Suburb, west Ottawa

Home renovations in Stittsville

Stittsville was a small village of about 3,000 people in the mid-1970s. Once City water and sewer arrived, by 1984, it grew quickly, to about 12,000 people by 2000 and 40,889 at the 2021 census, so population growth suggests most of its homes are under 40 years old.

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Homes in Stittsville

The village was founded in the 1850s and rebuilt around the railway after an 1870 fire. Its Main Street core still has 19th-century buildings, and the City adopted a design plan for it in 2015. The suburban subdivisions around it date from the mid-1980s onward, and population growth suggests the largest share was built since 2000.

Most homes are detached, semi-detached and townhouses from those subdivisions. The first wave of builder-grade kitchens, bathrooms and lightly finished basements is now coming due for updating.

What tends to come up

  • Most Stittsville homes appear to be under 40 years old, so original builder-grade kitchens, bathrooms and basements are a typical starting point.
  • Older houses near Main Street can need deeper kitchen, bathroom and addition work than the suburban homes around them.
  • About 30 percent of townhomes are rented, which supports basement suites and rental-ready updates.
  • Lots backing onto Poole Creek, Feedmill Creek or wetlands can need conservation authority approval for an addition.

What we build in Stittsville

Typical totals with HST for a mid-range job of each kind at a Stittsville address. Each page covers what matters for that work here.

Prices are estimates based on published Ottawa and Ontario price guides, checked October 2026. They are not an offer. A firm written quote follows a site visit. Prices for Stittsville include about 2% over central Ottawa for travel and delivery.

Permits and approvals in Stittsville

What to check before work starts. Rules change, so we confirm what applies to your address and your project.

  • Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority

    Poole Creek and Feedmill Creek are tributaries of the Carp River, managed by the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority. Poole Creek's headwaters are in a provincially significant wetland near Highway 7 and Hazeldean Road. Additions and alterations in a regulated area need an MVCA permit before the building permit, and MVCA approved new Carp tributary hazard maps in July 2026.

  • Main Street

    No heritage conservation district covers Stittsville, but the Stittsville Main Street Community Design Plan guides the corridor, and at least one building on it, Green's Hotel, is individually designated. Exterior work on a designated building needs heritage approval and loses the usual permit exemptions.

  • Building permits

    The City generally requires a building permit to finish a basement, move or remove walls, alter plumbing, add or enlarge windows and doors, and build an addition. Replacing kitchen cabinets without moving plumbing fixtures usually does not need one. Electrical work is inspected separately by the Electrical Safety Authority.

  • Decks and porches

    An attached deck needs a building permit when its surface is more than 600 mm (about 24 inches) above the ground, or when it is the main way into the house. A freestanding deck needs one when it is larger than 10 square metres (about 108 sq ft) and more than 600 mm up. Porches generally need a permit when they are larger than 10 square metres.

  • Secondary suites

    A suite inside an existing house needs a building permit and has to meet the Building Code for ceiling height, exits, fire separation, windows and alarms, with electrical inspected separately. Basement suites have no size limit, the suite needs its own entrance (not a new door in the front wall), and new parking cannot go in the front yard. On lots with City water and sewer, current rules allow more than one additional unit on most residential lots, so we check what your lot can hold.

  • Trees

    On urban lots of one hectare or less, the City's Tree Protection By-law requires a permit to remove or injure a distinctive tree, which the current by-law sets at 30 cm or more across at chest height. Footings and trenches near big trees are planned around their roots. The thresholds have changed in recent years, so we check the by-law in force.

  • Zoning

    Additions and larger decks have to meet the zoning setbacks, height and lot coverage for your lot. Most of Ottawa's new Zoning By-law 2026-50 is in force (the parts not under appeal took effect from March 2026), and where a provision is still under appeal the stricter of the old and new rules applies, so we check the rules for your address before design starts.

Questions from Stittsville

Do you work on the older houses near Main Street?

Yes. Older houses there usually need more investigation before a renovation, so the estimator's older-house allowance is worth switching on, and we check for designated buildings before exterior work.

Do you cover all of Stittsville?

Yes, from Main Street to the subdivisions around it. Stittsville addresses are priced at suburban rates in the estimator.

Where these local facts come from

Checked October 2026. Rules change: we confirm what applies to your address.

Nearby areas

Planning a renovation in Stittsville?

Use the estimator with Stittsville prices, then send it to us. We confirm the numbers on a site visit and follow up with a written quote.

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