Frequently Asked Questions

4–8 weeks typical. An update where the shower stays starts from 4 weeks on site; a full renovation back to studs from 6. Waterproofing cure times and shower glass fabrication are the two waits nobody can compress.

Often yes, and it’s one of the most common things we’re asked for. It means the wet area goes back to studs — new waterproofing, new drain, new tile — so it’s a renovation rather than an update.

It’s the upgrade clients mention first when we ask what they’d do again. It works under tile and stone only, adds almost no height, and shares the same membrane layer your shower already needs.

Yes, and it’s usually the efficient way — the trades overlap rather than doubling. Your project manager sequences them so you’re never without a working bathroom.

Ideally no. We stage the work to bring the room back as fast as the build allows, and where it’s your only bathroom we plan the toilet back in the same day it comes out. Your project manager tells you which days are genuinely unusable before they arrive.

• Vinyl is affordable, low maintenance, and widely used for its practicality.
• Fiber cement (e.g. James Hardie®) offers the look of wood with superior durability and fire resistance.
• Wood delivers a warm, natural look but requires regular upkeep to stay protected from the elements.
• Metal is durable, modern-looking, and resistant to pests and fire, though it may need occasional rust checks and touch-ups over time.

• Vinyl typically lasts 20–40 years with minimal upkeep.
• Fiber cement can last 30–50 years thanks to its durability.
• Wood can last 20–40 years, but only with consistent maintenance like sealing or painting.

• Vinyl needs occasional washing to keep it looking fresh.
• Wood requires regular painting or staining every few years, plus routine checks for rot or insect damage.
• Fiber cement should be repainted every 10–15 years to maintain its finish.
• Metal needs occasional cleaning and inspection for rust, especially around seams or fasteners.

While standard siding isn’t highly insulating, options like insulated vinyl or adding foam board underneath can boost energy efficiency and help reduce heating and cooling costs year-round.

Yes. New siding boosts curb appeal and can offer a strong return on investment, especially when using premium materials like fiber cement.

Installation typically takes 1 to 4 weeks, depending on your home’s size, the materials chosen, and whether any repairs — like rot under old siding — are needed during the process.

Often recommended. New soffit improves roof ventilation, and matched fascia and trim delivers a cohesive look and better water management.

Usually, yes. We schedule around extreme temperatures and use season-appropriate methods; paint and caulk cure windows may affect certain materials.

For like-for-like siding, often no. If scope includes structural changes or added exterior insulation thickness, permits may apply. We confirm and handle it when required.

We bring full-size samples and use digital visualizers so you can see options against your brick or stone. Our exterior design team works with you to select the right profile and exposure — lap, board-and-batten, shake, vertical — to suit your home’s architecture and the look you’re after, so the whole exterior reads as one cohesive design.

Absolutely. A classic combination is lap siding on the main body with board-and-batten or shakes in the gables for depth and curb appeal — without adding maintenance. Our design team will map where each profile begins and ends and provide mockups, so the plan is clear before we order materials.

Usually yes, if you’re going darker — as long as the material and condition are suitable.

• Vinyl: often paintable, including darker tones, using vinyl-safe, heat-reflective colours and proper prep. Panels must be sound.
• Aluminum: readily paintable — clean, spot-prime bare metal, then topcoat.
• Wood and fiber cement: very paintable — repair and caulk, prime bare areas, use a quality exterior acrylic.

It’s exterior-only work, but removal and installation do create noise and some mess — that’s unavoidable with tear-offs. Expect daily cleanups including magnet sweeps for nails, protected landscaping and walkways, tidy bin and material placement, and respectful daytime working hours.

We typically start early and wrap early. Your project manager will share the daily schedule before we begin and flag any changes. To meet timelines we may add occasional weekend work — always communicated in advance.

Not when it’s installed properly. 3 cm is thicker, more substantial, and more forgiving over unsupported spans, which is why we default to it on counters and islands. 2 cm is lighter and sleeker and excels on backsplashes, hood wraps, and vertical work — and it’s perfectly safe on a counter with the right substrate and support.

No. Groups reflect design complexity, not durability. Every group is the same non-porous, low-maintenance surface — the price tracks how much veining and movement is engineered into the slab.

Where a run is longer than a slab, yes — a fine line. We place seams at the least visible point and match veining across the joint, but stone and engineered slabs both have natural variance, so a seam is matched rather than erased.

Ideally no — use a trivet if possible. Quartz is resin-bound, so extreme, direct heat can mark it. Granite and sintered stone handle heat far better — if you cook hard and hate trivets, say so during selection.

Quartz and sintered stone need nothing but soap and water. Granite and marble want periodic sealing. Butcher block wants oiling. Your designer will match the material to how much upkeep you actually want.

Because they’re measured off your cabinets, not your drawings. Templating happens once boxes are installed and level, so the slab matches the room as built.

Sometimes. If they’re in good shape and the layout isn’t changing, we’ll tell you honestly that your money is better spent elsewhere — cabinet painting projects often keep the tops.

