GUIDES & ARTICLES
Straight answers to the questions Calgary homeowners and business owners ask before they renovate, build, add a backyard suite or improve a commercial space.
Written by the team behind the work, building in Calgary since 1988.
Start with the numbers: renovation costs, custom home costs, backyard suite costs and tenant improvement costs.
RENOVATIONS
- Calgary home renovation costs: what to expect
Planning ranges for kitchens, main floors, whole-home renovations and additions, and what moves the number.
- When is the time right to renovate?
The signs a Calgary home is ready for a major renovation, how to time it and what to settle before design begins.
- Renovate or build new?
How to weigh the home you have against starting over: cost, layout, foundation, property and what you ultimately want to create.
- Calgary luxury home renovations
What defines high-end renovation work, where the investment goes and how design-build and in-house millwork change the process.
- Is high-end the same as high quality?
They are not the same thing. Here is how to tell the difference when planning a renovation or custom home.
CUSTOM HOMES
- What a custom home costs in Calgary
Planning ranges for infill, large and acreage homes, what moves the number and how the budget develops alongside the design.
- What is design-build and why does it matter?
What design-build means and why it changes the way design, budget and construction work together.
- What should I look for in a home builder?
Process, transparency, capability and the questions worth asking before you choose a builder.
BACKYARD SUITES
- What a backyard suite costs in Calgary
Planning ranges for garage, standalone and complex backyard suites, what moves the number and what sits beyond construction.
- Paying for a backyard suite
Calgary’s incentive program, CMHC-insured refinancing and the federal loan that was announced but never launched.
- Backyard suite rules in Calgary after August 2026
Where backyard suites are permitted or discretionary after the rezoning repeal, plus parking, permits and the one-suite rule.
- Calgary’s rezoning repeal: what it means for your lot
What reverted on August 4, 2026, what changed in R-CG and what the new rules mean for your property.
COMMERCIAL RENOVATIONS & TENANT IMPROVEMENTS
Commercial renovations & tenant improvements at LD&A →
- What a commercial tenant improvement costs in Calgary
Planning ranges for office, retail and medical spaces, how tenant-improvement allowances work and what can affect schedule and cost.
Have a question these guides do not answer? Read the FAQ → or ask us directly.