Restoration Register

Heritage restoration contractors in the Kawarthas and Muskoka

Central Ontario restoration work is spread thin across a wide area, which changes the economics. A contractor travelling from Peterborough to a property near Bracebridge is pricing travel and accommodation into every visit, so scoping the whole job accurately before anyone starts matters more here than in a dense urban market.

These are the contractors who take on a full building rather than a single trade: farmhouses, main street commercial blocks, cottages and institutional buildings across Peterborough County, the City of Kawartha Lakes and Muskoka. Expect them to work under a municipal heritage permit, to be familiar with the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada, and to be honest about which specialist trades they subcontract, because in this region the sash restorer or the stone mason may be coming from another county. Get the trade list named in the quote. A general contractor's own crew doing specialist work badly is the most common failure mode outside the GTA.

What to ask before you hire

  1. Which trades will you subcontract and to whom? In a thin market this is the question that predicts the quality of the finished job.
  2. How is travel priced? Multi-visit trades across a wide region add up, and it is better on paper than in change orders.
  3. Have you worked under a heritage permit in this municipality? Requirements vary between Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes and the Muskoka townships.
Grant funding

Peterborough funds heritage conservation district work, Port Hope draws from an annual pool of roughly $25,000, Collingwood funds 50% to $3,000, and Prince Edward County and Quinte West both run programs without published amounts.

Contractors on this page

Also serving this area

Listed in a neighbouring region and covering this one.

Part of

More in the Central & Kawarthas region

Get quotes for your project

Tell us about the job and we will pass it to up to three listed heritage trades who work in your area. It is free and there is no obligation.

All heritage service pages · Grants by municipality