Hamilton is not a bigger Brantford, and we do not treat it like one
Hamilton has four conservation authorities inside one city, a Niagara Escarpment Commission development-control zone that can require a separate permit before the City will issue yours, seven designated heritage conservation districts, a light rail corridor with a 30 metre construction trigger, and a housing stock where 32.8% of dwellings were built in 1960 or earlier against a provincial average of 22.7%. None of that exists where we started. All of it is in our quotes.
What we build in Hamilton
Basement Renovations
Finishing, waterproofing and legal suites in a city built over 600 km of combined sewers, where the S3P grant pays up to $2,000 toward flood protection.
Additional Dwelling Units
Up to two internal ADUs plus a detached unit on a single detached lot, with a City grant of up to $40,000 per unit.
Home Renovations
Whole-home and character work across the lower city, the Mountain, Dundas, Ancaster, Stoney Creek and Waterdown.
Kitchen Renovations
Cabinetry-first scheduling, licensed trades, and the electrical reality of a pre-1960 Hamilton house.
Bathroom Renovations
Waterproofing built like it is the whole job, because in a century home it very nearly is.
Home Additions
Rear and second-storey additions, with escarpment, conservation and heritage approvals mapped before the drawings.
Basement Waterproofing
Built around the city's combined sewers: valves, sumps and the S3P grant, diagnosis first.
Commercial & Fit-Ups
Storefronts and offices scheduled backward from your opening date, across a city in a construction boom.
Hamilton Guides
Permits, grants, conservation authorities and heritage rules, written with the actual by-law numbers and dollar figures.
"Hamilton punishes contractors who guess. Four conservation authorities, an escarpment commission that has to say yes before the City will, a heritage district that bans the mortar half the trade uses by default. I would rather spend an hour on the mapping before I quote than explain a stop-work order after."
Mitch Fraser, owner, Ontario Contracting Co.
Two Hamilton facts worth knowing before you plan anything: about one in seven tested homes exceeds the Canadian radon guideline, and the City will pay up to $40,000 toward an additional dwelling unit. Business owners: the city is in a record construction boom, and we handle commercial fit-ups on the same opening-date discipline.
The paperwork map, before the design
Every Hamilton job starts the same way here: which conservation authority regulates this lot, is it inside Niagara Escarpment development control, is it in one of the seven heritage conservation districts, is it within 30 metres of the LRT corridor, and what does the zoning actually permit. Get those five answers first and a Hamilton project runs smoothly. Get them at inspection time and they cost real money. The full process, with current fees, is in our Hamilton permit guide.
Where we work in the city
The lower city (Durand, Kirkendall, Strathcona, Corktown, Stinson, the North End, Crown Point and the east end), the Mountain, and the amalgamated communities: Dundas, Ancaster, Stoney Creek, Waterdown, Binbrook and rural Flamborough and Glanbrook. One Building Division covers all of it, with Municipal Service Centres in Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough, Glanbrook and Stoney Creek.
Dundas
Spencer Creek flood policy, the Cross-Melville district and brick from the town's own 19th-century yards.
Ancaster
Pre-Confederation stone on Wilson Street, escarpment-edge approvals and executive-home upgrades.
Stoney Creek
Escarpment valley above, Hamilton Beach heritage strip below, and newer housing in between.
Waterdown
Home of Mill Street, the city's largest heritage district at 130 properties, ringed by growth housing.
Hamilton Mountain
Postwar bungalows due for round two, and the city's deepest basement-and-kitchen market.
The standard does not change with the city
Written contract before demolition, permits pulled in our name and verifiable by you, WSIB clearance and $2 million liability certificates handed over before you ask, payments staged against inspected milestones, and the 10% Construction Act holdback respected. Those protections are provincial, and we have documented them in full in our guide to Ontario renovation rights and the contractor-vetting guide. Use them on us.