.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
Kitchen Renovations In Westboro
Offering expert kitchen renovation in Westboro, we specialize in designing kitchens that fit your family’s distinct needs.
From modern updates to complete makeovers, our skilled team delivers top-quality workmanship and a smooth renovation journey.
We’re committed to turning your dream kitchen into a reality from start to finish.
Get a free no-obligation quote for your next project in seconds.
Design Your Dream Kitchen
Transform your kitchen with custom design, expert craftsmanship, and smart updates that bring beauty and practical comfort together.
Full Kitchen Renovation
Transform your home completely: open up walls, renew the floors, reinvent the layout, and top it off with stylish, high-end finishes.
Simple Kitchen Renovation
Refresh your kitchen’s style and flow with subtle layout changes, fresh paint and floors, and semi-custom cabinets and appliances - without a full renovation.
Rip & Replace Renovation
Upgrade your kitchen for less with an R&R remodel that adds new cabinets, countertops, floors, and lighting - without altering the layout.
.png)
Westboro Homes Are Older Than Most — And the Kitchens Show It
Most of Westboro was built between the 1920s and 1950s. The homes are charming, well-located, and worth significant money. The kitchens, in many cases, haven't kept pace.
A brick semi on Dovercourt with a galley kitchen squeezed behind the dining room since 1938. A detached home on Roosevelt with a layout designed for a household of a different era. A McKellar Park bungalow where every other room has been renovated — twice — but the kitchen still has its original cabinets. Westboro homeowners come to OGC when the neighbourhood's investment-grade properties deserve a kitchen that actually matches. We know pre-war and postwar Ottawa housing stock well — the constraints, the hidden conditions, and the design opportunities that come with working inside an older floor plan.
The Kitchen Problems We See Most in Westboro
Westboro's pre-war and postwar housing stock creates renovation challenges you won't find in newer Ottawa suburbs. Here's what we deal with most.
Pre-War Galleys on Narrow Lots
Homes built in Westboro between the wars were designed for a specific domestic routine that no longer exists. The kitchen was a working room kept separate from the rest of the house — usually a narrow galley tucked behind the dining room on a lot that's often 25–33 feet wide. There's no room to expand outward. The work is about what you do with the existing footprint: open the wall, rethink the layout, and make a smaller space work harder.
Kitchens That Haven't Kept Up With the Rest of the House
Westboro is one of Ottawa's most actively renovated neighbourhoods. It's common to walk into a home where the bathrooms have been redone, the basement is finished, the main floor has been updated — and the kitchen is still stuck in the 1970s or '80s. The rest of the house has grown into a premium property. The kitchen is the last piece, and often the biggest one. We close that gap.
Design Expectations That Outpace the Space
Westboro homeowners typically have a clear vision — integrated appliances, a waterfall island, handleless cabinets, a specific aesthetic. The challenge is delivering that in a kitchen footprint that wasn't designed for it. We do this by being precise: every centimetre of cabinet run, every appliance placement, every sight line is worked out in 3D before a wall comes down. A small kitchen done well beats a large kitchen done carelessly.
What Older Westboro Homes Hide Behind Plaster Walls
Pre-war and wartime homes in Westboro were built with knob-and-tube wiring, lath-and-plaster walls, and original cast iron or lead drain lines. Once demolition begins, these surface and must be addressed. We include a discovery allowance in every quote — nothing gets spent without your sign-off, and we tell you what we found before we act on it.
-p-800.webp)
How a Westboro Kitchen Renovation Actually Works
From your first consultation to the day you get your new kitchen — every step, including how we handle the surprises that come with older homes.
We come to your Westboro home and assess what you're actually working with — lot width, load-bearing wall locations, plumbing stack position, electrical panel age. In older homes, these details define what's possible before design begins.
- We come to you — no travel required for the first meeting
- We assess structure, plumbing, and electrical from the start
- We give you a realistic budget range before we leave
You work with our designer to finalize layout, cabinetry, countertops, and finishes. You see the full kitchen in 3D — precise to your actual wall dimensions — before anything comes out. Your price is locked in before work starts.
