The hardwood floor installation cost for a solid-wood floor in a Toronto house comes down to two lines that move independently: the labour, which we charge at a flat $2.00 per sq ft, and the boxes of wood, which run $4.99 to $9.99 per sq ft across our solid range. This page adds them together for a 500 sq ft floor and a 1,000 sq ft floor, with 5% waste, whole boxes, delivery, old-floor removal and 13% HST all shown line by line. Every box price comes from our solid hardwood flooring collection, and the guide stays with solid, nail-down boards. Engineered floors have their own installed cost breakdown, and species-by-species material pricing sits in our hardwood price guide.
Quick answer: what solid hardwood costs installed in a Toronto house
For a house with a flat, sound subfloor and delivery to a Toronto M postal code, these are the rates behind every budget below:
- Labour: $2.00 per sq ft, charged on your area plus a 5% waste allowance. That is $1,050.00 for a 500 sq ft floor and $2,100.00 for 1,000 sq ft.
- Material: $4.99 to $9.99 per sq ft across the 41 solid hardwood products in our catalogue, 37 of them in stock at the time of writing. Boxes are sold whole, so you pay for the next full box.
- Removing a nailed hardwood floor: $1.50 per sq ft, on the area you tear out with no waste added.
- Delivery: a flat $150 on M postal codes, or $200 on L postal codes.
- Tax: 13% HST on the subtotal.
The table gives the all-in total, HST included, for one entry, one mid-range and one top-end solid product. The sections after it show how each figure is built.
| Floor size | Entry SKU | Mid SKU | Top SKU |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 sq ft, old floor already out | $4,400.90 | $5,356.56 | $7,305.14 |
| 500 sq ft, nailed hardwood removed | $5,248.40 | $6,204.06 | $8,152.64 |
| 1,000 sq ft, old floor already out | $8,519.52 | $10,543.62 | $14,440.79 |
| 1,000 sq ft, nailed hardwood removed | $10,214.52 | $12,238.62 | $16,135.79 |
Per square foot of floor, before tax, those budgets work out to $9.04 to $14.43 with removal and $7.54 to $12.93 without it. The wide spread comes almost entirely from the wood you pick, not from the labour.
What the $2.00 labour rate covers and what it leaves out
Labour for installing solid hardwood in a house is $2.00 per sq ft, and that rate covers labour only. It is applied to the waste-adjusted area, so a 500 sq ft room is billed on 525 sq ft. The listing for our solid hardwood installation service covers the base installation service and adds: “Additional charges may apply for subfloor leveling, stair installation, or removal of existing flooring.”
The same listing has a “With Insurance” option that adds $0.70 per sq ft, which takes labour to $2.70 per sq ft. On 525 sq ft that is $367.50 extra before tax, and on 1,050 sq ft it is $735.00. On the mid-range 500 sq ft example with removal, the option moves the total from $6,204.06 to $6,619.34. Ask what it covers when you request a quote.
Our pricing sheet has a house figure for solid hardwood installation but no condo figure, so a condo hardwood job is priced after viewing. Every budget here is for a house, and a condo building’s own flooring rules should be checked before you order anything.
Solid boards are nailed to the subfloor rather than floated, and every board in this guide is listed in our catalogue as nail-down. How the fasteners are spaced and angled is covered in our post on the NWFA nail schedule for solid hardwood, which is worth a read before you compare installer quotes.
Three solid hardwood price points used in the budgets
The catalogue has 41 solid hardwood products, and 19 of the 41 are priced at $6.99 per sq ft. To keep the arithmetic readable, the budgets use a board at the bottom of the range, a mid-range board and a board at the top of the range, at $4.99, $6.69 and $9.99 per sq ft. Two in-between boards appear later for comparison.
| Product | Role here | Width x thickness | Box price | Coverage per box | Price per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lauzon Essential Beech Cape Cod | Entry | 3 1/4" x 19mm | $99.80 | 20 sq ft | $4.99 |
| Appalachian Paisley White Oak, Prestige Grade | Mid | 4 1/4" x 19mm | $126.44 | 18.9 sq ft | $6.69 |
| Lauzon Authentik Red Oak Nostalgia, wire brushed | Top | 4 1/4" x 19mm | $169.83 | 17 sq ft | $9.99 |
| Lauzon Essential Hard Maple Sapphir | Comparison | 4 1/4" x 19mm | $99.80 | 17 sq ft | $5.87 |
| Appalachian Natural Red Oak, Excel Grade | Comparison | 4 1/4" x 19mm | $101.87 | 18.9 sq ft | $5.39 |
Prices checked October 4, 2026. Box prices and coverage come from our current catalogue.
Coverage per box varies. The Lauzon beech boxes hold 20 sq ft, the Appalachian Paisley boxes hold 18.9 sq ft and the Lauzon Authentik boxes hold 17 sq ft, so the same floor area needs a different number of boxes depending on the product, and the unused part of the last box is still paid for.
