Eastern Ontario Residential Design · Project Readiness

Project Pre-Flight Check

The checklist a professional runs through before drawing a single line, and what most homeowners don't know to ask

14 Preflight Items 3 Gap Categories Instant Readiness Score Entirely Free

Before a commercial airline pilot taxis to the runway, they run a pre-flight checklist. They go through it item by item, every time, regardless of experience. Not because they might forget how to fly. Because missing one item can ground the aircraft before it leaves the gate. Catching it on the tarmac costs nothing. Missing it while in flight costs everything.

Your home project has the same kind of checklist. A professional designer or architect runs through these items mentally in the first ten minutes of any new project conversation. Most homeowners have never heard of half of the items listed.

This tool shows you exactly what a professional checks before the first line is drawn and tells you, honestly, what your project is still missing. The educational callouts that appear when you select In Progress or Not Confirmed explain what each item means and what it costs to discover it late.

How to use this: For each item, choose the option that honestly reflects where you stand. "Confirmed" means you have documentation you could hand to a designer or lender today. Items such as a land survey file (PDF and CAD), a written budget worksheet, a letter from the municipality stating the project is compliant with zoning. If it's in your head but not on paper, choose "In Progress."

Pre-flight progress

0 of 14 items reviewed

Gap 1

Site & Legal Constraints Information that must be confirmed before design can start

Items 1–7

01

Do you have a current, signed boundary survey on hand? Not an illegible copy of a copy of a drawing, not a rough sketch, not an MPAC image outline, or something a realtor provided to you from the listing, but a signed survey drawn to scale from a certified land surveyor. The file must be in PDF and CAD formats.

✓ Confirmed In Progress Not Confirmed

Why this matters

A designer cannot legally place a building on your property without knowing exactly where the lot lines are. Every setback (the required minimum distance between your building and each of the property's boundaries) is measured from that line. An outdated survey or a rough sketch from a real estate listing is not a usable document. Once an accurate survey is in hand, it becomes the foundation for everything else: zoning calculations, buildable area coverage, site plan, grading, mature tree location, and septic layout. The cost of a current boundary survey: approximately $1,200–$2,500 in Eastern Ontario. The cost of discovering a setback conflict after drawings are complete: typically $4,000–$15,000 to have a minor variance approved. Note: The minor variance process is expensive, has no guaranteed outcome, pits neighbour against neighbour, and can take up to a year to complete.

02

Have you reviewed and documented the zoning bylaw for your specific property: setbacks, maximum lot coverage, height restrictions, and permitted uses?

✓ Confirmed In Progress Not Confirmed

Why this matters

Every municipality in Ontario maintains a zoning bylaw that governs what can be built, how much of the lot the footprint of the building can cover, how close to property lines it can sit, how tall it can be, and what activities are permitted on the property. These rules are public records, available free at the municipal office or online, and are non-negotiable. Discovering a setback conflict, a height restriction, hardscape coverage, or a non-conforming occupancy type use after drawings are complete is expensive to correct and demoralizing to experience. A 20-minute review of the applicable zoning schedule at the outset eliminates this risk entirely. Properties with a septic system have very stringent lot coverage rules (as little as 15%). This applies to the buildable area and hardscape coverage. Both affect the soil's permeability and its ability to absorb septic effluent, rain, or meltwater.

03

Do you know whether any part of your property falls within a Conservation Authority-regulated area, a floodplain, a wetland, or an environmental protection zone?

✓ Confirmed In Progress Not Confirmed

Significant risk — very common in Eastern Ontario

In Ontario, Conservation Authorities have regulatory jurisdiction over land adjacent to watercourses, floodplains, wetlands, and hazard areas, and their authority is independent of the municipality's. A Conservation Authority can require separate permits, restrict placement of the building on the lot, restrict the size of buildable area, or prohibit certain types of development entirely, even where the municipality has granted approval. This is one of the most common project-stopping surprises encountered mid-design in Eastern Ontario, particularly in those jurisdictions governed by the Rideau, Mississippi, South Nation, Lower Trent, and Cataraqui watersheds. A five-minute phone call or map check with the local Conservation Authority is free. You can find them here: https://conservationontario.ca/conservation-authorities/find-a-conservation-authority. These conservation authorities also have your septic system design information and will either approve or reject new septic system applications. Discovering the limitations after you purchase the property is not an option. You may discover that the property is strictly regulated because it lies within a protected watershed (drinking water source).

