Residential
$750 flat drawing package
A legal basement apartment has to satisfy three separate authorities at once: the Ontario
Building Code for life safety, the municipal zoning by-law for whether a second unit is permitted
on that lot at all, and the electrical and plumbing permits that come with the work. The guide
walks through all three in order, because most failed applications fail on the zoning question
first and the fire-separation detail second. A second unit is a self-contained dwelling: its own
cooking facility, its own bathroom, its own entrance, and a fire separation between floors.
What the drawing set must show
- Fire separation — a rated separation between the suite and the rest of the house, with the assembly detailed rather than described.
- Egress windows — sized, located and operable from each sleeping room, with the window well detailed where the sill sits below grade.
- Separate entrance — door, stair, landing and headroom shown in section; this is the part quoted on its own because it depends on the house.
- Mechanical design — heating, ventilation and ductwork for the suite, including any separation of systems between the two units.
- Ceiling height and structure — existing beams, ducts and bulkheads measured, so the suite meets the minimum clear height in the areas that need it.
- Zoning compliance — lot coverage, parking and the local second-unit rule, confirmed before design rather than after submission.
Does the suite need its own hydro meter? Not by the Building Code. Separate metering is a licensing and tenancy question, and some municipalities require it for a registered second unit — the guide flags where that applies so it is settled before construction.
Is a second unit the same as a basement apartment? A basement apartment is one form of it. The permit path is the same whether the unit sits in the basement, above a garage or beside the main house, and the same code rules apply.
Read the full guide: Basement second units in Ontario · Service: Basement second unit drawings
Finishing a basement is the cheapest square footage in the house, and the one project most often
built without a permit on the belief that it is "just cosmetic". It is not: new partitions, new
plumbing, new circuits and any new sleeping room all trigger a permit, and each one carries a code
rule that is expensive to discover after the drywall is up. The guide works through those rules in
the order they bite — ceiling height, egress, moisture, then electrical and fire separation.
What the drawing set must show
- Ceiling height — roughly 6′ 5″ of clear height in finished living areas, preserved around beams and ducts with bulkheads drawn in.
- Egress — a code-compliant escape window for any bedroom, sized and positioned, since a basement bedroom without one is not legally a bedroom.
- Wall assembly — insulation, vapour barrier and drainage details drawn as sections so the finished space stays dry.
- Lighting and circuits — layered lighting, outlet layouts and panel loads, because a basement goes dark and overloaded fast.
- Fire separation and alarms — rated assemblies where the code requires them, plus interconnected smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
Can I finish only part of the basement? Yes, and it is a common way to phase a project. The drawings and permit cover what is being built now, provided the layout does not make the later phase non-compliant.
What usually fails inspection? Egress, ceiling height and work done before the permit. Those three account for most of the corrections we see.
Read the full guide: Basement finishing in Ontario · Service: Basement finishing drawings
$1,750 flat, HVAC included
A garden suite is a separate dwelling in the backyard, and it is the most permitting-heavy
residential project on this list. It combines a new structure, new servicing, a new address and
often a new utility connection, so the file touches zoning, site servicing, structural design and
mechanical design together. Many Ontario municipalities now permit garden suites broadly, but the
permitted height, footprint and rear-yard setback are set locally and vary a great deal from one
city to the next.
What the drawing set must show
- Zoning and siting — rear-yard setback, side-yard clearance, height and lot coverage, measured against the by-law rather than assumed.
- Foundation and structure — foundation type and framing for a small detached building, including roof and lateral support.
- Servicing — how water, sanitary and electrical reach the suite, with the trench and connection path shown on the site plan.
- HVAC design — heating, ventilation and cooling for the suite, included in the package because mechanical drawings arriving late is the most common cause of a stalled suite file.
- Egress and fire separation — escape from each sleeping room and the separation required between the suite and the main house.
Does a garden suite need its own address and utilities? It usually needs its own servicing arrangement and is commonly metered separately. Which of those is required, and by whom, is local, and the guide names the cases.
Can it be built on a lot with a laneway? Yes — a laneway suite is a garden suite that faces the lane. The permit path is the same; the siting rules are not.
Read the full guide: Garden suites in Ontario · Service: Garden suite drawings
From $1,750 additions; homes quoted
A new house or an addition is where the drawing package stops being a formality and starts
carrying real liability: the structure, the envelope and the energy performance all have to be
designed, sealed and defensible. Additions add a second layer, because the existing building has
to be documented well enough for the reviewer to accept that the new work does not overload it.
