This guide compares 23 general contractors serving Ottawa. The featured shortlist includes Dream Touch Renovations (4.7 stars from 41 Google reviews), Select Urban General Contractors (5.0 stars from 67 Google reviews), and Lagois Design Build Renovate (5.0 stars from 48 Google reviews). Businesses selected by the directory are listed first.
Listings claimed by their owner and showing a rating from a named public source come next; all other positions follow the published rating methodology. 20 carry a sourced public rating, averaging 4.7 stars; the highest-rated is Select Urban General Contractors at 5.0 stars from 67 Google reviews.
The best home renovation contractors in Ottawa are the difference between a project that finishes on time and one that stalls for months. They manage the permits, coordinate every trade, and keep you informed through renovations, additions, and basement finishing. The companies below handle home renovations, additions, basement finishing, and whole-home projects, dealing with the City's permit process and inspections along the way.
Each is a real, currently-operating Ottawa business with public reviews you can check, so you can weigh past work, communication, and how they structure payments before you hand over a large project.
Also covers: Home renovation · Home additions · Basement finishing · Whole-home remodels · General contractors
Ontario licenses no general contractor, so a good one is found by checking documents, not a badge. Ask for a written contract, proof of liability insurance and WSIB coverage, and who applies for the City permit. Below are 23 Ottawa general contractors to compare on those points.
How this page orders them: Businesses selected by the directory are listed first. Listings claimed by their owner and showing a rating from a named public source come next; all other positions follow the published rating methodology. No business pays for a listing; the methodology page gives every rule.
For the four documents to ask for, with the law quoted, read How do I choose a renovation contractor in Nepean?.
Listed first
A focused Ottawa shortlist. Businesses selected by the directory are listed first. Listings claimed by their owner and showing a rating from a named public source come next; all other positions follow our published rating methodology.
Businesses selected by the directory, then listings claimed by their owner and showing a rating from a named public source, appear first. All other positions follow the selected sort.
ClaimedNepean +6
4.7(41)on GoogleChecked Oct 2026General ContractorsOttawa design-build contractor established in 2004 for kitchens, bathrooms, basements, whole-home renovations, additions, accessibility upgrades, and commercial spaces.
View Dream Touch Renovations
ClaimedKanata +7
4.9(29)on TrustedProsChecked Jul 2026General ContractorsFamily-owned Ottawa home renovation contractor operating since 2009, offering kitchens, bathrooms, basements, additions, coach houses, and mobility renovations across the city. Named Best of TrustedPros in 2024 with a strong review history on HomeStars and TrustedPros.
View RenosGroup
ClaimedBarrhaven +2
5.0(55)on GoogleChecked Aug 2026General ContractorsReady Home Maintenance is a general contractor in Ottawa handling handyman repairs, plumbing fixes and home maintenance. Rated 5 from 55 Google reviews.
View Ready Home Maintenance
ClaimedBarrhaven +8
4.9(26)on GoogleChecked Aug 2026General ContractorsOn Point Renovations is a general contractor in Ottawa handling kitchen, bathroom and basement renovations, with floor and tile installation as a specialty. Rated 4.9 from 26 Google reviews.
View On Point Renovations
FeaturedNepean +6
5.0(67)on GoogleChecked Aug 2026General ContractorsOttawa residential renovation contractor offering full-home, kitchen, bathroom, and basement renovations plus additions, coach houses, and accessible renovations with in-house design and 3D planning. BBB-accredited with an A+ rating and serves neighbourhoods across the city.
View Select Urban General Contractors
FeaturedKanata +7
5.0(48)on GoogleChecked Jul 2026General ContractorsBoutique design-build-renovate firm based in North Gower serving Ottawa and surrounding areas since 1984, specializing in renovations, additions, and custom homes including net-zero and aging-in-place work. Named GOHBA Renovator of the Year in 2023, with multiple GOHBA and OHBA design awards.
View Lagois Design Build RenovateMore general contractors
Nepean
5.0(25)on GoogleChecked Aug 2026General ContractorsModern Farmhouse Construction – Ottawa Renovations & General Contractor is a general contractor in Nepean, Ottawa offering bathroom renovation, concrete work and deck building. Rated 5 from 25 Google reviews.
View Modern Farmhouse Construction – Ottawa Renovations & General ContractorKanata +7
4.9(32)on GoogleChecked Aug 2026General ContractorsLicensed and insured Ottawa design-build general contractor with roughly 18 years in business, handling whole-home renovations, custom home builds, additions, secondary suites, and condo renovations. Serves Ottawa and surrounding areas.
