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Integrated Design Build Toronto

Building

How Long Does It Take To Build A House In Toronto?

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How long does it take to build a house? We’ve built 50 of them and we have renovated over 300 others in the Downtown Toronto core. Modern new builds in neighbourhoods like Lawrence Park and Rosedale have given us a firm grasp on starting from the ground up.

It normally takes around a year to build a custom home and the typical renovation takes 4-6 months to completion.

Time To Build A House In Toronto

Here are a few factors to consider when estimating the build time of a house.

  • cost per square foot
  • options and selections
  • building permits

What is the cost per square foot of your new build? Is it $100 per square foot, or $400?

A higher cost per square foot will likely correlate with a longer build time. Custom homes have a higher cost per square foot than personalized production homes, for example, and will for the most part take longer to build.

Before the build, permits that cover the construction work need to be submitted and approved by the city.

How long does it take to get building permits in Toronto?

It can normally take between 2-3 weeks to hear back from the city on the status of a submission. So, in under a month after you have submitted engineered stamped drawings you should have the issued permits. This assumes that there are no zoning minor variations. This process (Committee of Adjustment) can add up to 5 months to the process

The best time to start the permit application process is after the structural and space planning drawings are done and before you start building. This can be before all the interior drawings and specs are done because these items generally do not affect the building permit.

However, if you have time, best to undertake the interior set of drawings before beginning the build so you can understand the related costs and have better operations as a result of great planning.

Time To Build a Custom Home

Given this framework, we can normally estimate the construction time of a new build custom home to be around 1 year.

From our experience, the process in its entirety can usually vary anywhere between 10 and 16 months, but in general even if the project is a large residential build it should never exceed 16 months.

Below is a graph of survey data showing the average length of time to build a single-family home is normally around 11 months including the permit application period.

If you don’t have to do any demolition on-site – this is a time saver and should shave off a few weeks from the project timeline.

Unseen factors that can cause delays:

  • Hostile weather conditions
  • Land is unreasonable to build on
  • Change orders
  • Other things beyond a builders control

Of course the builder plays a role in the timely execution of a project as well. From start to finish a large part of the process is directed by the builder.

Conclusion

A custom build house will take roughly 1 year to build. If there are no zoning variances your planning process could take between 3-6 months. A typical renovation will take between 4-6 months.

30+ Years experience has given us a breadth of knowledge on the topic. Feel free to ask us more about the process.

Getting Building Permits in Toronto

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Getting a building permit in Toronto is not a total walk in the park, but if you are doing any sort of construction work in the city it’s mandatory according to the Ontario Building Code Act.

Legally you need a registered structural engineer to stamp the plans being submitted so make sure to start planning your project early so that there is sufficient time to draw and understand relative costs.

Each type of construction project requires different permit applications for approval. A new build project needs to meet more requirements than smaller interior renovations and housing additions, so there are more hoops to jump through with the city if you are doing a new build. These can range from a Committe of Adjustment application for zoning variances to arbourist reports for trees that may need to come down and be replaced.

If you are building a new house from the ground up, make sure you take an afternoon to thoroughly review the city’s building regulations. Or partner with one of the architects or draughtsman we collaborate with to figure out the necessary planning steps relative to your project.

The good news is, after you understand the planning process to acquire a Toronto building permit you will be well on your way to realizing your dream vision

Toronto Building Permit Requirements

There are 24 subsections in the building code that require different applications and separate sets of requirements to be met along with the submission.

The Garages and Carports building subsection is one of them. This section’s mandatory requirements include a site plan with floor plans, elevations, zoning info and more.

And then there are three forms that may or may not be required with the application depending on your circumstances.

  1. [Mandatory] Application to Construct or Demolish Form
  2. The Designer Information Form if the drawings were done by a designer (and not an Engineer or an Architect).
  3. Tree Declaration Form – required for all projects where there is a potential for damage to private or City trees.

The first requirement is the mandatory form that needs to be submitted with every Toronto building permit application. The second form here is required if no Engineer or Architect is making the drawings.

If you are interfering with city or private trees in your new garage design, you will have to submit the third form as well, the Tree Declaration Form.

Zoning Your Property

With every building permit request, you need to include a valid zoning certificate.