The guide covers what a permit-ready set contains, where zoning usually caps an addition, and how
structural and energy requirements are handled.
What the drawing set must contain
- Site and zoning plan — setbacks, coverage, height and grading, drawn to the survey rather than estimated.
- Architectural drawings — floor plans, elevations, sections and a wall section that defines the assembly being built.
- Structural drawings — foundation, framing and load paths, with engineered beams and connections where a wall or span demands it.
- Energy performance — the envelope and equipment values required under the energy provisions of the Building Code.
- Existing conditions — measured drawings of the retained structure on an addition, so the reviewer can see how the new work ties in.
Why is an addition cheaper than a custom home? Scope, not difficulty. An addition starts at the published entry point because the drawing set covers a defined piece of new work; a whole house is quoted per project because the set covers everything.
Do I need an engineer as well as a designer? For most additions and all new houses, part of the structure needs engineering. It is coordinated into the same package rather than left for the contractor to arrange.
Read the full guide: Custom home & addition drawings in Ontario · Service: Custom home & addition drawings
A deck is the structure you cannot see, which is why so many of them fail inspection or, worse,
fail quietly. In Ontario most decks above a certain height, and any deck attached to the house,
require a building permit before construction starts. The review looks at four things: the
footings, the beams, the connection to the house, and the guards. The guide explains what each of
those has to show and where zoning, rather than structure, decides the size.
What the drawing set must show
- Footings — size and depth set by the deck height, the loaded area and the soil, not copied from a previous job.
- Beams, joists and posts — spans and connections sized to the loads the deck actually carries.
- Ledger and flashing — the attachment to the house detailed with flashing, because a badly flashed ledger rots the deck and the house together.
- Guards and stairs — guard height, infill spacing and stair geometry to the Code, which is where raised decks fail most often.
- Zoning — setbacks, coverage and height, since a deck is a structure subject to the by-law too.
Do I need a permit to replace an existing deck? If the size, height or structure changes, usually yes. A like-for-like surface replacement may not need one, and the guide explains how to tell.
Can a roof be added over an existing deck? Yes, but the deck's structure and footings have to be checked for the added load, and upgraded where they cannot carry it.
Read the full guide: Deck and porch permits in Ontario · Service: Deck & porch drawings
From $1,750 starting price
Removing a wall to open up a main floor looks like a cosmetic change and is structurally the most
consequential thing most homeowners ever do. Once a load-bearing wall is gone, the load it carried
has to go somewhere: a beam, columns, new footings, and a continuous path down to the foundation.
The guide covers how that load path is designed, when a permit is triggered, and why a contractor's
opinion is not a substitute for drawings.
What the drawing set must show
- Which walls carry load — identified from the existing structure, not from the drawing on file at the city.
- Beams and columns — engineered sizes for the new opening, with bearing and connection details.
- Load path — how the new beam's load travels down through posts, existing walls and footings to the foundation.
- Existing conditions — the retained structure measured and drawn, including any beam or post already carrying load.
- Related scope — new electrical, plumbing or egress work that the alteration triggers, so one permit covers the job.
Is a permit needed to remove a non-load-bearing wall? Often not, but "non-load-bearing" has to be established rather than assumed, and any electrical or plumbing inside that wall brings a permit with it.
Can the beam be sized on site? Not legitimately. The beam is the part of the renovation that keeps the house standing, and it is designed and shown on the drawings.
Read the full guide: Interior renovation permits in Ontario · Service: Interior alteration drawings
A detached garage is a simple building with a strict site: on most lots the limit is not the
structure but the by-law. Lot coverage, rear and side setbacks, and the height limit decide the
footprint before a single wall is drawn, and a garage that exceeds coverage is refused regardless
of how well it is built. The guide covers that zoning check first, then foundation, framing and
electrical.
What the drawing set must show
- Zoning compliance — lot coverage, setbacks and height, measured against the survey, since coverage is what caps most garages.
- Foundation — slab-on-grade or frost foundation sized for the garage, with the apron and grade shown.
- Framing — wall, roof and lintel framing for the door opening, which is the widest span in the building.
- Electrical — service to the garage, panel location, lighting and any EV or hoist provisions planned for later.
- Site plan — the garage in relation to the house, the property lines and the driveway, drawn to scale.
Can the garage be taller to add a loft? Only within the height limit for an accessory building in that zone, and the loft changes the structure, so it is designed in from the start.
