--- title: "Bathroom Renovations in Durham Region and the GTA" url: "https://www.jarviscontracting.ca/bathroom-renovations" description: "Bathroom renovations in Durham Region and the GTA: ensuites, basement bathrooms and wet rooms, designed in 3D, waterproofed under the tile, built by one team." publisher: "Jarvis Contracting" --- # Bathroom renovations Bathrooms with the waterproofing done under the tile, and layouts that fit the room you have. We price a basement bathroom at $25,000 to $50,000 in 2026, before HST; the top end is when new plumbing has to go under the slab. Main-floor bathrooms and ensuites vary too much for one range, so yours is priced after a site visit. We've built ensuites with walk-in showers, a wet room under a skylight and a wheelchair-accessible basement bathroom. ## What's included 1. A layout and 3D model 2. Waterproofing behind and under the tile 3. Tile, vanity, glass and fixtures chosen with the designer 4. Plumbing, venting and electrical 5. Accessible layouts when you need them The kinds of job: - Ensuites and main bathrooms - Basement bathrooms - Powder rooms - Wet rooms and walk-in showers - Accessible bathrooms ## Typical duration Set after the first site visit. ## Permits involved - A building permit when a bathroom is added or drains move - Electrical work by a licensed electrical contractor, who files a notification with the Electrical Safety Authority ## What it costs | Work | Range (CAD) | Basis | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Basement bathroom | 25000 to 50000 | 2026; the top end when new plumbing goes under the slab. Before 13% HST. | Our 2026 price | What moves the number: - Moving the toilet, shower or drain - Tile: size, pattern and how much of the room it covers - Vanity, glass and fixtures - Water damage under the old floor - 13% HST on top ## Finished jobs - [Aurelia: a fast kitchen and bath renovation in old Toronto](https://www.jarviscontracting.ca/projects/aurelia): Toronto, 2026. Kitchen, refinished stair, fluted fireplace, levelled floors, rewiring and a bathroom added mid-job. - [Greenwood: a new top storey and rear extension in Toronto](https://www.jarviscontracting.ca/projects/greenwood): Toronto, 2026. Top floor replaced with a new storey, rear extension, basement enlarged, full interior design and build. - [Solace: a home gutted to the studs and rebuilt inside](https://www.jarviscontracting.ca/projects/solace): Toronto, 2026. Complete gut to the studs, load-bearing walls removed and reframed, spray foam throughout, new upstairs washroom, full interior design. - [Syncopa: steel beams, a new layout and three new bathrooms](https://www.jarviscontracting.ca/projects/syncopa): North York, Toronto, 2026. Permits, steel beams, layout reworked, stone fireplace out, three new bathrooms, new doors, floors, trim and tile, attic insulation upgraded. - [West Lynde: a Whitby bungalow made two storeys in 4.5 months](https://www.jarviscontracting.ca/projects/west-lynde): Whitby, 2023. New second storey of about 800 sq ft with two bedrooms, a walk-in closet and a bathroom; new kitchen, two new bathrooms, floors, stairs and trim below. - [Stone Ridge: a finished basement in Scarborough](https://www.jarviscontracting.ca/projects/stone-ridge): Scarborough, Toronto. Full basement finish: rec room, media wall, arched wet bar, bathroom, laundry room and bedroom. ## Do I need a permit for a bathroom renovation? Replacing fixtures where they are, usually not. Adding a bathroom or moving drains does need one, and your municipality's building department decides. Electrical work goes through a licensed electrician who notifies the Electrical Safety Authority ([ESA](https://esasafe.com/compliance/finding-the-right-contractor/)). ## How long does a bathroom take? It depends on the room and on what's under the old floor. On Aurelia the owners added an upstairs bathroom halfway through the job, and it was designed, selected and built in a couple of weeks so they could move in with their newborn. ## Real work Greenwood: a primary ensuite and a wet room under a skylight on the new top floor, and a curved micro-cement vanity in the powder room. West Lynde: emerald tile with a gold edge over a hex floor. Stone Ridge: a basement bathroom with a checkerboard floor. ## Where we do this Also in Ajax, Aurora, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Clarington, East Gwillimbury, Halton Hills, King, Markham, Milton, Mississauga, Newmarket, Oakville, Oshawa, Pickering, Richmond Hill, Scarborough, Scugog, Toronto, Uxbridge, Vaughan, Whitby, Whitchurch-Stouffville. ## How the job runs 1. **Meet James.