--- title: "Kitchen Renovations in Durham Region and the GTA" url: "https://www.jarviscontracting.ca/kitchen-renovations" description: "Kitchen renovations in Durham Region and the GTA: 2026 costs, layouts drawn and modelled in 3D by our designer, walls opened, and the kitchens we've built." publisher: "Jarvis Contracting" --- # Kitchen renovations Kitchens planned around how you cook, including the walls that need to move to get there. We price a mid-range kitchen renovation at about $40,000 to $75,000 before HST in 2026, and a premium one at $85,000 to $150,000. Ours start with our designer at Juliette Interiors: a floor plan, then a 3D model with the finishes in it, then a finishes presentation in our office, so you choose cabinets after you've seen them in the room. We don't have a showroom; we can show you past projects in person. ## What's included 1. A layout and a 3D model of the finished kitchen 2. Cabinets, counters, backsplash and hardware chosen with the designer 3. Walls opened with engineered beams where needed 4. Plumbing, electrical and lighting 5. Flooring carried through to the rest of the floor The kinds of job: - Full kitchen renovations - Opening a kitchen to the living space - Moving the kitchen to another part of the house - Custom details: curved hoods, islands, built-ins ## Typical duration Set after the first site visit. ## Permits involved - A building permit when walls, plumbing or structure change - Electrical work by a licensed electrical contractor, who files a notification with the Electrical Safety Authority - Gas lines and appliances by a TSSA-certified gas fitter ## What it costs | Work | Range (CAD) | Basis | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Kitchen renovation, mid-range | 40000 to 75000 | 2026. Before 13% HST. | Our 2026 price | | Kitchen renovation, premium | 85000 to 150000 | 2026. Before 13% HST. | Our 2026 price | What moves the number: - Moving the sink, the range or a wall - Cabinets: stock, semi-custom or custom - Counters and stone - Appliances - Structural work when walls come out - 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. - [Bellamy: opening up a brick bungalow without an addition](https://www.jarviscontracting.ca/projects/bellamy): Scarborough, Toronto, 2025. Whole main floor: load-bearing walls out, steel beams in, new kitchen, mudroom, office, fireplace, floors, trim and doors. - [Orra: two load-bearing walls out of a childhood home](https://www.jarviscontracting.ca/projects/orra): Ajax, 2025. Two load-bearing walls out, kitchen and living room swapped, gas fireplace with built-ins, new floors, doors and trim, popcorn ceilings removed. ## What does a kitchen renovation cost in 2026? About $40,000 to $75,000 for a mid-range kitchen with us, and $85,000 to $150,000 for a premium one, before HST. Moving walls or plumbing, custom cabinets and stone counters push a kitchen up the range. Whoever you ask, check what the quote includes: walls, flooring, lighting, appliances and HST. ## Do I need a permit to renovate a kitchen? New cabinets and counters alone, usually not; moving walls, plumbing or structure, yes. Your municipality's building department decides. Electrical work goes through a licensed electrician and the Electrical Safety Authority ([ESA](https://esasafe.com/compliance/finding-the-right-contractor/)), and a gas range through a TSSA-certified fitter. ## Real work West Lynde: a quartz waterfall island and a painted island and hood. Bellamy: pale oak, a curved hood that matches the curve of the farmhouse sink, and a backlit shelf with a brass rail to stop cups sliding off. Aurelia: a black leather-finish porcelain island and reeded glass. Greenwood: a curved walnut island on a herringbone 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 kitchen renovation cost in Toronto? We price a mid-range kitchen at about $40,000 to $75,000 and a premium one at $85,000 to $150,000 in 2026, before 13% HST. Moving walls or plumbing, custom cabinets and stone counters push a kitchen up the range. ### Do I need a permit to renovate my kitchen in Ontario? A kitchen renovation needs a building permit in Ontario when it moves walls, plumbing or structure; your municipality's building department decides. New electrical work must be done by a licensed electrical contractor who notifies the Electrical Safety Authority. ### Can you move my kitchen to another part of the house? Yes, with the plumbing, venting and any walls planned in the drawings first. On one main floor we relocated the kitchen and the fireplace and took out structural walls, and at Orra we swapped the kitchen and the living room. ### Who designs the kitchen? Our designer at Juliette Interiors draws the layout, builds the 3D model and presents the finishes to you in our office, with the samples in front of you. James's crew builds what she draws, so the design and the build are priced and planned together. ## Guides - [Design-build or architect plus contractor in Ontario?](https://www.jarviscontracting.ca/guides/design-build-vs-general-contractor) - [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/)