Does a garage conversion need a different permit? Yes — converting it to living space is a change of use with insulation, egress and heating requirements, not a garage permit.
Read the full guide: Detached garage drawings in Ontario · Service: Detached garage drawings
Mechanical
Mechanical drawings are required whenever the work changes the heating, ventilation or exhaust
system of a building — a new furnace or heat pump, a ducted addition, a commercial kitchen
hood, a make-up air unit, or the ventilation for a new dwelling unit. They are also the drawings
that arrive last and delay the most files. The guide explains when mechanical drawings are
required, what a reviewer expects to see on them, and why a BCIN-qualified designer matters here
as much as on the architectural set.
What the drawing set must show
- Heating and cooling load — equipment sized to the calculated load for the space, not to the previous unit.
- Duct layout and sizing — supply, return and exhaust routing with sizes, drawn around the structure rather than through it.
- Equipment schedule — make, model and capacity of every unit, so the reviewer can check the design against the equipment.
- Ventilation and exhaust — outdoor air and exhaust for the occupancy, including make-up air where a hood or fan extracts it.
- Controls and clearances — service clearances, fire dampers and control intent where the code requires them.
Is an HVAC drawing needed for a like-for-like furnace swap? Usually not, if capacity and routing are unchanged. Once capacity, fuel or routing changes, the mechanical permit follows.
Why do mechanical drawings hold up so many files? Because they are prepared separately from the architectural set and arrive after submission. Here they are coordinated into one package.
Read the full guide: HVAC permit drawings in Ontario · Service: HVAC drawings
Plumbing is the one trade where the drawings and the inspection are almost the same document: the
reviewer wants to see pipe sizes, slopes, vents and fixture units, and the inspector checks that
what was built matches. The guide covers when plumbing drawings are required, how a drain-waste-vent
system is laid out, and what changes for a commercial space where backflow prevention and larger
fixture loads come into play.
What the drawing set must show
- Fixture layout — every fixture located and named, with the fixture units that size the system.
- Drain, waste and vent — pipe sizes, slopes and vent routing drawn in plan and riser, since venting is what most often fails review.
- Water supply — service size, distribution and pressure where the building needs it demonstrated.
- Gas piping — where gas serves the equipment, sized and routed with shut-offs shown.
- Commercial additions — riser diagrams, backflow prevention and washroom systems for business premises.
Does a basement bathroom need a plumbing permit? Yes, and it belongs in the same drawing set as the rest of the basement work so it is reviewed once rather than twice.
Can existing drains be reused? Frequently, but the capacity and venting have to be checked against the new fixture load before it is designed that way.
Read the full guide: Plumbing permit drawings in Ontario · Service: Plumbing drawings
Commercial
Opening a restaurant means satisfying three authorities at once — building, fire and the
local health unit — and the kitchen is where the three collide. A commercial kitchen
ventilation system has to be sized to the cooking equipment, the grease handling has to satisfy the
health unit, and the dining layout has to satisfy egress and occupancy. The guide covers how those
requirements are coordinated into one package, and why a change of use is often the real permit.
What the drawing set must show
- Kitchen ventilation — hood, exhaust and make-up air sized to the actual cooking equipment, with the duct route shown.
- Grease and plumbing — grease interceptor sizing, floor drains and wash-up sinks laid out to health-unit standards.
- Occupancy and egress — seating count, exit widths and travel distance designed to the permitted occupant load.
- Fire and life safety — kitchen suppression, fire separation and exit signage addressed before construction, not during inspection.
- Accessibility — entry, washrooms and circulation to the accessibility standard the code applies to the space.
What if the space was a retail unit? That is a change of use, and it brings new occupancy and code requirements with it. It is assessed before the lease is signed, not after.
Can a patio be added later? Yes. Patio and outdoor dining areas are drawn to meet egress, accessibility and zoning requirements, and are best designed with the interior layout rather than after it.
Read the full guide: Restaurant permit drawings in Ontario · Service: Restaurant drawings
An office fit-out or tenant improvement is judged on four things: how people get out, whether
everyone can use the space, whether the mechanical system still serves the new layout, and whether
the electrical distribution reaches the new desks. The guide covers those four, plus the base-building
coordination that decides how much of the work has to go back to the landlord and the building
engineer before anything is submitted.
What the drawing set must show
- Egress — exit widths, travel distance and dead-end corridors recalculated for the new partition layout.
- Accessibility — door widths, turning space and washroom provision to the accessibility standard in force.
