Overview: Carpenters
Carpentry covers two trades. Rough carpenters build what gets hidden, like wall framing, floor joists, headers over new doorways and deck frames. Finish carpenters do what you look at every day: doors, trim, stairs and built-ins. In a Canadian house, plenty of the work starts with the weather. Frost lifts a deck post, a wet spring rots a basement window sill, and a dry heating season opens gaps in the trim.
Structural work comes with paperwork. Ontario's guide says the owner is responsible for getting building permits before renovating or adding on, and inspectors check the work against the approved plans. If you pay someone to draw permit plans in Ontario, look them up first on the province's QuARTS registry, unless they're an architect or engineer. Elsewhere, call your municipality's building department before a wall comes out.
Contracts matter as much as skill. In Quebec, a carpenter doing paid construction work on your home generally needs a licence from the Régie du bâtiment. In Ontario, a renovation contract above a trivial amount has to be in writing, and the final price can't run more than a small margin over the estimate unless you agreed to more work.
Our listings show what each carpenter states on its own website. Choose your province, then your city, to find carpenters who frame, trim and repair houses there.
Frequently asked questions
How deep do deck footings have to go here?
Below the frost line, which changes a lot across the country. Frozen soil swells and pushes up anything sitting in it, so a post set too shallow lifts every winter and settles unevenly every spring. Your municipality's building department can tell you the depth required where you live. A carpenter who wants to set posts on patio blocks against the house is saving time, not your deck.
Why does a new opening need a beam?
Because that wall may be holding up the floor or roof above. Pull the studs and the load needs a new path: a beam sized for the span, with posts down to solid bearing. Get the permit before the wall opens. In Ontario, a designer you hire to draw the plans should appear on the province's QuARTS registry of building practitioners, unless it's an architect or engineer, and the inspector wants to see the framing before drywall goes up.
Does a carpenter in Quebec need a licence?
Usually, yes, for paid construction work on your home. Quebec's Régie du bâtiment licenses contractors by subclass, and carpentry falls under ones such as wood and plastic work or interior finishing. Search the RBQ's online register for the business name on your quote. The licence number should also be printed on the estimate, the contract and the invoice.
Can I cancel a carpentry contract I signed at home?
In Ontario, yes. A renovation or repair contract signed in your home gives you a ten-day cooling-off period to cancel. If work already started, you'll owe fair pay for the labour and materials. Alberta gives a ten-day window on prepaid contracts, counted from when you receive your copy. Put any cancellation in writing and keep proof of when you sent it.
Why does new trim crack open by midwinter?
Because the furnace dries the house out and the wood shrinks. Trim installed in humid summer air loses moisture over the heating season, and a mitred inside corner opens into a dark line. Good carpenters let the boards sit in the house for a while before cutting, cope inside corners, and glue outside mitres. A humidifier helps, though it won't save a joint that was cut badly.
