Where we work
From Burlington outward, to your kitchen table.
Referral Flooring is a service-area business based in Burlington, Ontario. There is no showroom to drive to, because the samples come to you with the free estimate. The towns below are the ones we cover. By the owner's own count of actual leads, the core is Burlington first, then Waterdown, then Hamilton, and the rest of the Golden Horseshoe follows from there.
Each municipality page carries that town's own words on whether flooring needs a building permit, the building department to call, and what the 2021 Census says about how old the houses are, because a 1958 bungalow and a 2019 townhouse do not need the same subfloor day.
The municipalities
Four pages, one per building department.
Waterdown, Dundas, Ancaster, Stoney Creek and Binbrook are all part of the City of Hamilton, so they share Hamilton's permit rules and its page.
- BurlingtonHome base. The city's own permit exemption wording, and a housing stock that is one-third 1961 to 1980.
- Hamilton, Waterdown, Dundas, Ancaster, Stoney CreekThe one city that names flooring as permit-exempt, and subfloor repair and railings as not. A third of its homes predate 1960.
- OakvilleCosmetic changes to surfaces need no permit; finishing a basement does. Nearly three-quarters of homes built since 1981.
- GrimsbyThe east end of the run. The Building Division contact, and what the town publishes and does not.
Permits, compared
Does replacing a floor need a building permit? Each municipality, in its own words.
Ordinary floor replacement is treated as finishing work everywhere we work, but the municipalities say it with different degrees of clarity, and the exceptions differ. Every quote below is from the municipality's own website, linked on that town's page. Where a town publishes nothing specific, the table says so rather than guessing.
| Municipality | Flooring itself | Named as needing a permit | Who to ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton | Named exempt: "installing minor millwork, cabinetry, and flooring such as carpet, laminate or hardwood" | "repairs to structural members (i.e. subfloor...)", "replacement of interior railings/guards", "finishing or partially finishing a basement" | Building Division, 905-546-2720 |
| Burlington | Not named. The exemption list covers "Painting, decorating, millwork and replacing plumbing fixtures of the same type" | Anything not on the exemption list; the city says all construction needs a permit except the listed cases | Building Department, 905-335-7731 |
| Oakville | "Permits typically are not required for replacing existing cabinetry, sinks, faucets, toilets and cosmetic changes to surfaces" | "If you plan to finish or renovate your basement for personal use, you will need a building permit" | ServiceOakville, 905-845-6601 |
| Grimsby | No exemption list published. "Most construction projects require a permit" | Not itemised on the town's site; governed by the Building Code Act and Building By-law 26-25 | Building Division, 905-945-9634 |
We are flooring installers, not the building department. When a job crosses from finishing into structure, a rotted joist, a subfloor that needs structural replacement, a new guard on a stair, we say so and the call goes to the municipality before anything else happens.
Also covered
Everywhere on the list.
Burlington, Hamilton, Waterdown, Dundas, Stoney Creek, Ancaster, Binbrook, Grimsby, Oakville, Mississauga and St. Catharines. If your town is near that list and not on it, call anyway; the answer is usually yes and the estimate is free either way.
- Every serviceNine pages, one per material and job, with the standards quoted.
- The questions answeredSix guides on squeaks, what goes over what, choosing, order of work, stairs and care.
- Finished jobsAll nineteen, from the coffered living room to the curved staircase.
- About Referral Flooring20+ years, WSIB coverage and liability insurance, how the estimate works.
Next step
Wherever you are on the list, the samples come to you.
The estimate is free, it happens at your house, and you get a firm number before we leave.
- Phone
- 289-689-4242
- referralflooring@gmail.com
- Hours
- Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday closed.
- Based in
- Burlington, Ontario. Service-area business, no showroom.