible until the walls open. We work on both, and we tell you which situation you are in before quoting.
Thinking about your kitchen?
Tell us whether the layout moves and whether a wall is coming out. Those two answers decide most of the number, and we will come back with a fixed price.
Request a Free Estimate (905) 376-5585Keep reading
For what we build and how the work runs, see kitchen renovations. For the bathroom equivalent, read what a bathroom renovation costs. On well and septic, see septic and wells. On a designated property, heritage permits in Port Hope. If the kitchen is part of a bigger plan, see home additions. We work across Cobourg, Port Hope and Clarington, and the rest of the guides are here.