The cost of engineering design when vaulting your ceilings depends on several key factors such as the type of existing roof and the span of the home. The fees start from

• Site Visits by a Professional Engineer from $400+hst
• Engineering Design for reinforcing of the roof and removal of the walls from $1200+hst
• Architectural Drawings for building permit from $1350+hst

There are three main steps to the process:

• Engineering Design – The typical turnaround time for engineering design once the measure-up has been completed is 8-15 business days.

• Permit Approval – If you are applying for a building permit, the response time from the building department is mandated to be 10 business days. Given the extremely high level of renovation work in Ontario, this ranges widely from 3 weeks to 8 weeks.
• Construction – Depending on the experience of the contractors, vaulting of a ceiling can be done in 4 weeks

The easiest way to check if you can create a vaulted ceiling (cathedral ceiling) is to determine what type of roof you have.

• If you have a newer style truss roof, a vaulted ceiling is possible, but will require replacement of most of the framing.
• If you have a conventional gable style roof, you should be able to vault your ceilings.
• If your HVAC ducts are in the attic, it will be difficult to vault your ceilings, without replacing the entire system