10 Common Renovation Mistakes Toronto Homeowners Make

# 10 Common Renovation Mistakes Toronto Homeowners Make

Every renovation project is a complex undertaking with hundreds of decisions, dozens of tradespeople, and countless opportunities for things to go wrong. After years of observing residential renovation projects across Toronto and the GTA, certain mistakes appear again and again. They are not obscure pitfalls — they are predictable, preventable errors that cost homeowners thousands of dollars and months of frustration.

This guide identifies the ten most common renovation mistakes Toronto homeowners make and provides practical advice on how to avoid each one.

## 1. Skipping Permits

It is tempting to skip the permit process. Permits cost money, take time, and require inspections that can slow down your project. Many homeowners rationalize that "nobody will know" or that their project is too small to require a permit. This is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make.

The City of Toronto's building inspectors can and do issue stop-work orders for unpermitted construction. If they discover unpermitted work — whether through a complaint from a neighbour, a routine inspection, or when the property is sold — the consequences escalate quickly. Fines under the Ontario Building Code Act can reach $50,000 for individuals. Beyond fines, the City can require you to open up finished walls and ceilings to allow inspection of concealed work, or even demolish and redo work that does not meet code.

The consequences extend beyond the construction phase. When you sell your home, buyers' lawyers will check for open permits and verify that renovations were permitted. Unpermitted work is a red flag that can derail a sale, reduce your selling price, or force you to obtain retroactive permits — which are more expensive and more difficult than doing it properly the first time.

The bottom line: if your project involves structural changes, plumbing, electrical, HVAC modifications, or the creation of additional dwelling units, it requires a permit. The cost and time involved in obtaining permits is a fraction of the cost of dealing with unpermitted work after the fact.

## 2. Underestimating Costs

Toronto homeowners consistently underestimate renovation costs. This is partly because online cost calculators and national renovation guides use averages that do not reflect Toronto's market, and partly because homeowners tend to budget for the best-case scenario rather than the realistic scenario.

The gap between estimate and reality is where renovation stress lives. When you run out of budget halfway through a kitchen renovation, you are forced to make compromises that undermine the entire project — cheaper finishes, deferred work, or cutting corners that will cost more to fix later.

The solution is straightforward: add a contingency of 15 to 20 percent to every renovation budget, without exception. This is not pessimism — it is realism. In older Toronto homes, the contingency is not a cushion for luxury upgrades; it is a buffer for the unexpected conditions that are virtually guaranteed to appear when you open up walls, floors, and ceilings in a home that is 50, 80, or 100 years old.

Your budget should include not just construction costs, but also permits, design fees, engineering fees (if applicable), temporary housing costs (if you need to move out), storage, and the cost of eating out when your kitchen is demolished. These soft costs can add 15 to 25 percent on top of the construction cost.

## 3. Choosing the Cheapest Bid

When you receive three renovation quotes and one is dramatically lower than the other two, that is not a bargain — it is a warning sign. The cheapest bid almost always means one or more of the following: the contractor has underestimated the scope, they plan to use inferior materials, they will use unlicensed subtrades, or they intend to cut corners on code compliance.

The consequences of choosing the cheapest bid rarely become apparent until the project is underway. By then, you are committed. The contractor may demand change orders for work that should have been included in the original bid. Subtrades may do substandard work that fails inspection. Timelines stretch as the contractor juggles your project with others to make the low bid financially viable.

The right approach is to compare bids on an apples-to-apples basis. Ensure each bidding contractor is quoting the same scope of work, the same quality of materials, and the same timeline. Ask for detailed, itemized quotes rather than lump-sum numbers. When one bid is significantly lower, ask specifically what is excluded or different.

A fair price for quality work from a reputable, licensed, and insured contractor is always more economical than the cheapest bid from a contractor who will leave you with unfinished or substandard work.

## 4. Not Getting a Written Contract

Ontario's Consumer Protection Act requires a written contract for home renovation services over $50. Despite this legal requirement, a surprising number of homeowners proceed with renovations based on verbal agreements, handshake deals, or vague one-page quotes.

A proper renovation contract should specify, at minimum:

- **Detailed scope of work** — Exactly what is included and, equally important, what is not included

- **Materials specifications** — Brand names, model numbers, colours, and grades for all significant materials

- **Payment schedule** — Tied to completion milestones, not calendar dates

- **Timeline** — Start date, expected completion date, and provisions for delays

- **Change order process** — How changes to the original scope will be priced, approved, and documented

- **Warranty** — What is covered, for how long, and the process for addressing warranty claims

- **Permit responsibility** — Who is responsible for obtaining and paying for permits

- **Insurance requirements** — Confirmation of liability insurance and WSIB coverage

- **Dispute resolution** — How disagreements will be handled

Without a written contract, you have no recourse when disputes arise — and disputes will arise. The contractor can claim they never agreed to include certain work, deny responsibility for delays, or demand additional payment for items you believed were included. A detailed written contract protects both parties and prevents misunderstandings from becoming expensive conflicts.