Choosing among the three price points
The three columns are three different boards, not a quality ranking. The entry board is a beech with narrower 3 1/4" planks, the mid-range board is a white oak in Prestige Grade, and the top board is a wire-brushed red oak. Each is 19mm thick and each is listed as nail-down, so the labour line is the same for all of them.
- Choose the entry board when the budget is the deciding limit and you are happy with beech. It keeps a 500 sq ft floor with no removal at $4,400.90.
- Choose the mid-range board when you want white oak and a total well below the top-end column: $6,204.06 against $8,152.64 for a 500 sq ft floor with removal.
- Choose the top board when the wire-brushed red oak look is the point of the project and you are prepared for a material line of $5,264.73 at 500 sq ft.
The formula behind every budget line
This is the same arithmetic our quotes use, so you can repeat it with your own measurements:
- Waste-adjusted area = floor area x 1.05, which is the 5% waste allowance.
- Boxes = waste-adjusted area divided by the coverage in one box, rounded up to a whole box.
- Material = boxes x box price.
- Labour = waste-adjusted area x $2.00 per sq ft.
- Removal, only if a nailed hardwood floor is coming out = original area x $1.50 per sq ft. The waste allowance is not applied to removal.
- Delivery = the flat rate for your postal prefix ($150 or $200).
- Subtotal = material + labour + removal + delivery. Then add 13% HST to get the total.
Our quote formula adds an underlayment line only for laminate and click-lock engineered floors, so none appears in these solid hardwood budgets. Trim is also left out of the main tables because it depends on your layout, and it gets its own section further down. For a cross-material view of installation pricing, see our flooring installation cost guide.
One column traced from start to finish
Take the mid-range board at 500 sq ft. The waste-adjusted area is 500 x 1.05 = 525 sq ft. Each Paisley box covers 18.9 sq ft, so 525 divided by 18.9 comes to just under 28, and the order is 28 boxes covering 529.2 sq ft. Material is 28 x $126.44 = $3,540.32. Labour is 525 sq ft x $2.00 per sq ft = $1,050.00. Removal is 500 sq ft x $1.50 per sq ft = $750.00, and delivery adds $150.
The subtotal is $5,490.32. HST at 13% adds $713.74, which brings the total to $6,204.06.
Worked budget: 500 sq ft of solid hardwood in a house
The table assumes a house, an existing nailed hardwood floor coming out, and delivery to an M postal code. Totals are rounded to the cent at each line.
| 500 sq ft house | Entry ($4.99/sq ft) | Mid ($6.69/sq ft) | Top ($9.99/sq ft) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waste-adjusted area (+5%) | 525 sq ft | 525 sq ft | 525 sq ft |
| Whole boxes | 27 boxes (540 sq ft) | 28 boxes (529.2 sq ft) | 31 boxes (527 sq ft) |
| Material | $2,694.60 | $3,540.32 | $5,264.73 |
| Labour (525 sq ft x $2.00 per sq ft) | $1,050.00 | $1,050.00 | $1,050.00 |
| Removal of nailed hardwood (500 sq ft x $1.50 per sq ft) | $750.00 | $750.00 | $750.00 |
| Delivery, M postal code | $150 | $150 | $150 |
| Subtotal | $4,644.60 | $5,490.32 | $7,214.73 |
| HST (13%) | $603.80 | $713.74 | $937.91 |
| Total | $5,248.40 | $6,204.06 | $8,152.64 |
| Total if there is no old floor to remove | $4,400.90 | $5,356.56 | $7,305.14 |
The top-end board adds $2,904.24 to the entry total at this size. Labour, removal and delivery are identical in all three columns, so every dollar of that gap sits in the material line.
Worked budget: 1,000 sq ft, a full main floor in solid hardwood
A full main floor or a large open plan lands here. Same assumptions as above: a house, nailed hardwood removal, M postal delivery and 13% HST.
| 1,000 sq ft house | Entry board | Mid-range board | Top board |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waste-adjusted area (+5%) | 1,050 sq ft | 1,050 sq ft | 1,050 sq ft |
| Whole boxes | 53 boxes (1,060 sq ft) | 56 boxes (1058.4 sq ft) | 62 boxes (1,054 sq ft) |
| Material | $5,289.40 | $7,080.64 | $10,529.46 |
| Labour (1,050 sq ft x $2.00 per sq ft) | $2,100.00 | $2,100.00 | $2,100.00 |
| Removal of nailed hardwood (1,000 sq ft x $1.50 per sq ft) | $1,500.00 | $1,500.00 | $1,500.00 |
| Delivery to an M postal code | $150 | $150 | $150 |
| Subtotal | $9,039.40 | $10,830.64 | $14,279.46 |
| HST (13%) | $1,175.12 | $1,407.98 | $1,856.33 |
| Total | $10,214.52 | $12,238.62 | $16,135.79 |
| Total with no old floor to remove | $8,519.52 | $10,543.62 | $14,440.79 |
Doubling the area roughly doubles material and labour, but delivery stays at $150, which is why the entry budget works out to $9.04 per sq ft here against $9.29 at 500 sq ft when the old floor is removed.