04

If your property uses a private septic system: do you have records confirming its location, design capacity, installation date, and current condition?

✓ Confirmed In Progress Not Confirmed

Why this matters, and why "I think it's fine" isn't enough

Septic systems have minimum setbacks from buildings, lot lines, wells, and bodies of water, and those setbacks vary by septic system type and installation date. More critically, systems are sized for a specific occupant and fixture load. Adding a bedroom, an in-law suite, or a significant addition without first confirming the existing system's capacity can trigger a mandatory upgrade or full replacement. In Eastern Ontario, a new septic system runs $18,000–$40,000, depending on soil conditions and system type. Septic permit records are available from the conservation authority having jurisdiction over your area. If no records exist, the system should be examined by a qualified, unbiased professional (not a septic system installation contractor who would profit from the work) as a straightforward pre-design/pre-purchase investment.

05

If your property uses a private well: do you have records confirming the well's depth, flow rate, and most recent water quality test?

✓ Confirmed In Progress Not Confirmed

Why this matters

A well that supplied a modest two-bedroom cottage may not have the flow rate to support a year-round home with multiple bathrooms, an automatic dishwasher, irrigation, and an irrigation system. If the well cannot support the expanded demand, the correction isn't optional, and it doesn't happen on a convenient timeline. Provincial well records are available through the Ontario Ministry of the Environment's Well Record Database. If your well predates that system or records are unavailable, a flow test and a water quality test are straightforward pre-design steps and a necessary one if any significant increase in water demand is anticipated.

06

Have you confirmed the location, capacity, and availability of electrical service to the property and, where applicable, natural gas, internet, and municipal water or sewer connections can be made?

✓ Confirmed In Progress Not Confirmed

Why this matters

A 100-amp electrical service, common in homes built before 1990, is inadequate for a modern home with an electric vehicle charger, a heat pump, induction cooking, and updated appliances. Upgrading from 100A to 200A is a standard procedure, but it requires utility involvement because they determine the impact of the new draw on the line serving your and the neighbouring properties. Even if approved, it typically takes six to twelve weeks to schedule after the electrical contractor submits the application for the new connection, and the service trench needs to be inspected, approved and kept clean at all times (no standing water, free and clear access, and sand bedding). Discovering this limitation mid-construction does not stop the clock on your construction contract; it only makes it inconvenient to power the sump pump, run the furnace, or provide power to lights. Knowing the service capacity and upgrade lead times before design begins lets you plan for them rather than react to them. Another often-overlooked service is the availability and reliability of high-speed internet connections, especially in low-population-density areas such as semi-rural and rural areas.

07

Have you reviewed your property deed and confirmed whether any easements, rights-of-way, or other legal encumbrances restrict what can be built and where?

✓ Confirmed In Progress Not Confirmed

Why this matters

Easements are legal rights registered on your property's title that grant others, such as utilities, municipalities, neighbours, or the Crown, the right to use part of your land. A utility right-of-way can prohibit construction over, above, or below the surface within a defined corridor. Many new subdivisions have services located along the rear lot line. This will affect the placement of fencing, hedges, and Accessory Dwelling Units. A shared laneway easement may restrict how access is granted, altered, and maintained. A drainage easement, such as drainage swales, can prevent development in an area of your yard you had planned to build on. These encumbrances are visible in a title search. Your real estate lawyer confirmed their existence when you purchased the property, but that doesn't mean you remember where they sit on the land or how they constrain your plans. Your survey shows them.

Gap 2

Design Readiness Decisions that must be in place before design can produce useful output

Items 8–11

08

Do you have a written budget range, not a mental number, but a documented figure you could show a designer or lender today?

✓ Confirmed In Progress Not Confirmed

The single most common source of wasted design work

A design team working without a documented budget is designing to the unknown. When contractor bids come back, projects without a documented budget routinely produce bid spreads of $80,000–$150,000 for the same project because each contractor is pricing based on their own assumptions about what the homeowner actually wants. A written budget worksheet (even a range) closes that spread to 10–15%, because it forces design decisions that eliminate ambiguity. This is not about limiting ambition. It's about designing for a reality rather than a hope. The Design Brief Workbook has a budget section that takes 15 minutes to complete.

09

Have you written down what this project must accomplish, not which finishes you want, but the actual outcomes it needs to deliver?

