Building without a permit in Ontario usually starts with a reasonable sounding assumption. Six that stop commercial projects, what the penalties are, and how to check first.

Almost none of the speed in a Toronto commercial permit comes from the City. It comes from a complete first submission, coordinated drawings and how fast you answer comments. What works, and what only feels like it does.

Most commercial interior work in Toronto needs a building permit, and the exceptions are narrower than people assume. What triggers one, what does not, and the assumptions that get projects stopped.

Construction management vs design-build decides who owns design risk, when your price actually becomes firm, and how much of the process you have to run yourself.

The line between base building and tenant work is where fit-out budgets go wrong. What each side normally covers, the six items that get argued about, and how to settle them in the offer to lease.

A landlord turnkey office can be the right answer. What the deal covers, where the decisions sit, and the six things to pin down in the offer to lease.

The questions to ask before you hire a commercial contractor: the team, the exclusions, the process, and what to check after the meeting.

How to read a construction schedule: critical path, float and baseline, where optimism hides, and the five questions to ask at every review.

What a phased renovation really costs, how to sequence one against building services, and the site rules to write into the contract before pricing.

What substantial performance means under Ontario Construction Act, why the date drives holdback, liens, warranties and insurance, and how to prepare.

Why tenant improvement costs run high, what actually moves the number, and the lease and base-building questions to settle before you sign.

How to spot contractor insolvency early, the contract protections that only work if set up first, and exactly what to do in the first week.

How long building permits really take in Ontario, why site plan approval is usually the long pole, and what actually shortens the approvals calendar.

General contractor, construction management at risk or design-build? A practical guide to choosing the delivery model that fits your commercial project.

How much construction contingency a commercial project really needs, the difference between design, construction and owner contingency, and who should control the money.

A construction cost estimate is a statement about how much is known, not a promise about what will be spent. The five stages a number passes through, and the questions to ask about each.

Starting a commercial construction project takes six things and about an hour a week of your time. Here is exactly what I need on day one, and what I do not need yet.

Two design-build proposals, two different designs, two different numbers. A four-step process for comparing them on value rather than price, and for finding the scope gaps before they find you.

Research puts design-build well ahead of design-bid-build on delivery speed. Here is exactly where the time comes from, what you trade for it, and when design-build is not faster at all.

Design-build concentrates responsibility in one party. That only protects you if the party is insured for it. What to check on insurance, warranties and consultant liability before you sign.