Why labour barely moves while the material line decides the total
Labour is the same $2.00 per sq ft of floor whichever box you open, so it is a fixed slice of the bill. Across the six removal-included budgets above, labour is 14.55% to 23.23% of the pre-tax subtotal: 22.61% on the entry 500 sq ft floor and 14.55% on the top-end one.
Two boards sit between the budget tiers. At 500 sq ft, Lauzon Essential Hard Maple Sapphir needs 31 boxes (527 sq ft) costing $3,093.80, and Appalachian Natural Red Oak needs 28 boxes (529.2 sq ft, costing $2,852.36). Add the $1,050.00 of labour, the $750.00 of removal, $150 delivery and tax, and the totals come to $5,699.49 and $5,426.67 with the old floor removed, or $4,851.99 and $4,579.17 without it.
At 1,000 sq ft the same two boards need 62 boxes of Sapphir ($6,187.60) and 56 boxes of Natural Red Oak ($5,704.72), which comes to $11,229.49 and $10,683.83 with removal.
When you compare installer quotes, ask for the same lines we show here: area with waste, boxes, material, labour, removal, delivery and tax. A single price per square foot hides the lines that change from one project to the next.
Extras that sit outside the base budgets
Old-floor removal
Taking out a nailed hardwood floor is $1.50 per sq ft, which is $750.00 at 500 sq ft and $1,500.00 at 1,000 sq ft. For any other existing floor, we confirm the removal line at quote, so tell us what is currently down.
Baseboard
Our 4 inch baseboard rate is $2.80 per lin ft, which covers removing the old trim and supplying and installing new, not painted. For planning we assume 0.3 lin ft of trim for every square foot of floor. That is 150 lin ft and $420.00 at 500 sq ft, and 300 lin ft and $840.00 at 1,000 sq ft. Add 150 lin ft of baseboard to that mid-range 500 sq ft example and the total moves from $6,204.06 to $6,678.66.
Delivery by postal code
Delivery is $150 for M postal codes and $200 for L postal codes, a difference of $50 before tax. On the same mid-range 500 sq ft example, an L postal code moves the total from $6,204.06 to $6,260.56, which is $56.50 more once HST is added.
Work we quote after seeing the floor
Stairs, sanding, refinishing, levelling and subfloor repair are not in any figure above. Each depends on what is under and around the boards, so we quote them after seeing photos or the floor itself rather than giving you a number you cannot rely on.
Where engineered hardwood fits
Engineered planks follow a different quoting path. Our quote formula adds an underlayment line for click-lock engineered floors, and our engineered hardwood installed cost post compares floating, glue-down and nail-down labour for engineered boards, which is a separate budget from the solid hardwood numbers here.
Ways to keep the solid hardwood bill down
- Check the last box. At 500 sq ft, the entry beech boxes leave 15 sq ft over the waste-adjusted area, while the Authentik boxes leave 2 sq ft.
- Weigh species and grade against the total. Appalachian Natural Red Oak in Excel Grade is $0.48 per sq ft below the Sapphir maple, and at 500 sq ft that gap carries through to $272.82 in the final total with removal.
- Send photos and measurements. Pictures of the existing floor, stairs and doorways let us flag levelling, stairs or trim early.
To try your own room sizes, the flooring budget estimator takes the same inputs.
Frequently asked questions about solid hardwood installation costs
How much does it cost to install hardwood floors per square foot in Toronto?
Labour is $2.00 per sq ft for a house, billed on your area plus 5%. Add the boards, delivery and any removal and the examples above land between $7.54 and $14.43 per sq ft of floor before tax, depending on the wood and the floor size.
Do these prices apply across Ontario?
They are our posted rates for Toronto and GTA jobs, with delivery priced by M and L postal prefixes. For an address elsewhere, include the postal code in your quote request and we will confirm delivery and anything else that changes.
Is the labour rate different in a condo?
We have no posted condo figure for solid hardwood installation, so a condo job is priced after viewing. Check your building’s own rules before you order.
How much extra solid hardwood should I order?
We add 5% to the measured area and round up to whole boxes. Layouts with many angles, closets or diagonal runs may call for more, which we check against your measurements.
Can I get a hardwood floor installation estimate without a site visit?
You can start one from measurements and photos through our quote request page. The figures in this guide are planning numbers, and the final quote follows once we know the subfloor, the old floor and the trim.
Get a measured solid hardwood quote in Toronto and the GTA
Send your measurements and a few photos of the rooms, and we will turn these budgets into a line-by-line quote for your floor. You can use the quote request form or reach us through the contact page.
Top Floorings Depot
3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 1, Toronto, ON M1W 3K5
www.topfloorings.com
Call: 416-499-0117
Text: 416-770-8819