The Zoning Certificate verifies your proposal complies with the Zoning By-Law. To get one, you will need to submit the following info:

  • survey (if available)
  • site plan – detailed, fully dimensioned and showing adjacent properties and buildings including setbacks
  • floor plans – fully dimensioned with information on uses of all spaces
  • elevations and cross-sections

For Committee of Adjustment applications it is highly recommended to include a Preliminary Project Review, which also shows that a proposal complies with the Zoning By-Law.

Construction Requirements & Guidelines

The Construction Requirements & Guidelines section is another part of the building docs that I would recommend reading from the get go.

It covers topics such as building site maintenance regulations and communicating with neighbours about your construction project.

If your project reaches beyond the delineation of your property line (e.g. with a dumpster parked on the street), there is a Street Occupation Permit for that. And did you know there’s no construction noise allowed on Sundays and statutory holidays?

In any case, make sure you brush up on the rest of these guidelines to fill in any knowledge gaps. Without these guidelines you risk being blindsided by fines later on in the process.

Mandatory: Building Inspections

Toronto Building enforces compliance with the Ontario Building Code through mandatory inspections for building permits and demolitions.

The city has full authority to investigate construction work that’s taking place without valid permits.

Beware of the “work without permit” penalty. The fee for doing unlicensed construction work can be equal to 50 percent of the permit fees for the project, or ~$200, whichever is greater to a maximum up $27,234.64!

That’s a nasty fee that can easily poke a whole in construction projects. Take it from a design build firm that has experience with fines from working without a permit.

After being burned a few times there’s no question we make sure to get building permits (or have our clients get them in collaboration with architect or draughtsman).

If you have already applied for inspection, you can check the status of your inspection here.

Submitting Building Permit Applications in Toronto

Once you finish filling out the permit forms, it’s time to submit them and wait for approval from the city.

So, how do you actually apply for the permits?

Well, you have two options. Submit them via email, or apply in person.

Either way is simple. Use the ‘Email’ button at the top of any application form to submit via email. This will set you up with an automatic response to your email on issuance of your permit.

Or if you’d like to apply in person, attend any Toronto Building Customer Service counter.

And you’re extremely lucky if you catch this hidden detail the first time around:

“Customers will be asked to present a re-writable DVD or USB containing all the necessary materials. No paper copies will be required.”

That’s right. When you’re submitting Toronto building permits in person make sure they are digital copies and not physical paperwork.

How Long Does It Take To Get Building Permits In Toronto?

It can take 15 days for a small building, 20 days for a large building and up to 30 days for complex buildings to get a response from Toronto Building Department.

Providing the application meets construction requirements & submitted drawings provide the necessary information, it will be approved.

Toronto Building has two application streams, a “complete” application stream or an “incomplete” application stream.

If you don’t meet the requirements you will join the incomplete stream and will need to resubmit the plans aligned with the city’s objections.

How Long Are Toronto Building Permits Valid?

Building permits are valid for the duration of the construction period provided work is on-going.

Where work has not started or has stopped, the permit is valid for up to 6 months. However, you may request a building permit extension to extend this period.

After the city has issued your permit, you can pick up the permit at the District Toronto Building Customer Service Office or call and request that it may be mailed.

After The Permit Has Been Issued

You’re not done with Toronto Building once they’ve issued your permit. There are steps to follow throughout your construction process to stay in the city’s good books.

They recommend reviewing your approved drawings before starting the work, printing the drawings in colour and keeping them on the project site, and posting the permit card in a conspicuous place on site prior to starting.

These steps help keep the approval visible if an inspector drops in to check up.

They add in the following few recommendations:

  • contact any additional authority approvals for utilities
  • arrange for inspections at appropriate construction stages
  • meet the 6 month deadline for starting the project

Conclusion

There are so many minor details that need to be weighed. From zoning regulations to submitting the application, building permits take time and energy and collaboration between stakeholders.

Admittedly it’s a little tricky at first. But once you have some experience with the City of Toronto you will get familiar with all the tricks and things to avoid.

If you follow this guide when you are applying for building permits in Toronto you’re much better equipped to breeze through the process and start your construction project in no time.

Eco House Design & Build

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“Green Building” can be a daunting element to include in any design plan.

There’s no doubt its tough to adapt to new technology and building materials as they are continuously evolving.

