What it really costs
to renovate in the GTA.

$30K–$110K depending on scope and finish level

A real kitchen renovation in the Greater Toronto Area runs roughly $30,000 to $110,000 in 2026, and where you land inside that range comes down to two things: whether you're moving the layout and what grade of finishes you pick. The number you see in online calculators is almost always low because it leaves out GTA labour rates, permits, and the surprises behind the drywall. Below is how we actually price a kitchen across Toronto, Mississauga, Vaughan, and the rest of the GTA, with the line items that drive the cost up or down.

$15K–$60K depending on size and finish level

A bathroom renovation in the Greater Toronto Area in 2026 typically runs $15,000 to $60,000, and where you land inside that range comes down to two things: square footage and how far you move plumbing. A cosmetic refresh of a standard 5x8 main bath — new vanity, toilet, tub, tile over the existing layout — is the bottom of the range. The top is a primary ensuite where the walls move, the tub becomes a curbless walk-in shower, and the finishes are stone and brass. GTA labour and permit costs sit well above the national average — a licensed plumber here bills $110–$150/hour and a tile setter $400–$700 a day — so a renovation that a price-comparison site quotes at $12K nationally realistically lands closer to $18K–$22K in Toronto, Mississauga, or Vaughan. This guide breaks down where the money actually goes, the factors that quietly double a budget (relocating drains, asbestos in pre-1990 homes, condo board requirements), and honest tier pricing so you can size your project before you call anyone. Every number below reflects 2026 GTA market rates for a full-service general contractor, not a handyman or a big-box install package.

$8K–$45K depending on size, height, and material

A new deck in the Greater Toronto Area typically lands between $8,000 and $45,000 in 2026, and the spread is real, not padding. A small ground-level pressure-treated platform is a different animal from an elevated composite deck with a permit, footings to frost depth, and a railing system. The two biggest levers are size and material, but height off the ground and how the deck attaches to the house move the number more than most homeowners expect.

$5–$18 per square foot installed

Most GTA flooring jobs land between $5 and $18 per square foot installed, and where you fall in that range comes down to the material and what's hiding under the old floor. The number that surprises people isn't the planks — it's the prep: levelling a wavy subfloor, ripping out two layers of old tile, or fixing a squeak before anything new goes down. Below is honest 2026 pricing for the Toronto, Mississauga, Vaughan, Brampton, Markham and Oakville area, so you can budget before anyone steps in your door.

$40–$95 per linear foot installed

Most fence quotes in the GTA land between $40 and $95 per linear foot installed, but that range hides a lot — a chain-link run on flat ground is a different animal than a 6-foot cedar privacy fence on a sloped Etobicoke lot with old posts to dig out. The honest answer is that material, height, your grade, and how easy your backyard is to get equipment into move the number more than anything else. Below is what we actually charge GTA homeowners in 2026, broken down so you can see where your dollars go before anyone steps on your property.

$2.50–$4.50 per square foot for hang + finish

Drywall is one of those jobs where the per-sheet material cost is cheap and the labour is everything — taping and finishing is a skilled trade, and in the GTA that skill isn't cheap. Most homeowners here pay $2.50–$4.50 per square foot of wall and ceiling area to hang and finish (board, screws, tape, three coats of mud, sanded and ready for primer), with the spread driven mostly by ceiling height, finish level, and how clean the access is. The numbers below are real 2026 Greater Toronto pricing — Toronto, Mississauga, Vaughan, Brampton, and the surrounding cities all sit in a similar band, a notch above the Canadian average because of GTA labour rates and disposal fees.

$10–$25 per square foot installed (more for stone or custom patterns)

Tile is one of those jobs where the tile itself is rarely what blows the budget — it's the prep, the substrate, and the labour. In the GTA, installed tile runs roughly $10–$25 per square foot, and stone or intricate patterns push past that fast. A 100 sq ft bathroom floor is a very different animal from a curbless tiled shower or a herringbone porcelain feature wall, even though both are "tile." The biggest variable most homeowners don't price for is what's under the tile: an old kitchen floor that needs the subfloor leveled, or a shower that needs a proper waterproof membrane, can add thousands before the first tile goes down. Below are the real 2026 numbers we quote across Toronto, Mississauga, Vaughan, Brampton, Markham, and the surrounding municipalities — labour here runs higher than the national average, and we've priced these to reflect that honestly rather than the bait numbers you see on national calculators.

$50K–$400K+ depending on scope

A "general contractor" is the person who carries the whole job: pulling permits, scheduling the trades, managing the budget, and standing behind the warranty. In the GTA that role doesn't come cheap, because everything underneath it — framers, electricians, plumbers, drywallers, City of Toronto permit fees — runs well above the national average. As a rule of thumb in 2026, a managed general-contracting project lands anywhere from about $50K for a focused single-room renovation to $400K+ for a full-home gut or a two-storey addition. The biggest swing isn't the contractor's markup (typically 15-25% of hard costs) — it's scope, finish level, and whether you're touching structure, the envelope, or mechanicals. Below is how the numbers actually break down across Toronto, Mississauga, Vaughan, Brampton, Markham, Oakville and the rest of the service area, based on what jobs are closing at this year — not 2019 prices.