- HVAC — how the new rooms are supplied, returned and exhausted, especially where private offices replace open plan.
- Electrical and data — panel capacity, circuiting and outlet locations for the new workstation layout.
- Base-building coordination — demising walls, sprinkler and fire alarm changes, and the landlord's design criteria.
Does a small office renovation need a permit? Usually yes, once partitions, exits, mechanical or electrical distribution change, because each of those touches a code requirement.
Who approves the base-building changes? The landlord and the building's engineer, in parallel with the municipality. That coordination is part of the drawing work, not a separate favour.
Read the full guide: Office fit-out permits in Ontario · Service: Office fit-out drawings
Educational buildings carry the strictest life-safety requirements of any occupancy type on this
list: occupant load is high, the occupants are children, and the review is done by a building
department that knows the type well. On top of the Building Code, school work usually answers to a
board's own design standards. The guide covers the life-safety analysis, accessibility and
mechanical scope a school renovation file is expected to contain.
What the drawing set must show
- Occupant load and egress — calculated per room and per floor, with exit capacity and travel distance proven rather than stated.
- Fire separations and alarms — rated assemblies, sprinkler and fire alarm modifications coordinated with the existing system.
- Accessibility — barrier-free paths, washrooms and classroom access to the standard the code applies.
- HVAC and indoor air — ventilation rates and equipment changes for the renovated areas, with the existing system documented.
- Board standards — the institutional requirements layered on top of the code, captured in the same set.
Why do school files take longer? More disciplines review them and the life-safety analysis has to be complete before the first submission. The drawing work is longer for the same reason.
Can work be phased over a summer? Yes, and it is normal. Phasing is designed into the drawings so each stage is separately approvable and inspectable.
Read the full guide: School renovation permits in Ontario · Service: School renovation drawings
In retail, the trigger is rarely the construction and almost always the change of use or the
occupant load. Taking over a unit that was something else means the space has to be reassessed
against what it will now hold: how many people, how they exit, whether they can get in with a
stroller or a wheelchair. The guide covers that reassessment, plus the storefront and signage work
that comes with a fit-out.
What the drawing set must show
- Change of use — the previous and proposed use stated, with the code requirements the new use triggers.
- Occupant load and egress — calculated for the sales floor and back of house, with exits and aisles sized to it.
- Accessibility — entry, thresholds, fitting rooms and washrooms where provided, to the applicable standard.
- Storefront and signage — glazing, doors and sign scope drawn so the permit and the signage approval line up.
- Mechanical and electrical — lighting, HVAC distribution and any exhaust the retail use adds.
Is cosmetic work exempt? Often, until it changes exits, occupancy or accessibility. Those three decide more retail files than finishes do.
Does signage need a separate approval? Sign permits are a municipal process of their own, and the drawings are prepared so both applications agree.
Read the full guide: Retail fit-out permits in Ontario · Service: Retail space drawings
A salon or spa looks like a retail fit-out and permits like a light industrial one. Wash basins,
chemical exhaust, dryers, steam and heavy electrical loads turn a familiar-looking space into a
mechanical and plumbing problem, and the local health unit also has a say in how the premises is
laid out. The guide covers those trades in the order they constrain the layout.
What the drawing set must show
- Plumbing — shampoo basins, treatment sinks and traps, sized and vented for the number of stations.
- Ventilation — exhaust for chemical and moisture-laden air, with make-up air so the space stays in balance.
- Electrical loads — dryers, steam equipment and treatment devices calculated as a load, not plugged in afterwards.
- Health unit — sanitation, wash-up and surface requirements reflected in the plan before submission.
- Accessibility and egress — treatment rooms, circulation and exits assessed for the occupancy.
What separates a salon file from a retail one? The plumbing and exhaust. Wash basins and chemical exhaust are what the review actually turns on.
Can equipment change after design? It can, but each change adjusts the load and the exhaust, so equipment is confirmed early rather than during construction.
Read the full guide: Salon and spa permits in Ontario · Service: Salon & spa drawings
An automotive shop is a building designed around vehicles: heavy floor loads, exhaust extraction at
the tailpipe, oil and fluid containment, and fire separation from anything combustible next door.
Those are structural, mechanical and environmental questions that the building department reviews
together, and they are cheapest to answer on paper. The guide covers what a shop permit file has to
demonstrate.
What the drawing set must show
- Floor loading — slab and structure designed for vehicle loads and any hoist, with the equipment located on the plan.