Below are some ideas we’ve tested and used successfully in a few of our recent
projects, and after you read this article you will have a much better understanding of how to build an eco house.

How to build an eco house

In 2017 we were awarded with a LEED platinum certification on a new build at 27 Farnham Ave. It was the first residential house in Ontario to receive this accreditation.

In this article we’ll uncover a bit of what went into the building process.

From the get go we had to decide how far we were going to go with our ECO intent. In the end, we built this project from the ground up with 80% recycled elements.

But it still had lots of cool tricks to go with it.

Like geothermal heating through ‘water to water’ heat pumps and bottom up radiant floor slabs, geothermal cooling and top-down supply air ducts.

For cold weather humidification we installed steam humidification through the air duct system.

Other eco friendly appliances

  • ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilator – transfers both moisture and temperature)
  • High efficiency HEPA air filtration.
  • Bifacial photovoltaic solar panel array & BIP shading device (25 panels totaling 7 kW) connected to grid (no batteries)
  • Ultra high Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) of exposed roof membrane [increases efficiency of solar panels and reduces heat island effect]

High quality design is an essential pairing with high quality appliances. But you know what else is easy to implement and makes a huge difference?

Eco friendly insulation

Insulating your walls with a high R value saves a whole lot of energy, so it was important to us in this design.

Most of the house is insulated with R-35 and the basementt level is insulated with a concrete slab with an R-20 rating. We even used renewable vegetable-based foam insulation.

The thermal wrap of structural framing is done with exterior polyisocyanurate (PIC), foil faced insulation panels (zero hydrochloroflourocarbons HCFCs), which eliminates 95% of thermal bridging.

Multi-faceted air-tightness measures were implemented to create controlled indoor environment. Things like taping and caulking of PIC joints, and spun bounded polyolefin air barrier.

Sourcing green building materials

The materials were sourced locally for the most part. Triple glazed windows (low-E, argon filled, thermal edge spacer) with Douglas fir wood frames, a Canadian manufacturer.

Sliding glass doors with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) solid white oak frames and heat mirror, krypton filled glazing with thermal edge spacers by a local manufacturer.

Reclaimed brick exterior cavity walls. Brick sourced regionally from adismantled Windsor, Ontario warehouse.

‘Gemthane’ lifetime warrantied, locally manufactured, FSC Eastern White Pine factory finished wood siding. Reclaimed Douglas Fir exposed floor joists, roof rafters and T&G 2×6 decking throughout, salvaged from an Ottawa military hanger.

Living in an eco house: best features

The finished product is beautiful. High and low level natural ventilation at each level, natural day lighting from above deep into the centre of house achived through a massive skylight that beams light through the open staircase and through a glass floor on the ground floor.

LED strip lighting lines the family room.

The on site rainwater drainage collection to drywell collection system is strikingly impressive.

The drywell collection system is designed for future cistern retrofit and for rainwater and/or grey water harvesting. To assist with water consumption there are low flow bathroom faucets and dual flush toilets.

Not to mention geothermal preheating of domestic hot water.

Even the ecosystem of the backyard is set up to help water demand. Our clients are growing tolerant native plants, with no invasive species, to minimize outdoor water demand and synthetic chemicals.

Eco friendly paint?

Paint and Coatings:

Exterior Doug Fir Stain – Benjamin Moore ‘Aura’ low volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

Exterior Siding touchup –BM Aura low VOC. Interior trim, ceiling, bathroom walls, windows, doors – BM Aura low VOC

Interior walls – BM ‘Collection Series’ – latex. Note: Minimal colourant added to the interior paint bases further minimizes VOCs.

Beeswax on steel beams and columns.

Millwork for the eco house

Millwork: Natural White Oak veneer, locally pressed, regionally milled on no added formaldehyde MDF board.

Natural Maple veneer locally pressed, regional milled on no added formaldehyde, locally pressed, regionally milled plywood.

Maple hard rock melamine on no added formaldehyde particle board, locally pressed. White lacquer on no added formaldehyde MDF board (20 fold durability of solvent based lacquer outweighs sustainable attributes of water based lacquer).

Baltic Birch plywood drawers throughout (superior strength, pricing outweighs locally produced high strength plywoods).

Radon barrier/ventilation below basement slab.

