Halton Region · Service area
General Contractor in Oakville
Additions, rebuilds and renovations from Bronte to Joshua Creek, planned around the -0 overlay, heritage districts and Conservation Halton valleys.
Many Oakville neighbourhoods carry the -0 suffix, an overlay that caps floor area on a sliding scale from 65% on small lots to 33% on the largest. Those numbers tend to decide between an addition and a rebuild. In Old Oakville and the First and Second Street district, exterior work also needs a heritage permit.
Renovating in Oakville
What’s different in Oakville
| Permit office | Town of Oakville Building Services (official site, opens in a new tab) |
|---|---|
| Zoning by-laws | By-law 2014-014, or By-law 2009-189 in North Oakville. Permits go through ePlan with a $100 pre-screening fee. |
| Additional units | Two inside the house, or one inside plus one detached. Entrances can't face a yard under 1.0 m. |
| Backyard units | 4.0 m high, covering the greater of 5% of the lot or 42 m². |
| Conservation authority | Conservation Halton, for Sixteen Mile, Fourteen Mile, Bronte, Morrison and Joshua's Creeks and the Lake Ontario shoreline. |
| Heritage districts | Old Oakville, First and Second Street, Trafalgar Road and Downtown Oakville. Exterior work needs a heritage permit. |
| Grading and trees | Development Engineering permit for rebuilds and some additions. Tree permit for private trees of 15 cm or more. |
| Water and sewer | Halton Region handles connections. |
Housing stock
Century homes by the harbour, rebuilds in Southeast Oakville
The oldest houses sit near the harbour. Old Oakville and the First and Second Street area hold 19th and early 20th century frame and brick homes, many inside a heritage district. In Morrison and Eastlake, lots of 20 m to 30 m frontage carry 1940s to 60s bungalows and storey-and-a-halfs that are steadily being replaced. Bronte, Coronation Park, Falgarwood and College Park filled in from the 1950s to the 1970s with bungalows, side-splits and modest two-storeys. Glen Abbey, River Oaks, West Oak Trails and Joshua Creek followed from the 1980s into the 2000s, with ensuites and walk-out or look-out basements. North of Dundas Street, the North Oakville communities date from the 2010s.
Neighbourhoods we work in: Old Oakville · Morrison and Eastlake · Bronte · Glen Abbey · Joshua Creek · North Oakville
Nearby: Burlington, Mississauga, Hamilton
Services in Oakville
Nine services, each with its own local page
Frequently asked questions
Renovating in Oakville: local questions
Your lot is in the Residential Low Density Overlay, which limits how large a detached house can be. The maximum floor area ratio slides with lot area, for example 49% on a 650–749.99 m² lot and 41% on a 1,050–1,149.99 m² lot. Coverage is capped at 25% to 35%, depending on lot size and whether the house exceeds 7.0 m in height. Upper balconies are not permitted.
For every teardown rebuild, and for additions with work outside the existing footprint, such as new footings, regrading or a new driveway. The permit covers site alteration, grading and drainage. The Town holds securities until inspections pass and a Lot Grading Certification is submitted by an engineer, Ontario Land Surveyor or landscape architect. It runs alongside the building permit, so we submit both together.
It may be, if any part of it is near Sixteen Mile Creek, Fourteen Mile Creek, Bronte Creek, Morrison Creek, Joshua's Creek, a valley slope or the Lake Ontario shoreline. Work in a regulated area needs a Conservation Halton permit as well as the Town's building permit. It can require a staked top of slope or a floodplain survey. Ravine lots in Glen Abbey, Bronte and Old Oakville are the usual cases.
Reviews from CarpentryBoys clients near Oakville
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