Home renovation in Markham
We are a design and build studio based in Markham. The drawings, the permit application to the City of Markham, the construction and the cabinetry sit on one contract, whether the job is a kitchen, a main floor or the whole house.
Sandcherry and Mansion are both Markham houses. Sandcherry, finished in 2025, is the kitchen with the marble arch that opens this site. Mansion is a whole-home renovation still on site. A kitchen renovation in Markham runs on the same contract as a whole house, and one room is a fair place to start.
Nathalia Hara draws the house and signs the drawings. Thiago Hara runs the site.
The scope
- Design and drawingsLayouts, elevations, 3D views and a construction set the trades build from, with the materials specified by supplier, grade and finish.
- PermitsPrepared to permit standard and submitted to the City of Markham where the work needs a building permit. Electrical work is filed with the Electrical Safety Authority separately. If the house needs a minor variance, we tell you at feasibility.
- Demolition and structureThe designated substance report Ontario requires before demolition, then the structural work from the engineer’s drawings.
- Mechanical rough-inPlumbing, electrical and HVAC, by the licensed trades the province requires, then the inspections that have to pass before the walls close.
- FinishesInsulation, drywall, tile, flooring, stone, paint, trim and doors.
- MillworkCut in our own shop from the approved shop drawings.
- HandoverA walkthrough, a written list of everything that is not right, and a date against each item.
Houses
What it costs, and how long it takes
The renovations we take on typically start around $85,000 and can exceed $500,000. A kitchen renovation or a main-floor renovation may begin at the lower end of that range. Where a project lands depends on the size of the house, the scope of work, any structural change, the condition of what is already there and the level of finish. You get an initial range during the planning stage and detailed pricing once the design, the selections and the construction scope are settled.
Larger renovations across several floors, with structural work, custom millwork and extensive mechanical upgrades, can go well beyond $500,000. Additions and new custom homes are a separate range, from $500,000, on the custom homes page. HST at thirteen per cent goes on top of the work in every case.
Construction typically runs from four to eighteen months, and that range covers construction only. The design, the drawings, the engineering, the selections and the permit review come before it, and once the scope is defined we give you a construction schedule built from the work involved.
Questions we get in Markham
- What does a home renovation in Markham cost?
- Typically from $85,000, and past $500,000 for a whole house with structural work, custom millwork and extensive mechanical upgrades. A kitchen or a main floor may begin at the lower end. HST at thirteen per cent goes on top.
- Do we need a building permit from the City of Markham?
- It depends on the scope, and we tell you at feasibility. Where a building permit is needed, the drawings to permit standard and the application are part of our contract, and the review time is in the schedule we give you. Our permit guide, linked below, goes through the kinds of work that typically need one.
- Can we start with the kitchen?
- Yes. One room is a fair place to start, and you do not need to arrive with a whole-house plan. The cabinetry comes from our own shop.
- How long does a renovation in Markham take?
- Four to eighteen months of construction, depending on the scope. The design, the drawings, the engineering, the selections and the permit review come before that and are not in the range.
- Our basement gets water. Can the repair be part of the renovation?
- Yes. The repair comes before the finishes and is priced and agreed in writing before the work starts. The post on why basements leak in Markham, linked below, explains what the water is doing and which repair fits which cause.
- Do you work outside Markham?
- Yes. We work throughout Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area, including Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Aurora, Stouffville, Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Caledon, Ajax, Pickering and the surrounding communities.
Guides for Markham houses
- Do you need a permit for that? A Markham renovation guideWork that changes structure or alters electrical, plumbing or mechanical systems generally needs a permit. Cosmetic work generally does not. Here is where the line falls in Markham.
- Why basements leak in Markham, and the repair that lastsWater sits in clay against the wall and finds the easiest path in. What efflorescence and a hairline crack each tell you, and when an interior patch will not hold.
The rest of the work
- RenovationThe renovation page, with the sequence and the money.
- Custom homesAdditions and new houses, from $500,000.
- ProjectsEvery house on the site, with the photographs.