Durability and moisture control measures strategies incorporated, evaluated, and documented throughout construction;

Wall Design For Efficient Filtering

The drainage system should be placed at the bottom of all wall cladding. Properly flash all windows/doors, use peel and stick membrane [ensure it works with PIC board].

Other things we actively use in residential projects:

  • Continuous drainage plane behind exterior cladding:
  • fully sealed at all penetrations/seams
  • Keep all exterior wood cladding minimum 8” above soil
  • Drip edge at all sills and heads of all window and door openings
  • Use high durability materials in wet areas – green gypsum board, no carpet
  • Ensure continuity of air seal: spray foam installed in all joist cavities
  • Ensure PIC insulation board is properly taped/caulked at all seams and penetrations

Keeping out pests

  • Keep all wood at least 12” above exposed soil
  • Seal external cracks/joints with caulking and install pest screens
  • Include no wood to concrete connections, or separate with divider
  • Ensure mature plants are 24” from house
  • Treat all cellulosic material within 1 metre of top of foundation wall with borate product (termite protection)

Green building: best practices

Here is a list of green building practical ideas which can easily be added to any project.

These kinds of ideas need to be brought up as talking points early on in the planning of a project to allow for proper design integration and trade awareness.

Electrical

Move the main service underground or if above ground away from the bedrooms. Position the wireless water meter away from bedrooms and family areas.

Line voltage pot lights (no transformers) LED bulbs. Electro magnetic field testing and strategy should be discussed during the planning stage.

Avoid looping electrical wires around bedrooms (electro magnetic fields). also knob & tube can increase magnetic field readings, this should always be a priority to be removed when/where possible. Knob and tube can also effect the ability to get insurance for your home.

Whole house capacitors (or isolators) – prevent dirty electricity from coming  into your house from the electrical service.

Always use shortest direct routes on wiring & use bundled/shielded wires.
Hardware telephone and internet, no dimmers (reduce wireless fields) Use grounding Rod 6-7′ into earth vs grounding to water lines. (requires ESA approval and inspection)

Moisture: air sealing/air movement/air extraction/moisture control

Clean out gutters/extend them away from house.

External Waterproofing: No asphalt foundation coatings/damp-proofing to be used indoors, or outdoors above grade. Cement-based damp-proofing is more resistant to water and aging and although it contains acrylic additives it is generally used outside (Xypex, Sta-Dri, Thoroseal).

Metal studs in basement where possible.

Sealed sump lids. Venting of sealed sump pump can be added, vent pipe to be 30″ above grade.

Use a Radon testing and extraction system like example: radondetect.ca
Create a radon mitigation system plan.

Install a weeping tile pipe that will run independently of the weeping system into a storage/mech room and up 8” from exterior wall, capped ready for possible addition of a fan if needed in the future.

Adding a fan will activate the air below basement slab and move it outside of the house.

Air Vapour/moisture extraction system activate weeping tile systems and vent outside with a fan and humidistat.

Air gap between concrete wall and 2×4 stud walls in basement, for good air flow.

Cleaning

Thorough cleaning should happen after demolition/rough phase. This cleaning is primarily to remove dust (which can contain lead, chemicals, fire retardants, etc…). 

Cleaning should include rough cleaning (sweep, shop vac.), and then HEPA vacuum (or possibly ULPA), and damp-wipe or mist wipe of ALL surfaces.

Water: PEX piping vs. copper

The drawbacks to copper lines are that they more expensive, harder to work with, may increase copper exposures, and may allow current to run on the lines through the house.

The drawback to PEX lines is that they are plastic although they have been used in Europe for 20 years or more.

Insulating metal pipes (pipe wrap low VOC material, not foam) www.reflectixinc.com

Water solutions depend a bit on what you need or want, and that depends on your concerns and how elaborate you want to go.  

City of Toronto water annual report is available to all residents. Parameters almost always fall within the acceptable standards under the Canadian Safe Drinking Water Guidelines.

These guidelines include a target level for Fluoride, which many people do not want. Some trace amounts (often below laboratory detection levels) of chemicals including antibiotics, estrogen mimickers, and other pharmaceuticals may also be present in Toronto water.

Some people filter all their water; some filter only their drinking water. Systems range from simple carbon systems to 21 stage water enhancement systems. 

