Everything You Need to Know About Your Next Project

The City of Toronto Building Department (officially “Toronto Building”) is the municipal division responsible for reviewing and issuing building permits, and for inspecting construction to confirm it meets the Ontario Building Code. Most homeowners never deal with them directly — CM Designers & Engineers prepares your drawings, submits your application, and manages all communication with the department on your behalf, from initial submission through to permit issuance.

Once your project is under construction, a Toronto Building inspector visits at specific stages — typically after excavation, framing, and before any work is covered or concealed — to confirm the work matches your approved permit drawings. We prepare complete, code-compliant drawings up front specifically to help your project pass Toronto building inspection the first time, without costly delays for corrections.

In most cases, yes. Any structural work, addition, new construction, or change that affects egress, fire separation, or load-bearing elements requires a construction permit in Toronto before work begins. Cosmetic updates like paint, flooring, or cabinetry (without plumbing or electrical changes) generally don’t. If you’re unsure whether your project qualifies, we’ll tell you honestly before you pay for a single drawing.

Applying for City of Toronto construction permits starts with a complete drawing package — site plan, architectural drawings, and structural details — submitted through the City’s electronic review system. We handle the entire submission process, including responding to any examiner comments, so you’re not learning municipal bureaucracy on your own dime.

Timelines for City of Toronto building permits vary by project complexity and the department’s current workload — generally, review can take anywhere from several weeks to a few months. The single biggest factor within your control is submitting a complete, error-free package the first time, which is exactly what our drawing process is built around.

Yes — Scarborough falls under the City of Toronto’s building code jurisdiction, so the same rules apply as anywhere else in the city. A Scarborough building permit is required for additions, structural changes, new construction, and secondary suites. We’re based right in Scarborough, so we know the specific patterns examiners in this district commonly flag.

Scarborough building permit drawings are the detailed architectural and structural documents — floor plans, elevations, structural details — that the City reviews to approve your project. These must be prepared by a qualified designer or engineer. CM Designers & Engineers prepares every drawing in-house, combining architectural design with structural engineering under one roof.

Scarborough building plans and permit are two different things: the plans are the drawings we create showing exactly what you intend to build; the permit is the City’s official approval to build it, issued only after your plans are reviewed and accepted. You need both — accurate plans to get approved, and the approved permit before construction legally begins.

CM Designers & Engineers focuses on design, engineering, and permit drawings — we don’t swing the hammer ourselves. For residential construction in Scarborough, we work directly alongside our sister company, The Construction Master Inc., which is fully licensed by both Tarion and the HCRA (Home Construction Regulatory Authority) — Ontario’s mandatory licenses for new home construction. One team designs it, the other builds it, with nothing lost in translation between the two.

Toronto building permit fees are set directly by the City and change periodically, so rather than quote a number that may already be outdated, we point every client to the City of Toronto’s official building permit fee schedule for current rates. What we can control is minimizing costly delays and re-examination fees by submitting a complete, accurate application the first time.

Toronto building permit drawings are the single biggest factor in how smoothly your application moves through review. Incomplete or unclear drawings are the most common reason applications get delayed with examiner comments, each round adding weeks to your timeline. Our drawings are prepared to be approved, not just submitted.

Once your design and permits are ready, you’ll need a licensed builder to bring it to life. For custom home builders in Toronto, we recommend our sister company The Construction Master Inc. — licensed by both Tarion and the HCRA, and already familiar with our drawings since we work together on shared projects, meaning nothing gets lost handing your project from design to construction.

Design and engineering are our focus; for the actual residential construction in Toronto, our sister company The Construction Master Inc. handles the build — fully Tarion and HCRA licensed. Working with both companies means one accountable team from your first sketch to your final walkthrough, rather than juggling separate firms who’ve never spoken to each other.

Yes, we provide complete architectural design, structural engineering, and building permit acquisition for properties in Mississauga, and across the broader Greater Toronto Area (GTA). For the actual build, our sister company, The Construction Master Inc., steps in as a fully Tarion and HCRA licensed builder to turn our completed designs into reality seamlessly.

Yes, we do. CM Designers & Engineers designs, engineers, and secures building permits for commercial spaces across the GTA—from restaurants and retail shops to medical/dental clinics, pharmacies, and condo amenity spaces. We take care of spatial layouts, accessibility rules, engineering, and city approvals. Once plans are approved, our sister company, The Construction Master Inc., delivers the full commercial build-out and leasehold improvements. Partnering with us means having a single, unified team guiding your commercial project from initial floor plan to final completion.