✓ Confirmed In Progress Not Confirmed

Outcomes, not finishes

"I want a nice kitchen" produces a kitchen. "I need a cooking space where two people can work simultaneously, connected to the dining area for entertaining, with a direct route from the garage for grocery unloading" produces a layout. The second brief takes 20 minutes to write and eliminates three rounds of design revisions. The first brief guarantees you will see something on paper that doesn't quite capture what you had in mind, and then revisions begin. The Design Brief Workbook is built specifically to help you articulate outcomes rather than finishes. It's free to download.

10

Have you identified and written down your non-negotiables, the things that cannot be compromised regardless of budget pressure or schedule?

✓ Confirmed In Progress Not Confirmed

Why this matters

Every project involves trade-offs. Budget tightens. Timelines shift. Materials become unavailable. When a substitution or compromise becomes necessary, a contractor who doesn't know your non-negotiables makes the decision that works best for their schedule and margin. A contractor who knows your non-negotiables brings the decision to you first. The difference is whether you can live with the result or regret it. Knowing what cannot move is as important as knowing what can. It protects your investment at every point whenever pressure is applied to make a choice.

11

Do you have images, links, or visual references that communicate the look, feel, and character of what you're trying to achieve?

✓ Confirmed In Progress Not Confirmed

Why images outperform words every time

"Modern" describes at least fifteen distinct architectural approaches. "Warm and rustic, but with clean lines and large windows" is a more precise and brief description, and three images from Houzz, Pinterest, or a magazine capture it more accurately than any combination of words. The fastest way to ensure your design team understands what you mean (not just what you said) is to show them. This isn't about filling a mood board for its own sake. It's about preventing the first design concept from missing the mark entirely and requiring a complete restart.

Gap 3

Coordination Readiness What must be in place before the project moves into construction

Items 12–14

12

Do you know who is building this project or if you're coordinating trades directly? Have you confirmed which trades are needed, are using a project schedule, and how you'll determine what an acceptable or unacceptable outcome is?

✓ Confirmed In Progress Not Confirmed

Earlier engagement changes the outcome

A general contractor engaged during the design phase (Gap 2) can flag construction details that affect cost before they are locked into drawings, foundation type, framing approaches, HVAC routing, window and door locations. A GC engaged after drawings are issued is forced to price whatever is on the page, including the decisions that didn't account for your site's or building's specific conditions. The difference is not in the contractor's fee. It shows up in the change orders that are never issued because questions were asked at the right time.

13

Do you know which permits your project requires, which authority issues them, and approximately how long the approval process takes in your municipality?

✓ Confirmed In Progress Not Confirmed

Permit timelines are project timelines

Building permits in Ontario are issued by the municipality's building department. Conservation Authority approvals, septic system permits, entrance permits, and environmental assessments are issued by entirely separate regulatory or municipal offices, each with its own submission requirements and review timelines. In some Eastern Ontario municipalities, a building permit review takes 8–14 weeks (due to letters of referral requiring clarification, supplier shop drawing submissions, and requested engineering reviews). In others, it runs 4–6 weeks. Starting construction without the correct permits is not just an infraction; it can result in a stop-work order and mandatory removal of non-permitted work. Most people don't know this, but a building official can legally enter private property to conduct an inspection without a warrant. They have that much power. Understanding the permit pathway for your specific project type and municipality takes one phone call to the municipality's building department. It is free, takes ten minutes, and they are there to help.

14

Do you know whether your project will require a structural engineer, geotechnical report, energy model, or other specialist, and have you factored those costs into your budget?

✓ Confirmed In Progress Not Confirmed

Why this matters

In Ontario, many residential projects require a structural engineer's stamp on specific drawings (if and only if those changes are outside of the scope of the building code). Anything involving changes to load-bearing elements, new foundations, additions, or new openings in the building envelope requires a design prepared by a qualified designer. Geotechnical reports are required to determine the minimum soil bearing capacity, percolation rate, water table level, and the lowest permitted underside of footing elevation. Energy modelling is increasingly required for new construction under updated Ontario Building Code provisions. Increasing the window-to-wall opening ratio over 22% (think massive floor-to-ceiling windows in vaulted great rooms) requires a more expensive heat and cooling load review. Approved insulation packages are based on the type of heating source, glazed window area, and other factors. Discovering mid-permit application review that your project requires an engineer is not just expensive; it often requires stopping the permit approval process or the work underway until the issue is resolved. Knowing the consultant requirements before design begins lets you budget for these expenses and builds their participation into the schedule.

Complete all 14 items above, then run your pre-flight check to see your readiness rating.

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