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Toronto renovation planning guides
Kildrin’s cost pages show values declared on City of Toronto building permits. These guides cover the planning questions those records cannot answer, using official sources and clearly attributed published estimates.
- Second suitesHow to Create a Legal Basement Apartment in TorontoIn Toronto, a basement apartment is a legal second suite when zoning allows it, the City issued a building permit to create it, and the work passed the City’s inspections. A finished basement with a kitchen and a bathroom is not the same thing, however well it is built.
- Basement loweringUnderpinning vs Benching in Toronto: Costs, Space and Choosing the Right OptionUnderpinning extends your foundation deeper, so the lowered floor runs close to the walls. Benching lowers the floor without deepening the foundation and leaves a concrete ledge along the walls. Benching often has a lower structural price, but takes up floor space. Soil, groundwater, how deep you want to go and how close the neighbouring foundations are decide which method an engineer will support.
- Home additionsHow Much Does a Home Addition Cost in Toronto?Toronto builder Lighthaus Built publishes $450 to $550 per square foot for a rear addition and $450 to $650 for a second storey, in construction costs before HST, design, permits and engineering. Allard Custom Homes prices an 800 sq ft second storey on a bungalow from about $300,000, with main-floor renovations extra. The table below shows each figure with its scope.
- Laneway house planningHow Much Does a Laneway House Cost in Toronto?Using Lanescape’s June 2024 published rates, construction of an illustrative 700 sq ft laneway house comes to $420,000 to $455,000 before HST. Design, servicing, site work, City fees and a contingency may be extra, and the layout of your lot changes the price.