## 5. Paying Too Much Upfront

The payment structure of your renovation contract is one of your most important protections as a homeowner. How and when you pay directly affects your leverage if problems arise during the project.

A reasonable payment structure for a renovation project looks something like this:

| Milestone | Payment |

|---|---|

| Contract signing | 10 - 15% deposit |

| Demolition complete / rough framing | 20 - 25% |

| Rough-in complete (plumbing, electrical, HVAC) | 20 - 25% |

| Drywall and finishing underway | 20 - 25% |

| Final completion and walkthrough | 10 - 15% holdback |

The critical principle: payment should follow completed work, not precede it. You should never be ahead of the contractor — meaning you should never have paid for more work than has been completed.

If a contractor demands 50 percent or more upfront before any work begins, walk away. This demand is a major red flag. Reputable contractors have sufficient credit and cash flow to purchase materials and pay their crews without requiring you to front half the project cost. Excessive upfront payment puts you at severe risk if the contractor abandons the project, goes bankrupt, or fails to perform.

The final holdback — typically 10 to 15 percent — should not be released until all work is complete, all deficiencies from the final walkthrough have been addressed, and all required inspections have been passed.

## 6. Ignoring Existing Conditions

Toronto's housing stock includes homes built across more than 150 years of construction history. Homes built before 1990 may contain a variety of hazardous or outdated materials and systems that directly affect renovation planning and cost.

### Common Existing Conditions in Toronto Homes

- **Asbestos** — Found in floor tiles, pipe insulation, vermiculite attic insulation, drywall compound, and various other materials in homes built before 1990. Disturbing asbestos without proper abatement is a health hazard and a regulatory violation.

- **Lead paint** — Common in homes built before 1960, particularly on exterior surfaces, windows, and trim. Renovation that disturbs lead paint requires containment and proper disposal procedures.

- **Knob-and-tube wiring** — Standard in homes built before the 1940s. While not inherently dangerous in undisturbed condition, it is ungrounded, cannot be insulated over, and most insurance companies will not provide full coverage for homes with active knob-and-tube.

- **Aluminum wiring** — Used in many homes built between 1965 and 1975. Aluminum wiring is a known fire hazard at connection points and requires remediation (either replacement or the installation of approved connectors at every junction).

- **Galvanized steel pipes** — Common in homes built before the 1960s. These pipes corrode internally over time, restricting water flow and eventually developing leaks.

The mistake is not having these conditions — they are a normal part of owning an older home. The mistake is failing to budget for testing and remediation. An environmental assessment before renovation begins typically costs $500 to $1,500 and can identify hazardous materials so you can plan and budget accordingly, rather than discovering them mid-project when remediation costs spike due to urgency and disruption.

## 7. Over-Improving for the Neighbourhood

Every neighbourhood has a practical ceiling on property values, determined by recent comparable sales. Renovating beyond what the local market supports means spending money you will never recover at resale.

This mistake takes many forms:

- Installing a $150,000 kitchen in a neighbourhood where the best homes sell for $800,000

- Adding a $300,000 second-storey addition that pushes your total investment above the neighbourhood ceiling

- Choosing ultra-premium finishes (imported marble, custom millwork, commercial-grade appliances) in a middle-market neighbourhood

The solution is research. Before committing to a renovation budget, check recent sale prices in your immediate area. Talk to a real estate agent about what buyers in your neighbourhood value and what they are willing to pay. Calculate your total investment (original purchase price plus renovation cost) and compare it to the top-end sale prices on your street.

As a general rule, your total investment should not exceed 80 to 90 percent of the highest sale prices in your immediate neighbourhood. If it does, you are likely over-improving.

The exception is if you plan to stay in the home for many years and the renovation serves your quality of life rather than resale value. In that case, the "return on investment" is measured in daily enjoyment rather than dollars — and that is a perfectly valid reason to invest.

## 8. Poor Planning and Scope Creep

Scope creep is the gradual expansion of a renovation project beyond its original boundaries. It starts innocently: "While we have the walls open, we might as well redo the electrical in this room too." Then: "Since we are updating the electrical, we should move that outlet." Then: "Actually, let us reconfigure this wall while everything is torn apart."

Each individual change seems reasonable in the moment. Cumulatively, they can add 30 to 50 percent to the project cost and extend the timeline by weeks or months.

