Commercial & Change of Use · Small Buildings
Commercial permit drawings — fit-outs and change of use.
BCIN #511123, qualified in Small Buildings. Tenant fit-outs, change of occupancy, salons, clinics and restaurants — exiting, washrooms and barrier-free resolved before submission.
- Occupant load and exiting worked out before layout is fixed.
- Barrier-free path of travel and washroom requirements addressed.
- Change of occupancy reviewed against the renovation provisions.
- We file the application with your municipality for you.
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What It Is
What are commercial permit drawings?
A commercial permit set is what a municipality needs before a business can build out, alter or change the use of a space. It sets out the proposed layout, the occupant load and how people get out, the washroom count, the fire separations between suites, and the barrier-free path from the street to the washroom.
The most common version is a change of use — a retail unit becoming a salon, a clinic or a restaurant. The new occupancy usually carries different exiting, ventilation and washroom requirements than the old one, and those differences are what the review focuses on. We work within the Small Buildings class of the OBC.
Code & By-Laws
What the Code and by-laws generally require
Requirements scale sharply with the occupancy and the number of people, so the occupant load calculation usually drives everything else. Typically:
- Change of use — whether the new occupancy triggers upgrades under the renovation provisions of the Code.
- Occupant load and exiting — number and width of exits, travel distance, and door swing direction.
- Washroom fixture count for the occupancy type and the calculated occupant load.
- Barrier-free design — entrance, path of travel and washroom.
- Fire separations between suites and along the exit path, with the required ratings.
- Interior finish ratings — flame-spread limits on walls and ceilings.
- Mechanical ventilation at the rate required for the occupancy.
- Fire alarm and sprinkler provisions where the occupancy or area triggers them.
- Zoning — whether the use is permitted at that address, plus parking and signage.
- Kitchen exhaust and grease ducts for any food premises.
This is a general guide, not a code review. What applies to your project depends on the scope, the municipality and the age of the building — tell us what you're planning and we'll confirm what's actually needed.
Recent Commercial Permits
Real permit sets, approved.
Further commercial sets — a Toronto tenant fit-out, a commercial roof structure in Vaughan and a walkway cover in Parry Sound — are in municipal review and will be added here once their permits are issued.