Updated October 2026. Rates below are Greater Toronto Area market ranges in Canadian dollars, before HST.
Short answer: most Ontario basements come in between $5.50 and $8.50 per square foot installed for waterproof vinyl plank, before prep and HST. A typical 700 sq ft basement with moderate levelling, old-carpet removal and a set of stairs lands around $5,700 to $10,000 all-in with HST. The spread is almost entirely about the condition of your concrete slab, not the flooring you pick.
Installed rates by material
Below grade, the product has to tolerate moisture, which rules out solid hardwood and most standard laminate. These are the materials worth considering, split into material, labour and installed so you can see where the money actually goes — a breakdown most quotes blur into a single number.
| Product | Material | Labour | Installed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glue-down LVT / LVP | $3.50–4.99 | $2.50–3.50 | $6.50–8.00 |
| Click / floating LVP (SPC) | $2.69–4.99 | $1.50–2.50 | $5.50–8.50 |
| Vinyl sheet | $1–3 | $1–3 | $3–7 |
| Carpet tile | $2–5 | $1–3 | $3–8 |
Canadian dollars per square foot, before HST. Ranges reflect GTA contractor pricing published by Alexanian, Tony’s Flooring, Petun Flooring and RenoQuotes through 2025–2026.
Glue-down costs roughly double the labour of a click floor, because the slab has to be clean, flat and dry enough for adhesive to bond — there is no underlay to hide behind. Below grade that extra cost is often worth paying: a glued floor cannot shift, and it handles the point loads of furniture and gym equipment better than a floating one.
A worked example: 700 sq ft basement
Here is a realistic build-up for a common GTA job — a 700 sq ft basement in a 1970s house, existing carpet coming out, click LVP going down, with a flight of 13 stairs.
| Line item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Click LVP installed, 700 sq ft @ $5.50–8.50 | $3,850 | $5,950 |
| Levelling, ~30% of floor area @ $2–4/sq ft | $420 | $840 |
| Carpet removal & disposal @ $0.50–1.50/sq ft | $350 | $1,050 |
| Stairs, 13 steps @ $30–80/step | $390 | $1,040 |
| Subtotal before HST | $5,010 | $8,880 |
| With 13% HST | $5,661 | $10,034 |
Notice that flooring is roughly three-quarters of the low estimate but only two-thirds of the high one. The variable that moves your number most is not the plank you choose — it is how much work the slab needs first.
Prep is the line that moves the number
Basement slabs are rarely flat and always carry some moisture. Two things decide what prep costs:
- Flatness. ASTM F710, the standard for preparing concrete to receive resilient flooring, calls for the slab to be flat within 3/16” over 10 feet. Most older GTA basements are not. Levelling runs $2–4 per square foot over the area that actually needs it, which is usually a fraction of the floor rather than all of it.
- Moisture. ASTM F2170 sets the in-situ relative humidity ceiling at 75% RH unless the adhesive manufacturer permits more. A slab that feels bone dry can still test well above that, and installing over it is the most common reason a manufacturer denies a warranty claim.
Ask any contractor quoting your basement to price moisture testing as a separate line. One who skips it on a below-grade slab is not saving you money — they are transferring the risk of adhesive failure onto you. Our floor prep page covers what the process involves.
The extras that belong in a quote
- Waste factor. Order 5–10% over your measured area for a straight lay, 10–15% for diagonal or pattern work. Almost no quote states this, and running short mid-job is expensive.
- Baseboard and quarter round. $2.00–4.50 per linear foot.
- Old flooring removal. Carpet $0.50–1.50/sq ft; hardwood, laminate or vinyl $1–3; ceramic $2–5.
- Disposal. City of Toronto drop-off depots charge $189.86 per tonne, with a $19 minimum covering the first 100 kg.
HST applies to the whole job
Ontario’s 13% HST applies to both labour and materials on a flooring installation. There is no renovation exemption. A $6,000 basement job is $6,780 once HST is added, and any quote you compare should state clearly whether tax is included.
Where your labour dollar goes
At $2.50–3.50 per square foot for glue-down, a 700 sq ft basement carries $1,750–2,450 of labour. Against the Ontario median wage for floor covering installers — $26.00 per hour, or $26.20 in Toronto, per the Government of Canada Job Bank (NOC 73113, updated November 2025) — plus insurance, WSIB, vehicle, tools, disposal fees and unpaid quoting time, that represents roughly two to three working days on site.
It is worth knowing that Ontario’s Floor Covering Installer trade is a 6,000-hour apprenticeship and certification is voluntary. Plenty of people quoting your basement have never completed it.
Four questions to ask anyone quoting your basement
- Is moisture testing included, and what method — and what happens if the slab fails?
- Is levelling priced by the square foot over the area that needs it, or a flat guess?
- Does the price include removal and disposal of the old floor?
- Is HST included in the number you have shown me?
A quote that answers all four is comparable. One that does not is a number, not a price.
Getting a real figure for your basement
The ranges above will get you a realistic budget, but the only way to a firm number is someone looking at your slab — measuring the area, checking flatness and testing moisture. We do that free across the GTA, including Toronto, Scarborough and Mississauga, and the quote comes back itemised so you can see each line above separately. Request a free basement quote or call 416-889-8273.