The root cause of scope creep is insufficient planning before construction begins. When homeowners start a renovation without a fully defined scope, every opened wall reveals possibilities and every daily site visit generates new ideas. Each of these mid-project changes costs three to five times what it would have cost if it had been included in the original plan. Materials may need to be reordered, work already completed may need to be undone, and the schedule must be renegotiated.

The solution is disciplined planning:

- Define your complete scope before construction begins. Work with a designer or architect to think through every detail.

- Make all major decisions (layout, materials, fixtures, finishes) before the first day of demolition.

- Establish a formal change order process in your contract. Every change must be documented in writing with an agreed-upon cost and timeline impact before the work is executed.

- Accept that some changes are genuinely necessary (unexpected conditions demand adaptation), but distinguish between necessary changes and "nice to have" additions that could have been planned from the start.

## 9. Neglecting Structural and Mechanical Systems

It is human nature to prioritize what you can see. A beautiful kitchen with stone countertops and custom cabinetry is more emotionally satisfying than a new electrical panel, upgraded plumbing, or a repaired foundation. But spending your entire budget on visible finishes while ignoring the systems that keep your home safe and functional is a mistake with serious long-term consequences.

### The Systems That Matter

- **Electrical** — An outdated electrical panel, undersized wiring, or knob-and-tube circuits cannot safely support modern electrical loads. An electrical fire is one of the most common and devastating household emergencies.

- **Plumbing** — Corroded galvanized pipes, failing supply lines, or inadequate drainage do not improve with age. A catastrophic plumbing failure can cause tens of thousands of dollars in water damage in a matter of hours.

- **HVAC** — A furnace or air conditioner at the end of its service life will fail at the worst possible time. Replacing it proactively as part of a renovation is more cost-effective than an emergency replacement later.

- **Foundation** — Cracks in the foundation, water infiltration, and structural settling are progressive problems. Ignoring them while spending on cosmetic renovations is like painting over rust.

- **Roofing** — A roof near the end of its lifespan will eventually leak. Water damage from a failing roof can destroy the beautiful finishes you just installed.

The principle is simple: renovate from the inside out. Address structural and mechanical deficiencies first, then invest in finishes with whatever budget remains. A home with a solid foundation, modern electrical, reliable plumbing, and an efficient HVAC system — even with modest finishes — is a better investment than a home with a stunning kitchen sitting above a cracked foundation and wired with knob-and-tube.

## 10. Not Verifying Insurance and WSIB

Construction is inherently risky work. Falls, injuries, property damage, and accidents happen on job sites. If the people working on your home are not properly insured, you could be financially responsible for the consequences.

### What You Need to Verify

- **Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance** — This covers property damage and bodily injury arising from the contractor's work. A minimum of $2 million in coverage is standard in Toronto. If a contractor's work causes a fire, a flood, or structural damage, their CGL policy should cover the repair.

- **Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) coverage** — In Ontario, WSIB provides workplace injury insurance. If a worker is injured on your property and the contractor does not have WSIB coverage, you — as the homeowner — can be held liable under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act. This liability can include the full cost of the worker's medical treatment, rehabilitation, and lost wages.

### How to Verify

- **Ask for current certificates** — Every reputable contractor should be able to provide a current Certificate of Insurance for their CGL policy and a WSIB Clearance Certificate. "Current" means valid as of the date your project begins, not a certificate from six months ago.

- **Call the insurer** — You can verify coverage directly with the insurance company listed on the certificate. This takes five minutes and eliminates the risk of a forged or expired certificate.

- **Check WSIB online** — WSIB offers an online clearance check where you can verify a contractor's coverage status using their business name or WSIB account number.

- **Verify subtrades** — Your general contractor should ensure that all subtrades (electricians, plumbers, drywallers) also carry appropriate insurance and WSIB coverage. Ask your contractor to confirm this in writing.

### The Real Risk

The risk of hiring an uninsured contractor is not theoretical. Every year in Ontario, homeowners face claims arising from injuries to uninsured workers on their properties. The financial exposure can be catastrophic — a single serious injury can result in claims of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Spending fifteen minutes verifying insurance before work begins is the most cost-effective risk management step you can take.

## Bringing It All Together

These ten mistakes share a common theme: they all result from insufficient preparation. Homeowners who rush into renovation without adequate planning, research, and due diligence pay a steep price — in money, time, stress, and results that fall short of expectations.

The good news is that every one of these mistakes is preventable. The cost of doing things right — getting permits, budgeting realistically, hiring reputable contractors, getting proper contracts, planning thoroughly, and verifying insurance — is a tiny fraction of the cost of dealing with the consequences when things go wrong.

A successful renovation starts long before the first wall is demolished. It starts with education, planning, and the discipline to do the unglamorous work of preparation before enjoying the exciting work of transformation. Toronto homeowners who invest this effort upfront consistently achieve better results, lower costs, and a far less stressful renovation experience.