- Visit our design centre at 1886 Merivale Road — about 15 minutes from Westboro
- 3D render built to your home's exact dimensions
- Full itemized price locked before work begins
Most Westboro kitchen renovations involve wall removal, plumbing work, or electrical upgrades — all of which require City of Ottawa permits. We file, track, and obtain every permit before demo starts.
- OGC handles the full permit process
- Everything built to Ontario Building Code
- Electrical and plumbing permits covered where required
We remove the existing kitchen. In a Westboro home this phase has a higher chance of surfacing knob-and-tube, original plumbing, or plaster conditions. You see and approve any findings before we proceed — and before we spend a dollar of your discovery allowance.
- Lath-and-plaster removal handled with care
- All demolition waste removed and disposed of
- New plumbing and wiring run in this phase
Cabinets, countertops, flooring, tile, lighting, and appliances go in — one trade at a time, in the right sequence. Your project manager is on site and reachable throughout.
- Cabinet and countertop installation
- Flooring, backsplash tile & painting
- Appliance, fixture & hardware installation
Your project manager walks through every detail with you before sign-off. Anything outstanding gets addressed first. Your 7-year warranty starts the day the project is complete.
- Full quality review before sign-off
- City permit inspection scheduled and passed
- 7-year warranty paperwork in your hands
Recent Kitchen Renovations We've Completed
A look at kitchens OGC has built across Westboro and the surrounding Ottawa communities.
.webp)
-p-800-min.jpg)
.jpg)
Why Westboro Homeowners Call OGC
We've renovated kitchens across Westboro, Dovercourt, McKellar Park, Hampton Park, and Carlingwood. Here's what keeps homeowners coming back.
One Team, Start to Finish
One project manager runs your entire renovation. You call or text one person — and they answer. No juggling trades, no chasing updates across multiple contractors.
See Your Kitchen Before We Build It
We model your kitchen in 3D to the exact dimensions of your home before demolition begins. In a constrained Westboro floor plan, seeing the design at scale before committing is critical.
Fixed Price — No Mid-Project Surprises
Your quote is your price. We don't add line items halfway through. OGC's fixed-price guarantee is in writing before any work begins — including the discovery allowance terms.
7-Year Warranty on Every Kitchen
OGC backs every kitchen renovation with a 7-year warranty — one of the strongest in Ottawa. You're protected long after the project is done.
Ottawa's Most Recognized Renovation Team
OGC is a member of the NKBA, Tarion, GOHBA, RenoMark, and the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce. Named Ottawa's Small Business of the Year. Featured on CTV, HGTV, and in Ottawa press.
Design Centre 15 Minutes from Westboro
Visit us at 1886 Merivale Road, Nepean. See material options in person, sit with a designer, and walk away knowing exactly what your kitchen will look like before we break ground.
What Does a Westboro Kitchen Renovation Cost?
Cost depends on what's changing, what materials you choose, and how much structural work is involved. Westboro kitchens often skew toward the mid-to-upper end of these ranges given the age of the homes and the level of finish most homeowners are after.
new cabinets, countertops & appliances in the same footprint
wall removal, custom cabinetry & premium finishes
structural changes, luxury finishes & complete redesign
Cabinets & Storage
Cabinets are 30–40% of the budget. Semi-custom runs $160–$380 per linear foot; fully custom goes $600–$1,200+. Westboro homeowners frequently choose custom cabinetry — the smaller footprints make precision storage worth the investment.
Countertops & Surfaces
Quartz — the most popular choice — runs $75–$150/sq ft. Porcelain slabs and natural stone are increasingly common in Westboro kitchens given the design expectations in the neighbourhood. We source and install all of these.
Labour & Structural Work
Labour is 20–35% of total cost. In a pre-war Westboro home, opening a load-bearing wall typically adds $8,000–$20,000 for engineering, beam, and permits. Electrical and plumbing upgrades in older homes add further. OGC includes all trades under one contract.
