Your project checklist
Make a selection in each field to tailor the checklist. Nothing entered in this tool leaves your browser.
Start with these four checks
- Confirm whether the opening or structure changes.
- Check the property’s heritage status.
- Have the frame and threshold assessed.
- List the product, installation and finishing inclusions.
The Brantford approval checks
Same-size replacement: the City lists door and window replacements with no increase in the opening size as work that does not require a building permit.
Larger opening: the City lists an increase in a door opening’s size as requiring a building permit. Confirm structural changes before ordering. The City’s examples are not an exhaustive list.
Heritage: separate approval can apply to changes on a designated property. Check the register and contact heritage staff to confirm the requirements or an exemption before the work begins. An old house is not automatically a designated house.
This guide concerns the City of Brantford. A County of Brant address may have a different approval route. Confirm jurisdiction using the property address.
Reviewed September 15, 2026: City permit requirements · City heritage planning and register. The City decides requirements for a particular project.
What to have ready for an assessment
- The issue: drafts, sticking, water marks, damaged finish, security concerns or a change of style.
- The opening: front or side entrance, single or double door, sidelights, transom and any storm door.
- Photos for a later conversation: a full view inside and outside, the threshold and any damage. This form does not accept file uploads.
- Access: steps, narrow approaches, pets, shared entrances and any condo or property-management approval.
- The work split: who supplies, measures, installs, finishes and disposes of the old door.
Approximate dimensions can help explain a project, but should not be used as order dimensions. Final measurement and compatibility checks belong with the supplier and installer.
Compare the quotes you actually have.
Enter each written total in Canadian dollars, using the same tax basis. Add only known extras excluded from that total. This is simple comparison arithmetic—not a door price calculator.
A lower total is not automatically a better offer. Check that both quotes cover the same product, frame work, hardware, sealing, trim, disposal, taxes and warranty. Ask for uncertain or excluded items in writing.
Before agreeing to work
Confirm the business doing the work, the exact product and finish, responsibility for approvals, payment terms, changes to the scope and warranty exclusions. Make sure the contract distinguishes product coverage from installation coverage.
Start with the materials and glass guide if the product choices are still open. Then send your project question with whatever you already know.