We help Ottawa homeowners and their families find local contractors for ramps, stair lifts, wider doorways and grab bars, see what the work costs according to published guides, and find out which funding programs list it.
Making a home easier to get into and around raises the same questions every time. How steep can a ramp at a house be? Does a stair lift need to be inspected? Does widening a doorway need a permit? Which programs may help pay for it, and which ones have closed? These are the questions that come up when a quote lands on the kitchen table, whether the home is yours or a parent's.
Some of the answers surprise people. The 1 in 12 ramp slope you may have heard of is the barrier-free standard for public buildings; the Building Code's limit for an exterior ramp at a house is 1 in 10. Ontario's elevating-devices regulation does not apply to a stair lift in a private house unless the owner asks for it in writing. Widening a doorway is on the City of Ottawa's permit list. Ontario's Seniors' Home Safety Tax Credit has closed, while the federal Home Accessibility Tax Credit is still open. None of that is explained on a quote, so we explain it here.
Ottawa Accessible Renovations is a matching service, not a contractor. We do not assess, design, build or install anything, and we do not employ anyone who does. We give no medical, occupational therapy or device advice: which option suits a person is for them and whoever advises them. You tell us about the project, and we send your request to local contractors listed in the Ottawa Construction Network directory, who can reply to you by email. We do not screen or verify them, and we say so, which is why every page tells you what to check yourself.
Choose the job type and add what you have in mind: which entrance, stairs, doors or rooms, whose home it is, any timeline, or a quote you want to compare. No phone number needed.
We send your request to local contractors in the Ottawa Construction Network directory. They can reply to you by email to arrange a visit and a written quote.
Compare quotes line by line: what is included, any permit, patching and finishing, and the dates. If you are applying for a grant, check whether the program must approve the work before it starts.
This site covers one kind of work: making a house easier to get into and around. Ramps, stair and platform lifts, wider doorways, grab bars, main-floor bedrooms, thresholds and kitchen changes. Your request goes to contractors listed for accessible renovations.
A service page gives a range only where at least two independent published guides agree, labelled and dated. Where too few prices are published, such as platform lifts and main-floor bedroom conversions, we say so instead of inventing one.
We explain the protections that matter when you hire here: a written agreement for a deal made in your home, the 10-day cancellation right, the 10% limit over an estimate, what the door-to-door rules do and do not cover, and the Construction Act holdback (ask a lawyer about its timing on a larger job).
Our free knowledge base answers Ottawa accessibility questions: the funding programs as published, ramp rules for a house, stair lifts and the regulation, doorways and permits, what the work costs according to published guides, and how to compare quotes.
The jobs we match, with the published range where one exists:
Entrance ramps for a house, built to the Building Code's house rules: a slope no steeper than 1 in 10 outside, at least 860 mm wide, with landings top and bottom.
Roughly $2,000–$4,000 for a short modular ramp (published Ontario and Canadian installer guides, 2025–26; yours will differ). Long, switchback or custom-built ramps cost more.
Stair lifts for the stairs inside your home: straight and curved rails, with the building, regulation and funding questions answered before you buy.
Straight stair lift about $3,000–$6,000 installed; curved about $10,000–$15,000+ (published Ontario and Canadian installer guides, 2025–26; yours will differ).
Vertical platform and porch lifts for a house, with the regulation, permit and funding questions set out before anyone quotes.
Too few published prices to show a range.
Wider doorways inside and at the entrance, with the City's permit rule for enlarging a door, the load-bearing question and published per-door prices.
About $500–$2,500 per door in a non-load-bearing wall (published Ontario and Canadian installer guides, 2025–26; yours will differ). Load-bearing walls cost more.
Grab bars fixed into solid backing, with the Building Code's 1.3 kN load rule and published per-bar prices.
About $200–$400 per bar installed (published Ontario and Canadian installer guides, 2025–26; yours will differ). Blocking in a closed wall costs extra.
Turning a dining room, den or family room into a main-floor bedroom, with the permit wording and the funding rules that do and do not apply.
Too few published prices to show a range.
Removing trip edges at doors and between rooms: lower thresholds, level floor transitions and slip-resistant surfaces.
Too few published prices to show a range.
Lower counters, reachable cabinets and room to move in the kitchen, with the permit exemption and the programs that list kitchen changes.
Too few published prices to show a range.
Ottawa Accessible Renovations is part of the Ottawa Construction Network, the directory your request is matched from:
Get matched with local Ottawa contractors who do accessibility work. Free, no obligation, no phone number needed.
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