STAGE 1 · 3 TO 6 WEEKSDesign
Our designer visits, measures and photographs the room, then asks the questions that change a drawing: who cooks, where the coats go, what bothers you about the room now. You get a plan, elevations and a selection list for every finish. Two rounds of revisions are included.
Design is a paid stage: $1,500 for a bathroom, $2,500 for a kitchen or basement. It is credited in full to the build if you go ahead with us.
Once design is paid, the drawings are yours, whether we build them or not.
STAGE 2 · ABOUT 1 WEEKQuote
The quote is built from the final drawing, one line per item: demolition, each trade, each material, permit fees, disposal. Where something can't be known until a wall is open, like a soft subfloor under an old tub, we say so and give its price in advance. A surprise has a price before it happens.
With the quote comes a written contract, the schedule, and a payment plan tied to stages of work, not to calendar dates.
STAGE 3 · 2 TO 4 WEEKSPermits
We pull the building permit where the work needs one: moving plumbing, removing a load-bearing wall, adding a bedroom or a window. Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge each run their own permit desk, and we plan your start date around their review time. If a structural engineer is needed, we hire them and their fee is in the quote.
While the permit is under review, we order materials. Nothing comes down until both are ready.
STAGE 4 · 3 TO 12 WEEKS ON SITEBuild
One lead carpenter runs your job from the first day to the last, with our regular electrician, plumber, tiler and drywall crew working to the schedule. Dust walls go up on day one. The site is swept every afternoon. Every Friday you get an update like this one:
Friday update · Week 2 of 5From your lead carpenter
Hello, here's where the bathroom stands.
- Done this week: plumbing rough-in, new fan duct to the outside wall, blocking for the grab bar.
- Inspection: booked for Tuesday morning. Nobody needs to be home.
- Next week: membrane and flood test Wednesday, tile starts Thursday.
- Decision needed: grout colour by Monday. Two samples are on the vanity top.
Schedule: on track for the walkthrough on the last Friday.
STAGE 5 · THE LAST DAYWalkthrough
On the last day we walk the room with you and write down anything that isn't right, from a sticky drawer to a paint touch-up. That list gets fixed before the final invoice. Our workmanship warranty is two years, written into the contract.
EXAMPLEWhat a signed schedule looks like
Here is the schedule for a typical main bathroom. Yours has calendar dates in place of week numbers.
Schedule example: a main bathroom
| When | On site | Who's there | Hold point |
|---|
| Before | Design, quote, permit, ordering | Designer, office | Permit issued, all materials in our shop |
|---|
| Week 1 | Protection, demolition, plumbing rough-in | Lead carpenter, plumber | Plumbing inspection |
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| Week 2 | Membrane on walls and floor | Lead carpenter | 24-hour flood test |
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| Week 3 | Floor and wall tile, grout, seal | Tiler | None |
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| Week 4 | Vanity, toilet, taps, lights, paint; glass measured | Lead carpenter, plumber, electrician | Glass made, about 10 working days |
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| Week 5 | Glass installed, final clean, walkthrough | Lead carpenter, glazier | Final inspection |
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