Question 1

Adding built-in bookshelves to a Westboro living room wall?

Accepted Answer

Built-in bookshelves are a carpentry job with no Building Code dimensions to hit, and built-ins are on neither of the City of Ottawa's permit lists, so ask the City if anything structural is involved. The rest of the decisions are about design, materials and how the unit is fastened to the wall.

Question 2

Recessing built-in shelving into a wall cavity in Barrhaven?

Accepted Answer

Recessing shelving into a wall cavity is a carpentry project with a few real decision points, and the answers to them shape everything from the scope of work to what a carpenter needs to do before a single shelf goes in. The first question is what is inside that wall. An exterior wall holds insulation and a vapour barrier; cutting into it reduces thermal performance and the carpenter needs a plan for dealing with both.

Question 3

Built-in shelving on either side of a doorway in my Manotick hallway?

Accepted Answer

Built-in shelving flanking a doorway is interior millwork, and we found no Building Code rule that governs its dimensions, shelf spacing or fastening schedule. The carpenter works from your hallway's proportions, the doorway's width and height, and what you want to store or display. A few things shape how the job comes together. The depth of the units on each side needs to clear the door swing and any casing that wraps the opening.

Question 4

Painted on site or in a shop, how are Ottawa built-ins finished?

Accepted Answer

Site-painted and shop-finished built-ins each have a place in Ottawa homes, and the right choice depends on the piece, the space and what the carpenter proposes. A carpenter who builds and finishes in a shop can control dust, temperature and humidity in a way that is harder to manage inside a lived-in house. Doors, drawer fronts and face frames can be sprayed or brushed in a controlled environment, then transported and installed.

Question 5

A built-in media wall framed into my Stittsville family room?

Accepted Answer

A built-in media wall is a carpentry job: framing a chase or alcove into the room, building the cabinet boxes, fitting shelves, doors and face frames, and finishing with trim and moulding. There are too few published Ottawa prices to quote a range, so what follows is what decides this job's cost and what a fair quote should itemise. What drives the price on a project like this is the scope of the framing, the materials specified, and how much finish work is involved.

Built-ins & Shelving

Adding built-in bookshelves to a Westboro living room wall?

Recessing built-in shelving into a wall cavity in Barrhaven?

Built-in shelving on either side of a doorway in my Manotick hallway?

Painted on site or in a shop, how are Ottawa built-ins finished?

A built-in media wall framed into my Stittsville family room?