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Full-scale home transformations from concept to completion.
Condo Renovation
Maximize your condo space with smart design and expert craftsmanship.
Basement Renovation
Unlock your basement's potential with functional, beautiful living spaces.
Garden Suite Builder
Detached backyard suites & ARUs for rental income or multigenerational living.
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Premium hardwood, tile and luxury vinyl flooring installation.
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Garden Suites

Garden suites and laneway homes are the GTA’s biggest housing opportunity. These guides cover municipal rules, real construction costs, and what a backyard home can earn.

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Foundation work for a backyard garden suite — the phase winter timing revolves around

Garden Suites

Building a Garden Suite Through a GTA Winter: What Changes

We build garden suites twelve months a year. Winter changes the sequence and adds a few line items — it doesn't stop the work. Here is what a cold-season build actually looks like in the GTA.

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Exterior detail of a modern backyard garden suite, the kind of GTA build most owners finance through home equity

Garden Suites

Financing a Garden Suite in 2026: Every Option Compared

A garden suite runs $275,000–$550,000 all-in for most GTA builds. Here's how homeowners actually fund it — HELOCs, CMHC's 90% insured refinance, the 2% federal loan, and how to stack them.

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Exterior detail of a completed backyard garden suite, the kind Mississauga lots can now host

Garden Suites · Mississauga

Garden Suite Cost in Mississauga: 2026 Build Guide

Mississauga's big post-war lots were built for exactly this. What a backyard garden suite really costs in 2026 — structure, servicing, soft costs, and the incentives that trim the bill.

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Compact modern garden suite with large windows in a GTA backyard

Garden Suites

Garden Suite Designs for Small GTA Lots That Actually Work

Most GTA lots can't fit a big garden suite — and don't need one. How 400-650 sq ft plans live well, what the roof rules dictate, and what building compact actually costs in 2026.

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Design-build garden suite project like those permitted across Hamilton's residential zones

Garden Suites · Hamilton

Garden Suite Rules in Hamilton: 2026 Requirements

Hamilton is one of the cheapest places in the GTA to permit a backyard home — and one of the trickiest to build on if the escarpment is involved. Here is how the 2026 rules actually work.

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Modern detached garden suite of the kind now permitted in Mississauga backyards

Garden Suites · Mississauga

Garden Suite Rules in Mississauga: 2026 Requirements

A detached garden suite is now a permitted use on most serviced Mississauga lots. Here is what the 2026 rules actually require — and what your specific backyard has to deliver.

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Bright garden suite interior showing the finished living space a Halton backyard build delivers

Garden Suites

Garden Suite Rules in Oakville and Burlington: 2026 Guide

Halton's generous lots were made for backyard homes. What Oakville and Burlington each require in 2026, where the two towns differ, and which neighbourhoods hold the easiest builds.

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Modern backyard garden suite of the kind now permitted across York Region municipalities

Garden Suites

Garden Suite Rules in Vaughan, Markham & Richmond Hill (2026)

Ontario opened the door to garden suites province-wide, but Vaughan, Markham, and Richmond Hill each wrote their own zoning fine print. What actually decides your project is your lot.

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Garden suite under construction in a GTA backyard, framing stage of the build phase

Garden Suites

Garden Suite Timeline: From First Sketch to Keys

Clients always ask how long the build takes. The build is the predictable part. It's the survey, the permit queue, and the utility coordination that decide whether you're in by next summer.

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Modern detached garden suite in a GTA backyard, an alternative to building an addition on the main house

Garden Suites

Garden Suite vs Home Addition: Which Adds More for the Money?

Both a garden suite and an addition buy you serious square footage. Only one earns rent, and only one puts your family through a construction zone. Here is how we help GTA homeowners choose.

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Modern backyard garden suite in a GTA yard, the kind most owners build for long-term tenants or family

Garden Suites

Garden Suites and Short-Term Rentals: GTA Rules to Know

Thinking of listing a new garden suite on Airbnb? Principal-residence rules across the GTA make that plan a non-starter — but two better uses hold up under any bylaw.

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Design-build garden suite project where mechanical and electrical systems were planned from the first drawing

Garden Suites

Heating, Cooling, and Powering a Garden Suite: System Choices

Almost every garden suite we build in the GTA is all-electric with a cold-climate heat pump. Here is why that combination wins, and the panel, metering, and hot-water decisions that come with it.

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Exterior detail of a completed backyard garden suite, the kind of addition MPAC values after occupancy

Garden Suites

How a Garden Suite Affects Your Property Taxes in the GTA

A garden suite will raise your property assessment and your tax bill. It will not come close to erasing the rent. Here is how the assessment process actually works and what the net picture looks like.

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Garden suite under construction on site, framing stage — the work a prefab module replaces in a factory

Garden Suites

Prefab vs Custom Garden Suites in the GTA: Honest Trade-Offs

Prefab garden suite pricing looks tempting until you add what the quote leaves out. We build custom, but we'll give you the honest comparison — including the lots where prefab genuinely wins.

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Bright, open interior of a newly built two-bedroom garden suite with modern finishes

Garden Suites

Two-Bedroom Garden Suites: Designs for Families and Income

A second bedroom changes who a garden suite works for — families instead of singles, parents plus a caregiver. Here is how two-bed suites lay out, and what the extra space costs in the GTA.

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Additional Residential Units (ARUs) in Ontario: How Many Units Can You Build on Your Lot? — Leo Constra renovation blog

Garden Suites

Additional Residential Units (ARUs) in Ontario: How Many Units Can You Build on Your Lot?

A plain-English guide to additional residential units (ARUs) in Ontario: how many you can build as-of-right, what ARU, ADU, and garden suite actually mean, and the conditions that still apply.

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Are Garden Suites Worth It? Rental Income, ROI & Property Value in the GTA — Leo Constra renovation blog

Garden Suites

Are Garden Suites Worth It? Rental Income, ROI & Property Value in the GTA

An honest look at whether garden suites pay off in the GTA, covering realistic rents, payback math, property value, and the incentives that move the numbers.

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Building a Garden Suite for Aging Parents: In-Law Suites & the Multigenerational Tax Credit — Leo Constra renovation blog

Garden Suites

Building a Garden Suite for Aging Parents: In-Law Suites & the Multigenerational Tax Credit

How a detached garden or in-law suite lets aging parents live close but independent, what accessible design to plan for, and how the Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit helps pay for it.

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Garden Suite vs Laneway Suite vs Coach House: Which Should You Build? — Leo Constra renovation blog

Garden Suites

Garden Suite vs Laneway Suite vs Coach House: Which Should You Build?

A clear guide to the difference between garden suites, laneway suites, and coach houses, and how to find out which one your GTA lot can actually support.

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