View Ottawa Home Contractors Ltd. (OHC Renovations)
Nepean
4.8(42)on GoogleChecked Aug 2026General ContractorsThe Anything Guys Inc. is a general contractor in Nepean, Ottawa offering bathroom renovation, deck building and kitchen renovation. Rated 4.8 from 42 Google reviews.
View The Anything Guys Inc.
Nepean
4.7(56)on GoogleChecked Aug 2026General ContractorsOttawa renovation contractor offering kitchen, bathroom, basement, and full-home renovations plus fire, flood, and water-damage restoration and insurance claim work. Based in the Nepean area of Ottawa.
View Renovco Ottawa
Kanata +7
4.8(19)on GoogleChecked Aug 2026General ContractorsOttawa custom home builder and renovator with over three decades in business, known for green, net-zero and energy-efficient design-build work and a large tally of GOHBA and national CHBA housing awards. Offers custom homes and whole-home renovations across Ottawa.
View RND Construction
Barrhaven +7
5.0(9)on GoogleChecked Sep 2026General Contractors24/7 Remedial Services is an emergency restoration company covering Ottawa and Eastern Ontario, handling water and flood damage, fire and smoke damage, mould remediation, asbestos abatement and odour control, with a dispatcher answering around the clock.
View 24/7 Remedial Services
Gloucester
4.7(14)on GoogleChecked Aug 2026General ContractorsGeorge's Construction & Roofing Inc. is a general contractor in Gloucester, Ottawa offering general contracting. Rated 4.7 from 14 Google reviews.
View George's Construction & Roofing Inc.
Gloucester
4.6(27)on GoogleChecked Aug 2026General ContractorsFait Construction Inc. is a general contractor in Gloucester, Ottawa offering deck building, fence installation and landscape design. Rated 4.6 from 27 Google reviews.
View Fait Construction Inc.
Barrhaven +6
5.0(2)on GoogleChecked Oct 2026General ContractorsVowels Home Renovations is a renovation contractor serving Ottawa, Rockland and nearby communities, doing kitchen and bathroom renovations, basement finishing, framing, drywall, flooring, painting and smaller home improvements.
View Vowels Home Renovations
Barrhaven +4
4.5(25)on GoogleChecked Aug 2026HVACGillani Heating & Appliance Care Inc. is an HVAC contractor in Ottawa offering air conditioning, air conditioning repair and furnace repair. Rated 4.5 from 25 Google reviews.
View Gillani Heating & Appliance Care Inc.
Kanata +5
4.5(104)on GoogleChecked Aug 2026General ContractorsFourth-generation family design-build firm operating in Ottawa since 1956, handling custom homes, additions, and full home renovations with in-house architectural design. One of Ottawa's most established design-build firms, recognized with the Consumer Choice Award for the region every year since 2008. Serves homeowners across the Ottawa region including Kanata, Orleans, Barrhaven, Nepean, Stittsville, and Manotick.
View OakWood Design & Build
Nepean +4
4.4(233)on GoogleChecked Aug 2026General ContractorsHigh-volume Ottawa design-build renovation company based in Nepean, offering kitchen, bathroom, and basement renovations, home additions, coach homes, and custom homes. One of the most-reviewed renovation firms in the city.
View Ottawa General Contractors (OGC)
Westboro +1
4.3(72)on GoogleChecked Aug 2026General ContractorsOttawa design-build renovation firm with over 35 years in business, offering custom homes, additions, and kitchen, bathroom, basement, and exterior renovations. Runs neighbourhood presentation showrooms (its 'Living Rooms') in New Edinburgh, The Glebe, and Westboro, and has been named Renovator of the Year multiple times by the local (GOHBA) and provincial (OHBA) home builders' associations. BBB-accredited since 2000.
View Amsted Design-Build
Kanata
3.8(18)on GoogleChecked Jul 2026General ContractorsRenovation contractor based in Kanata serving the Ottawa region, offering kitchen and bathroom renovations, basement development, additions, decks, stonework, and drywall. BBB-accredited with an A+ rating.
View Kanata Renovations
Barrhaven +8
General ContractorsHabed Renovations is a renovation contractor working in Ottawa and Gatineau since 2008, taking on kitchens, bathrooms, basements, flooring, drywall and painting, and full interior renovations.