Briefly. There are offline days around template and install while the sink is disconnected. Your project manager gives you notice well ahead, and we’ll often keep key appliances running in an adjacent room.

Slab if you want zero maintenance and a continuous look with your counters. Tile if you want colour, pattern, or texture the slab can’t give you. Neither is the upgrade — they’re different answers, and cost overlaps more than people expect.

Yes, but it’s the labour, not the tile. Every piece meets its neighbour at an angle, so the cut count goes up sharply. The same tile stacked straight can install for meaningfully less — and the tile line itself may be identical.

With modern grout and a sealer, mostly yes — and matched grout hides what does happen. Behind a range is the hardest-working spot in the kitchen, which is one more argument for a slab or a large-format tile there.

The tile only if it’s natural stone. Grout, yes — we seal it at the end, and it’s worth redoing every few years. Porcelain, ceramic, glass, and quartz slab need nothing but soap and water.

Standard is counter to the underside of the uppers. Full height behind the range is the best-value upgrade in the room, and running to the ceiling on an open wall makes a low ceiling feel taller. Your designer will help decide what’s best.

Sometimes. If the tile is sound, the layout isn’t changing, and you like it, we’ll say so — cabinet painting projects often keep it. But new counters usually leave a gap at the old tile line, so it’s worth pricing both ways.

Because it’s measured off the finished top. Tiling first means guessing where the counter will land, and the joint shows it. Counters go in, then the wall is prepped and tiled to the surface as built.

Yes — cover plates sit on the tile face, which is the finished look. We plan the layout so those cuts fall where they draw the least attention, and the electrical is set before tile so nothing gets opened up twice.

If it’s in good condition and your cabinet footprint isn’t changing, often yes — we protect it and work over top. The catch is usually an island or a moved cabinet run, because there’s at times no flooring underneath either one.

We measure that before you choose. Vinyl plank can usually be built up to land flush with hardwood; tile normally finishes a little proud. Where there’s a difference, we bevel it with a low-profile reducer.

In a bathroom, almost everyone who has one says yes. In a kitchen it’s a comfort upgrade rather than a necessity. It only works under tile or stone, and it adds almost no height to the build-up.

No. Plank and hardwood don’t tolerate the heat cycling. If a warm floor matters to you, that decision picks your material for you.

Wall to wall costs more material but lets you change the layout later without patching. Stopping at the cabinet line saves money now.

While probing beforehand as much as possible, we typically find out at demolition and tell you the same day, with a price before we proceed. Soft subfloor, water damage, and out-of-level areas all get fixed before anything new goes down.

Not necessarily, but commonly. If they’re staying, we close the gap with a shoe moulding or quarter round. If they’re coming off anyway, the baseboard is refitted over the new floor and there’s no second line at all.

You select it, we supply and install it. Your designer brings samples into the room so you’re choosing in your own light, and the material is carried in your quote as an allowance until it’s picked.

Licensed specialists from our renovation network — the same people on project after project, holding the certifications the work legally requires, including a certified fitter where a gas range is involved. They’re scheduled by your project manager and build to your approved drawings.

Yes. Electrical work is done under an ESA permit held by the licensed electrician, and plumbing permits are pulled where scope requires them. Inspections are coordinated for you, and your certificate is handed over at closeout.

Usually, yes — it’s pretty routine work. Drains run on gravity, so distance from the stack is what sets the cost. Your rep and designer will scope it with you and tell you plainly what your room allows.

Only if it has to be. We check capacity at estimate and avoid the work where it’s safe and sensible to. Older homes sometimes have panel types that legally can’t be added to — where we find one, replacing it isn’t optional.

You hear the same day, with a price and your options. Anything genuinely unsafe or non-compliant gets corrected. Anything sound but merely old, we tell you about and leave alone.

It needs a dedicated high-capacity circuit and enough headroom in the panel. That’s exactly the sort of thing we confirm at estimate rather than discover at install, so tell your estimator or designer early if it’s on your list.

The room we’re building, plus anything attached to a fixture we’re moving or touching, plus panel and service upgrades where code requires them. Adjacent work like laundry taps is possible when we’re already there — raise it at the design phase.

A 5-year workmanship warranty, with full details in the Terms and Conditions of your approved proposal.

Payments are tied to project milestones, not fixed dates. Every invoice lives in the Financial section of BuilderTrend, and your project manager flags each one in advance.

We work in start weeks, not fixed start days. Your detailed weekly schedule is published the Friday immediately prior to your start week, and your project manager confirms the exact day work begins from there.

Work happens in phases by specialized trades, so quiet days between steps are normal. Each specialist fully finishes their portion before the next begins — it keeps the work focused and cuts return visits.

Not throughout — but we encourage being available on Day 1 to review the timeline and access. We can provide a secure lockbox if needed.

We air-seal the work zone with zipper walls, cover vents, and lay floor protection on every path. HEPA scrubbers run during dusty work, with a tidy-up at day’s end.

Us. It’s covered by our 5-year workmanship warranty and we handle all of it from there — you never contact a trade directly or work out whose responsibility something is.