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BCIN-Licensed Service

We are the first choice for contractors and real estate developers for renovation designs. If you’re looking to: flip or add tenant spaces, build an addition or renovate your home, finish a basement, or create a duplex or basement apartment, our awesome team has 20+ years design experience.

Start a Project

Our renovations, additions, and commercial services are only available to properties located in Eastern Ontario so that we can measure the space in-person and note any limiting structural features before providing an estimate for design services.

Our Projects

A white one-storey cottage building with a small shed to the right. A digital illustration of a two-storey cottage, with a small shed to the right.

Loughborough Cottage

The original cottage was sweet, but small and too close to the water to add an entertaining space on the lakeside. Our clients also wanted more living space to make it a year-round home. We designed a two-storey home on the existing foundation with a small side addition. The final design featured a rooftop patio for entertaining with incredible views and large windows throughout the home for natural lighting.

First Ave. Home

This property was originally a 6-plex that had been left in disrepair for years before our clients bought it. We extensively redesigned the interior, converting it to a 5-plex to make one unit more spacious. The exterior updates included removing lean-to’s, replacing the siding, adding a covered front porch, and creating new separate entrances.

House of Three Renovation Process

Check zoning
requirements

Book a
measure

Accept project quote
and contract

Review preliminary
design

Municipal zoning map.

1. Before you Begin

Check the zoning requirements of your property to make sure your desired renovation or addition is legal and compliant with your municipal building department’s standards. House of Three can conduct a Zoning Search for properties within certain municipalities.

Feel free to Contact Us with any questions, we can help!

2. Book a Measure with our Experts

For renovations, additions, secondary suite designs, or commercial renovation projects, one of our team members will visit the site to measure your property, note any potential obstacles or limitations, and discuss your wish list. This helps us prepare an accurate quote and ensures our plans will fit the existing structure.

If you’re located in Kingston, Ontario or within 50km of Kingston, including South Frontenac, Napanee or Gananoque, the measurement service is completed at no charge. For all other areas in Eastern Ontario, the measure fee will be applied to the design contract should you choose to accept our quote and proceed with House of Three.

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3. Accept your Project Quote

After our team has visited your property, we use the measurements and your wish list to generate a quote for our design services.

If you decide to proceed, House of Three will email you a contract and an invoice for a 75% retainer. Once we receive payment and the signed contract, we will get busy creating your custom renovation plans.

4. Review our Design

This is the part we especially love, bringing your wish list to life! Preliminary drawings of your renovation are emailed to you to look over. Note any changes you want to make to the initial plans and email us a list. We’ll revise our design, within the scope of the building code, and resend the revised drawings.

Next Steps

Once revisions are complete, we’ll send you the final drawings, your municipal building permit application, and a list of any other documents you may require to complete your custom build (mechanical design, septic design, site/plot plan, truss design for instance). House of Three will also send the second invoice for the remaining 25% of our quote plus any services you have added on.

Submit your building permit application to your local municipal building department using the final drawings and application form we send to you.

If the building department submits a review letter with any questions, we will address any items or concerns within our contract scope to get your permit granted as efficiently as possible. That’s part of our job, we’re happy to help!

Optional Concierge Services

We offer a range of concierge coordination services to help streamline your project beyond our core architectural work. Designed for clients who prefer a more hands-off approach, these optional services connect you with trusted specialists whose work integrates seamlessly with our drawings and process. You maintain full control of these engagements and payments while we assist in coordinating their work to ensure a smooth, cohesive result.

Please contact our office for more details including detailed descriptions of each service. These services are only offered in addition to our design services.

SERVICES:

• Coordinate with Pre-Engineered Lumber Designers at Supplier
• DASH Permit Portal Service (City of Kingston Only)
• DASH PLUS Permit Portal Service (City of Kingston Only)
• Engineering Coordination (Structural, Plumbing, Electrical and/or Mechanical) - Option #1 - Minor engineering, no drafting details required.
• Engineering Coordination (Structural, Plumbing, Electrical and/or Mechanical) - Option #2 - More involved engineering requiring drafting details
• Grading and Servicing Plan Coordination
• HVAC/HRAI Coordination
• Permit Portal Service for Other Municipal Online Permitting Systems*
• Planning Consultant Coordination
• Plumber Coordination (City of Kingston Only)
• Return Site Visits / Site Meetings
• Revisions to the final plans to incorporate design/site changes(per hour)
• Septic Design Coordination
• Building Code Consultation (per hour)

Please contact our office for a quote for our concierge services in conjunction with our regular design services. Services depend on the availability of outside consultants where applicable. E&OE. January 1, 2026.

Commercial Projects

Did you know that not every architectural technologist in Ontario is licensed to design commercial buildings and tenant fit-ups?

While we can’t create blueprints for every type of building, House of Three is proud to be fully BCIN licensed for commercial designs. We can assist with small buildings (under 6458 sq. ft. / 600 sq. m.), tenant fit-ups, and renovations for specific types of commercial spaces such as offices, cafes, and stores!

Book a Measure, Phone Consult or Zoning Check