View Habed Renovations
Barrhaven +8
General ContractorsRogane Cleaning & Restoration is an Ottawa cleanup and restoration business handling mould cleanup, asbestos abatement, and fire, smoke and soot cleaning, followed by drywall repair and painting.
View Rogane Cleaning & Restoration
ClaimedTrip General Contracting Inc is a general contractor in Ottawa's east end handling residential renovations, commercial fit-ups, custom cabinetry and construction project management.
View Trip General Contracting IncContracts, clearances and permits
Most advice about hiring a contractor is about judgement. These four are not. They are rules with published sources, and one of them is the opposite of what contractor websites usually tell homeowners.
In construction, a WSIB clearance normally has to be in place before work begins and for the whole duration, and going ahead without one is an offence committed by both the contractor and whoever hired them. A contractor who hires a subcontractor becomes the principal to that sub and needs a clearance from them too.
The exemption is the part that gets left out. The WSIB states that if a contractor or subcontractor is hired to do home repairs or renovations by a home's resident, occupant or a member of their family, then a clearance certificate is not required. So a homeowner renovating their own home is not legally obliged to collect one, whatever a quote implies.
It is still worth asking for, because a clearance shows the business is registered and up to date with the WSIB, and clearances cost nothing. They are valid for up to 90 days and most expire on the twentieth of February, May, August and November, so a certificate handed over in January does not cover a job running into the spring.
Under Ontario's consumer protection rules, where a written estimate is included in the contract the final price cannot be more than ten per cent above it, unless you agree to a new price and sign a change to the contract. That is a legal limit, not a negotiating position, and it only exists if the estimate is actually in the contract.
If you negotiate and sign in your home it is a direct agreement, and you can cancel within ten days of receiving a written copy without giving a reason. Where a delivery or completion date is specified, the business has 30 days from that date to perform before you can cancel; where none is given, 30 days from signing.
The City of Ottawa is unambiguous: it is the owner's responsibility to ensure a building permit is obtained when required, and both the owner and the builder are responsible for the process and equally liable under the Ontario Building Code Act. You can authorise a contractor to apply, but you should confirm the permit exists before work starts.
An issued permit must be posted visibly on site for the duration of construction. Construction has to seriously commence within six months of issue or the permit can be revoked, and a job substantially suspended for more than a year can lose it. If you suspect work nearby is proceeding without one, the City takes a Request for Service through 3-1-1 and gives a reference number.
None of this tells you whether a contractor is good. It tells you whether the structure behind the quote is real, which is the part you can verify before signing.
Each of these, agreed to at the quoting stage, gives up a protection you would otherwise have.
We compare kitchen and bath renovators on a separate page, with a list of what to avoid on a bathroom renovation in Ottawa.
Sources, checked 2026-09-18 unless marked:
Buyer guide
What separates a great general contractor from a cheap quote, and the questions worth asking before you sign.
On a months-long project, weekly updates and a clear point of contact matter as much as pretty photos. Ask how they keep clients informed and who you call with questions.
Reputable Ottawa contractors tie payments to milestones, never a large sum up front. Be cautious of anyone asking for most of the money before work begins.
Additions, structural changes, and many basement finishes need City of Ottawa permits and inspections. A good contractor handles this; get it in the contract.
Scope, materials, allowances, timeline, and change-order process should all be in writing. A detailed contract protects both sides when something inevitably shifts.
Before you hire
Ontario requires a written contract above a set value for home renovation work and limits how far a final price may exceed a written estimate. Consumer Protection Ontario publishes those rules along with guidance on deposits.
Ottawa Service Directory is a listings site, not a regulator: we publish what a business reports about itself, so confirm what applies to your job with the source below and with the business before work starts.
Source: Consumer Protection Ontario: your rights when starting home renovations or repairs. Checked 2026-08-24. Rules and thresholds change, so confirm before work starts.
Common questions
Get four documents before work starts: a written contract, proof of liability insurance, a WSIB clearance, and a clear answer on who pulls the City permit. Ontario licenses no renovation contractor, so these are the checks that exist.
A contract signed at your home can be cancelled until 10 days after you receive the written copy, and a supplier cannot charge more than 10 per cent above an estimate (Consumer Protection Act, 2002, sections 43 and 10).
For homeowners
Tell us about the job and someone on our team finds you a suitable Ottawa general contractor.