- Exhaust extraction — tailpipe and general exhaust sized to the number of bays, with make-up air and the duct route shown.
- Drainage and fluids — floor drains, oil-water separation and containment laid out so spills do not leave the site.
- Fire separation — rated separation from adjacent occupancies, plus the storage and hazardous-goods limits for the space.
- Access and egress — vehicle door clearances, pedestrian routes and exits kept separate.
Does adding a hoist change the permit? Yes. It changes the structural design and the load on the slab, so it is designed with the building rather than added later.
Is a shop permitted in a retail plaza? Sometimes, subject to zoning and to the fire separation the occupancy requires. That check comes before design.
Read the full guide: Mechanic shop drawings in Ontario · Service: Mechanic shop drawings
What the drawing packages cost
Every figure below is the same price published on the matching service page and in that page's
structured data. All amounts are in Canadian dollars and cover the drawing package only —
municipal permit fees and construction are separate.
| Guide |
Price (CAD) |
Pricing basis |
Page |
| Basement Second Unit | $750 | Flat — separate entrance quoted on its own | View |
| Garden Suite | $1,750 | Flat — HVAC design included | View |
| Basement Finishing | $750 | Starting from | View |
| Custom Homes & Additions | $1,750 | Starting from — larger custom homes quoted per project | View |
| Decks & Porches | $900 | Flat | View |
| Interior Alteration & Renovation | $1,750 | Starting from | View |
| Detached Garage | $900 | Flat | View |
| HVAC | $750 | Starting from — residential | View |
| Plumbing | $750 | Starting from — residential | View |
| Restaurants, Office Space, Schools, Retail Space, Spa & Hair Salons, Mechanic Shop | Quoted per project | Free consultation, then a written quote | View |
Terms that apply to every guide
These are the same terms published on the service pages and in the site's business data. They are
repeated here because they answer most of the questions a guide raises.
- Payment50% deposit to begin, 50% on completion of the drawing package.
- Drawing turnaroundResidential drawings in 5–7 days, commercial drawings in 10–15 days, measured from the measured survey to a submission-ready set.
- Municipal reviewReview time runs on top of the drawing clock and is set by each building department, not by us.
- GuaranteePermit approval, or fees refunded in full.
- QualificationRCI Consulting is a BCIN certified firm, which is what allows the drawings to be submitted directly to the building department. What BCIN means.
- What the price excludesMunicipal permit fees and construction. The package covers the drawings.
Questions that apply across all 15 guides
The answers below are the same ones published on the FAQ page and on
Guides & Resources.
Do these guides apply to my municipality?
Mostly yes, with one caveat. The Ontario Building Code applies province-wide, so the code
requirements in every guide — egress, fire separation, structural loads, ventilation —
read the same whether you are in Toronto, Mississauga, Ottawa or Barrie. Zoning, setbacks, height
limits and submission standards are set by each municipality instead, which is why the guides flag
the local rules that vary. We design to the specific building department reviewing your file rather
than sending a generic package that gets bounced back.
Are the costs in the guides current?
The figures are typical Ontario ranges for the project type described, and the package prices in
the table above are our own published fees, not third-party estimates. Ranges shift with material
costs and municipal fees, so treat them as a planning budget rather than a quote. Send us your
project and we will confirm the exact number for your scope.
Do I need a BCIN-certified designer to submit drawings?
For most building permit applications in Ontario, drawings must be prepared by a qualified
designer — that is what a Building Code Identification Number (BCIN) certifies. A homeowner can
file the application, but the drawings generally still have to come from a BCIN-qualified person for
the parts of the code the project touches. RCI Consulting is a BCIN certified firm, which is why our
drawing packages can be submitted directly to the building department.
How long does a permit take once the drawings are ready?
The drawing work is the part we control; the review clock belongs to the municipality. Standard
residential reviews are usually measured in weeks and commercial fit-outs often take longer because
they involve zoning, fire and sometimes health approvals. The review time also stops while the
reviewer waits on answers, so a complete, coordinated package is the single biggest lever on your
timeline. We can tell you the typical window for your specific municipality when you book a
consultation.
Is a guide enough, or do I also need project-specific drawings?
The guides tell you what applies to your type of project and roughly what it costs — they are
not a drawing set. Every permit submission needs drawings dimensioned to your actual property,
existing conditions and proposed scope, reviewed and sealed by a qualified designer. Use a guide to
plan and budget, then book a site visit so the drawings are built on real measurements.