Questions About Westboro Kitchen Renovations
The questions we hear most from Westboro homeowners — including several specific to the neighbourhood's older housing stock.
Most Westboro kitchen renovations fall between $50,000 and $150,000+. A rip-and-replace in the same footprint runs $50,000–$80,000. An open-concept conversion with wall removal lands at $80,000–$120,000. Full redesigns with structural work and premium finishes — common in Westboro — start at $120,000+.
Older homes here frequently carry additional costs once walls open: knob-and-tube wiring, original cast iron drains, or lead pipe. OGC includes a discovery allowance in every quote and won't spend it without your approval.
Pre-1960 Westboro homes commonly have knob-and-tube wiring, lath-and-plaster walls, cast iron or lead drain lines, and no grounded electrical. All of these need to be addressed when the kitchen is opened up.
Knob-and-tube in the renovation area must be replaced to meet current Ontario Electrical Safety Code. Lead pipe at the sink needs to be replaced. Cast iron drains can often be retained if in good condition. The good news: renovation time is the lowest-cost window to deal with all of it, since trades are already on site and walls are open.
Yes — and it's the single most requested change we make in Westboro kitchens. The wall between the kitchen and dining room in a 1920s–50s home is almost always load-bearing, which means it requires a structural engineer, a replacement beam (typically LVL or steel), temporary shoring, and a City of Ottawa permit.
This work typically adds $8,000–$20,000 to the project depending on span and beam specification. OGC manages the entire process — structural engineer, permit, installation — under one contract with one fixed price.
Yes — a smaller kitchen done with precision outperforms a larger one done carelessly. We design to your exact wall dimensions in 3D, optimizing every cabinet run, every appliance placement, and every sight line before anything is built.
In constrained Westboro floor plans the gains often come from opening the layout rather than expanding the room — removing the wall to the dining area, improving light, and rethinking the storage layout. The result is a kitchen that feels significantly larger without moving a single exterior wall.
A straight cabinet and countertop replacement in the same location does not require a permit. Any wall work, plumbing relocation, or electrical changes trigger a City of Ottawa building permit requirement. Given the age of most Westboro homes, most of our projects here do involve permits. OGC handles the full process — application, drawings, fees, and inspections.
2 weeks for a basic rip-and-replace; 3–5 months for a full renovation with structural changes. Most elapsed time is planning, permit approval, and cabinet lead times (4–8 weeks from order to delivery). Active on-site construction — demo, rough-in, install, finishing — runs 6–10 weeks. Budget 4–6 months total from signing to first use.
Cabinetry — typically 30–45% of the total budget. Semi-custom runs $160–$380 per linear foot; fully custom ranges $600–$1,200+. After cabinets, the largest line items are countertops, appliances, and labour. In Westboro, structural work (wall removal, beam, electrical upgrades) frequently rivals the cabinet budget.
Yes — most Westboro homeowners stay in their homes throughout. Expect noise during working hours, dust, and no kitchen access during the active build phase. A temporary setup in another room — microwave, mini fridge, kettle — makes it manageable. We use dust barriers and floor protection throughout and clean up before leaving each day.
A rip and replace keeps the same footprint — everything out, new materials in the same positions. No wall changes, no plumbing moves. Faster and less expensive. Right for kitchens where the layout works but the finishes are dated.
A full renovation changes the layout itself — wall down, plumbing relocated, island added where there was none. Right for kitchens where the bones are wrong, not just the surfaces. Requires permits and more time, but is a fundamentally different result.
Yes — OGC offers financing options so you can start without paying the full amount upfront. Ask for current terms during your free consultation. Many Westboro homeowners also use a HELOC — property values in the neighbourhood are among Ottawa's strongest, making home equity one of the most practical funding sources for a renovation at this level.
Westboro & Surrounding Areas We Work In
OGC completes kitchen renovations throughout Westboro and the surrounding west and central Ottawa communities.
no-obligation quote
.png)
Visit us
1886 Merivale Road #200, Nepean, ON K2G 1E6Sit with a specialist and visit our design center.
.png)
