“Irshad and his team installed potlights throughout our main floor, hooked up our new appliances and added under-cabinet lighting in the kitchen. Clean, precise work and the ceiling patch lines are invisible. Everything was left spotless at the end of each day.”
Electrical for Home Renovations
Every renovation changes how a space uses power. A kitchen gains countertop appliances it never had; a bathroom gains a heated floor and a steam shower; an addition adds hundreds of square feet of new load. The Ontario Electrical Safety Code treats renovated areas as new work — meaning current requirements for circuits, protection and permits apply the moment walls open. Renovation electrical done properly isn't red tape; it's the cheapest insurance your project can buy.
Kitchen Renovation Electrical
Kitchens are the most electrically demanding room in a modern home, and the code knows it:
- Counter receptacles — at least two 20-amp small-appliance branch circuits serving countertop outlets, with GFCI protection.
- Receptacle spacing so no point along the counter is more than 600 mm from an outlet — no stretching cords behind the range.
- Dedicated circuits for the refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, range or cooktop, and garbage disposal where applicable.
- AFCI protection on new or extended kitchen circuits as current code requires.
- Lighting design — recessed task lighting, pendants and under-cabinet strips wired with LED-compatible dimmers.
We design the lighting and power layout around your actual cabinetry and appliance schedule — before the cabinets are ordered, not after. Pot lights and under-cabinet lighting are our most-requested kitchen add-ons, often paired with smart dimmers while the walls are open.
Bathroom Renovation Electrical
Bathrooms combine water and electricity in tight spaces, so the rules are strict: GFCI protection on all receptacles, dedicated 20-amp circuits, and careful zone-rated fixtures anywhere near the shower or tub. Renovations are when we correct the shortcuts of earlier decades — heaters hardwired without proper overcurrent protection, receptacles floating without grounds, exhaust fans vented but never properly switched. Adding a heated floor or towel warmer? Both need dedicated circuits and, for floors, a GFCI-protected thermostat circuit. We also hardwire exhaust fans to timers or humidity sensors so they actually get used — the single best defence against mould in GTA bathrooms.
Additions & Whole-Home Rewiring
Additions are new construction grafted onto old: new circuits from a panel that may already be full, new loads on a service sized for a smaller house. We calculate the added load early — because an addition is often the trigger for a panel or service upgrade, and coordinating both under one permit and one inspection cycle saves real money. For whole-home renovations and gut rehabs, we combine rewiring with correction of everything found behind the walls: knob and tube remnants (see knob and tube replacement), overloaded circuits, ungrounded receptacles and decades of handyman splices. Renovation walls-open time is the least expensive those corrections will ever be.
Permits, Inspections & Working With Your GC
Renovation electrical requires an ESA permit with rough-in and final inspections. We handle the paperwork, book inspections around your contractor's schedule and make sure the drywall crew never waits. Our GC clients across Brampton, Mississauga and Vaughan keep us on their jobs because we show up when the critical path says, communicate in plain language and price changes transparently when plans evolve mid-project — as renovation plans always do.
Common Renovation Electrical Mistakes We Correct
- Counter circuits shared with lights or the fridge — a tripped breaker shouldn't put the kitchen in the dark.
- New tile over old wiring — walls closed over uninspected, sometimes unsafe work.
- Missing GFCI/AFCI protection on new circuits — flagged at every ESA rough-in.
- Under-sized panels discovered after the addition is framed — we catch this in the design phase instead.
- No spare capacity or conduit for future EV chargers, hot tubs or automation — planned for pennies now, retrofitted for dollars later.
Lighting Design During Renovations
Renovation is the one chance to fix a home's lighting properly — yet lighting is usually decided last, after budgets are spent. We push it earlier, because the payoff is outsized: layered kitchen lighting that makes the space the family's default room, bathroom sconces at mirror height instead of harsh overheads, and pot light layouts planned around furniture rather than a default grid. Decisions like dimmer locations, fixture switching zones and smart-control readiness cost almost nothing at rough-in and multiples more after the walls close.
Living Through the Work: What to Expect
Most GTA families stay home during renovations, so we plan for it. Circuits are worked on in sequence rather than whole-house shutdowns; power is restored and safe every evening; dusty work gets containment and daily cleanup. We also flag the non-negotiables early — the days the stove circuit is down, or when the water heater needs an hour — so your household plans around them instead of discovering them. Good renovation electrical is as much schedule communication as it is wiring.
Additions: Sizing the Service Early
An addition is the one renovation where surprises get expensive fastest, because everything hangs on the service. We run the load calculation in the design phase — before framing — so you know whether your existing 100-amp or 200-amp service carries the new space, or whether a service upgrade belongs in the budget. Sequencing matters too: the addition's feeder and panel work typically happens while the existing home still has power, and we coordinate utility timelines with your builder where the service itself changes.
Why Homeowners & GCs Choose Bano Electrical Services Ltd
- Licensed master electricians — ESA/ECRA #7004060, insured and WSIB-covered for your site records.
- Design-stage involvement — we review plans before permits, catching load and layout issues early.
- Schedule discipline — rough-in on the framing date, inspection before close-in, trim before reveal.
- Fixed transparent pricing — changes quoted in writing, never metered surprises.
Planning a renovation? Involve us at the design stage — call 416-903-7166 for a free consultation, or book online. We serve the entire GTA.