Carbon filters do not remove fluoride. Reverse Osmosis (R.O.) systems are often recommended as the standard system (it almost always involves a carbon pre-filter and post-filter).

The draw-back is that they remove all minerals, and some minerals are important for your family’s health. So, people often add minerals back into R.O. water. R.O. systems must also be monitored properly to ensure they are working properly. 

Never-the-less it is scientifically accepted that chlorine and chlorine by-products (such as chloramines and trihalomethane) are not good for people, and that most exposure comes from showering or bathing. Therefore, we recommend a carbon filter for showers (and baths).

Recommended resource: purifiner.com

Recommended Products:

Plywood

Most conventional plywood is bonded with formal adhesives that are classified as a probable human carcinogen.

The two most widely used formaldehyde adhesives are urea formaldehyde (UF) for hardwood plywood most often used inside the home for cabinetry and panelling , and phenol formaldehyde (PF) which include most softwood plywood used for outdoor and structural applications, like sheathing and floors. 

The more expensive resistant PF, which off-gasses at a much slower rate (vapours will persist longer, but at much lower concentrations) are considered safer, so these should be used instead of UF, or purchase “formaldehyde free” plywood for indoor use. Alternatively AMF Safecoat makes a sealer that can be used to seal plywood and keep the harmful vapours from seeping into your home.

Flooring materials: Solid wood is healthier than any engineered composite

Local Foam

  • Low-expansion, moisture-curing, low-odour foams
  • Handi Foam Fastfill by Fomo Products, distributed by BENCO, in Quebec
  • SISTA All-purpose Foam by Aldon Chemicals, Woodbridge
  • Closed cell 2-part Icynene sprays: Walltite Eco is the best choice

Adhesives

  • Healthguard Waterbased contact adhesive, or Earthbond 7700 Contact Cement, or equivilent. Less toxic acrylic latex caulks
  • AMF Safecoat Almighty Adhesive
  • AMF Safecoat 3 in 1 Adhesive, AMF Safecoat Adhesive Caulking Phenoseal
  • AMF Safecoat Almighty Adhesive
  • AMF Safecoat 3 in 1 Adhesive

Rubber-based adhesives for membrane and engineered wood –meets wood floor manufacturers requirements, easy to spread and clean, can be used with in-floor heating systems, low VOCs.

Water-based polyvinyl acetate i.e. White glue, Lepage National Casien 6500, Weldwood are suitable in dry locations Non-toxic carpenter’s glue such as Elmer’s, or Eco Bond Glue are suitable in dry locations

Low-toxicity water based caulking

Do not use urethane, or polyurethane caulk. If silicone caulk is required use neutral cure rather than acetic acid cure to achieve low odour.

Silicone caulking (and other caulkings) intended for bathroom applications have added fungicides.

Avoid the use of “bathroom” silicone. Examples of low odour (neutral cure) silicones are:

CSL 343 supplied by CLSsilicone

GE Silicone II for doors and windows (not GE Silicone II for bathtub and tile applications).

  • Phenoseal Series 100
  • AFM Safecoat Caulking Compound
  • Surpass AMF Safecoat Adhesive Caulking
  • Lepage’s Green Series Construction Adhesive and Sealant

Mastic (painted on variety, or rope-type) is less harmful than aluminum tape for sealing duct work (duct tape should never be used)
AFM 3 in 1 Adhesive Multi-purpose.

Putty (linseed based) is better than caulking, or an equally comparable product that has the least VOCs possible (No VOCs and few other hazardous ingredients), preferably with 3rd party certification from Greenguard Children and schools certification, or Green Seal, or Ecologo (in Canada).

Grout:

Quartz lack grout or Star glass grout

Mortars:

Best option is to use thick-set motars (cement mix) or use thin-set mortar (dry cement mix with water) layed on concrete (Kerabond).
Thin-set mortors usually are 2-part (dry mix cement with acrylic additive to give flexibility) are generally used if thin set on wood subfloor (Ultraflex, Kerabond with Keralastic additive). If using acrylic additive use one with no odour or low odour.

More Information:

Eco Building Resources
Sustain EcoStore
The Healthiest Home
Canadian Green Building Council
Urban Green Supply
Green Building Supply
Purifiner
Radon Detect
Reflectix Inc.