** James meets you at the house, hears what you want and gives you a rough estimate on the spot. The first estimate is free. 2. **Proposal and contract.** If the estimate works for you, James prepares a detailed proposal. The whole project is priced, and the contract signed with a 10% deposit, before any design work begins. 3. **Design onboarding.** Our designer sends you an onboarding email with some homework: your style, how your family uses the house, and what you need and want. You share Pinterest boards, then go through them together on a Zoom call: what you like in the pictures, and what you don't. 4. **Measure and floor plans.** The designer measures the house and draws the floor plan: which walls come out, where the stairs land, how new space joins the old. We go through it with you until it's confirmed. 5. **Drawings and 3D rendering.** With the plan confirmed, she draws the elevations and the millwork, then puts it all into a 3D rendering, so you see the rooms before anyone orders a cabinet. 6. **Finishes presentation.** We don't take you round the stores: there are too many options. Using what she learned in onboarding, the designer narrows the tile, flooring, quartz, plumbing fixtures and the rest to a few choices that suit your style, collects the samples and presents them to you in our office. If a selection changes the price, the change goes through a change order you sign. 7. **Permits and engineering.** We prepare the permit drawings, bring in the structural engineer wherever a beam or a load changes, and apply to the municipality. If the plan changes after the permit is issued, we file the amendment. 8. **Construction.** Our crew and trades build it, with one point of contact from demolition to the last coat of paint. Our site supervisors write a job log every day, which you can follow in our online app. When we open a wall and find a problem, you hear about it, and what it costs, before we fix it. 9. **Inspections.** The municipal building inspector checks the work at each stage the permit sets, before it gets covered up. 10. **Handover.** We walk the finished house with you and put right anything that isn't. On one job a stair stain didn't match the new floor, so we refinished the stairs. ## Credentials - Written warranty: 1 year workmanship and materials, 2 years plumbing, heating, electrical and building envelope, 7 years structural - BBB Accredited Business: Accredited by the Better Business Bureau since November 2025 (https://www.bbb.org/ca/on/ajax/profile/general-contractor/jarvis-contracting-inc-0107-1416595) - Durham Region Home Builders' Association: Member, Renovators (https://www.drhba.com/Sys/PublicProfile/99587295/5125036) - RenoMark: RenoMark renovator, through the DRHBA (https://renomark.ca/find-a-renovator/) ## Questions ### How much does a bathroom renovation cost in Toronto? We price a basement bathroom at $25,000 to $50,000 in 2026, before HST, with the top end when new plumbing goes under the slab. Main-floor bathrooms and ensuites are priced after a site visit: tile, fixtures and moving the drains decide most of the cost. ### Do I need a permit to renovate a bathroom in Ontario? A bathroom renovation in Ontario needs a building permit when it adds a bathroom or moves drains and plumbing; replacing fixtures in place usually doesn't. Your municipality's building department makes the call, and electrical work goes through a licensed electrician. ### Can you build an accessible bathroom? Yes. The family firm built a wheelchair-accessible bathroom in a client's basement in 2017, and an accessible layout is drawn and modelled in 3D like any other bathroom before work starts. ### How long does a bathroom renovation take? A bathroom renovation's length depends on the room and on what's found under the old floor. On our Aurelia job the owners added an upstairs bathroom halfway through, and we designed, selected and built it in a couple of weeks. ## Guides - [Fixed price vs cost-plus contracts for Ontario renovations](https://www.jarviscontracting.ca/guides/fixed-price-vs-cost-plus) - [Questions to ask a contractor in Ontario before you sign](https://www.jarviscontracting.ca/guides/questions-to-ask-a-contractor) ## Sources 1. [ESA](https://esasafe.com/compliance/finding-the-right-contractor/)