Bathroom renovation in Mississauga

Bathrooms in Mississauga homes

What a bathroom renovation involves in Mississauga depends mostly on the decade the house was built and on whether it is a detached house, a townhouse, or a condo.

One-bathroom bungalows and splits: Applewood, Cooksville, Lakeview

Many houses from the 1950s and 1960s were built with a single main bathroom and, at most, a basic toilet and sink in the basement. Two requests come up again and again:

• Rebuild the main bathroom in its existing footprint: new plumbing in the walls, a new tub or shower with proper waterproofing, a fan ducted outside, and better storage.
• Add a second full bathroom, usually in the basement, so the household is not sharing one.

The second needs a City permit; the first usually does not, provided fixtures stay where they are.

1970s and 1980s homes: Erin Mills, Meadowvale, Streetsville

These houses typically have a main bathroom, a small ensuite with a shower stall or a narrow tub, and a powder room. Ensuites from this period are tight. The common fix is to borrow space from the bedroom closet for a larger shower and a longer vanity, which means moving a wall and a drain, and therefore a permit.

Original bathrooms of this age often have ceramic tile over ordinary drywall around the tub, with no waterproofing behind it. Soft walls and loose tiles are a sign that water has been getting through.

Townhouses and condos

Mississauga has a large stock of condominium townhouses and apartment towers, particularly around the City Centre. Bathrooms in both are compact, and in a condo the drains tie into a shared stack, so fixtures generally stay in place. The condominium corporation’s approval is needed before work starts, and water shut-offs have to be booked through the building. See condo renovation.

Larger and newer homes: Lorne Park, Mineola, Churchill Meadows, Lisgar

In the lakeside neighbourhoods, bathroom projects are often part of a wider renovation and sit in the premium tier: curbless showers, freestanding tubs, and custom vanities. In the newer subdivisions the usual project replaces builder-grade tub surrounds and vanities within the existing layout.

City of Mississauga permits for bathrooms

The City’s page on when a building permit is required says:

No permit needed: replacing a fixture, such as a sink, tub, toilet, or shower, in the same location.

Permit required:

• adding, removing, or relocating a plumbing fixture such as a sink, tub, toilet, or shower,
• installing, replacing, or repairing plumbing drainage,
• finishing a basement to create rooms, which covers a new basement bathroom, and
• new or enlarged windows.

We prepare the drawings and manage the application where one is needed. Electrical work, including heated floors, is inspected separately through the Electrical Safety Authority.

How the project runs

1. Phone conversation, then a free site visit at your Mississauga home.
2. Budget and design, from your mood board and inspiration photos.
3. 3D rendering, on request, to judge tile, vanity size, and layout before ordering.
4. Approval, and a permit where the work needs one.
5. Build: demolition, rough-in, waterproofing, tile, fixtures, and finishing.

What a bathroom renovation includes is set out on our main bathroom renovation page, and the bathroom renovation cost guide explains the price tiers below.