Last updated: By ConcreteFinder Research Team
A standard 20-by-20-foot garage slab runs $5,000 to $8,000 installed by a GTA subcontractor, materials and labour included, according to 2AZ Group. Compare Paving Contractors publishes a rate instead, $26 to $31 per square foot. Shed pads run $15 to $25 per square foot (Nice Guy Concrete), and a full basement floor tear-out and re-pour stacks to about $34 per square foot and up on Strong Basements' own line items.
Every figure below is quoted from the page it names. These 12 rows rest on 5 independent Canadian sources, each linked on the row it carries. Where sources disagree, each row keeps one publisher's own published figure rather than a range assembled across several, so you can check any number against the sentence it came from.
| Item | Typical range | Unit | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garage slab, standard 20x20, subcontractor-installed2AZ Group's subcontractor rate table, installed prices including materials and labour. It says the wide range reflects straightforward pours on easy sites against complex work with access issues, slopes or engineering requirements. The per-square-foot figure this guide used to show was not published by 2AZ; it was this total divided by 400 sq ft. | $5,000–$8,000 | per project | 2AZ Group (GTA subcontractor rates, early 2026) |
| Garage slab, contractor-installed (published slab rate)Compare Paving Contractors' own published slab rate. The same page prices an insulated-formwork slab lower, from $15 per sq ft, and notes a garage slab averages about 6 inches thick. It stresses that contractors, not materials, drive most of the variation, so compare several quotes. | $26–$31 | per sq ft installed | Compare Paving Contractors (Canada) |
| Basic broom-finish concrete pad, Ontario benchmark (5–7" with A-gravel base)An Ontario average, not a Toronto figure. The Art of Concrete says a 100 sq ft project runs $2,500 to $5,000 because the per-square-foot price is higher on small jobs, and that a no-frills broom-finished pad typically starts around $20 per square foot. | $15–$30 | per sq ft installed | The Art of Concrete (Kitchener, ON, Jan 2025) |
| Shed pad, 4–5" slab incl. excavation, compacted gravel and meshNice Guy Concrete says this includes excavation, gravel base, reinforcement and concrete installation, and that the figure depends on size, thickness and site conditions. | $15–$25(typ. $1,800–$3,000 for a 10'×12' (120 sq ft) pad) | per sq ft installed | Nice Guy Concrete (Milton/Oakville/Mississauga) |
| Basement/garage interior floor pour only (4" basement at 32 MPa; 6" garage)Both figures are open-ended floors, not ranges: Strong Basements writes starts at $10+ for a 4-inch basement slab and $15+ for a 6-inch garage slab. Pour only, with removal, gravel, insulation and reinforcement all priced separately. | $10–$15 | per sq ft | Strong Basements (Toronto/Etobicoke) |
| Existing floor removal + excavation (before re-pour)Open-ended floors. Strong Basements writes starts at $14+ for a standard 7-inch basement excavation and $20+ for a 10-inch garage depth, the garage being dearer because it means demolishing a 6-inch slab heavily reinforced with rebar. The $10 floor this guide used to show is not on their page. | $14–$20 | per sq ft | Strong Basements (Toronto/Etobicoke) |
| Gravel bedding base, 5" compactedA flat rate, not a range: Strong Basements charges $5 per sq ft for a 5-inch gravel bed in both basements and garages. | $5–$5 | per sq ft | Strong Basements (Toronto/Etobicoke) |
| Rigid foam under-slab insulation add-on, 2"Open-ended: Strong Basements lists $4+ per sq ft for 2-inch R10 rigid foam, and lists slab insulation as not applicable in a garage. The $6 ceiling this guide used to show is not on their page; thicker sheets run to R20 at 4 inches and cost more. | $4–$4+ | per sq ft | Strong Basements (Toronto/Etobicoke) |
| Vapour barrier, 10-mil poly (material only)Material only, sold by the roll. 2AZ Group's own listing is for 10 mil poly, not the 6 mil this guide previously named. | $80–$120 | per 1,000 sq ft roll | 2AZ Group (GTA, Feb 2026) |
| Reinforcement add-on: wire mesh vs rebar gridTwo different specs, not a range: Strong Basements charges $1 per sq ft for welded steel wire mesh in a basement and $8+ per sq ft for a 10mm steel rebar mesh in a garage. The $2 floor this guide used to show is not on their page. | $1–$8+ | per sq ft | Strong Basements (Toronto/Etobicoke) |
| Ready-mix concrete delivered, 25–32 MPa residential mixPlant-gate prices with standard delivery inside a 30 km radius; 2AZ Group adds $8 to $15 per kilometre beyond that. The span covers two mixes: 25 MPa general purpose at $250 to $290 and 32 MPa high-strength at $290 to $350. | $250–$350 | per m³ delivered | 2AZ Group (GTA, Feb 2026) |
| Concrete pump truck for tight-access pours (rear-lane garages, basements)2AZ Group's GTA equipment rental rate. A trailer-mounted line pump is listed at the same $800 to $1,200. | $800–$1,200 | per pour (flat fee) | 2AZ Group (GTA, Feb 2026) |
per sq ft installed
The Art of Concrete (Kitchener, ON, Jan 2025)
Nice Guy Concrete (Milton/Oakville/Mississauga)
Compare Paving Contractors (Canada)
per sq ft
Strong Basements (Toronto/Etobicoke)
Strong Basements (Toronto/Etobicoke)
Strong Basements (Toronto/Etobicoke)
6 of these 12 rows are drawn. The other 6 are priced in a unit no other row on this page shares, or carry an open-ended figure such as a “starting at” price with no published ceiling. Neither can be placed on a shared axis honestly, so they stay in the table above with their sources rather than being drawn to a number nobody printed.
Two quotes on the same job often differ because they are quoting different work, not different rates. This is how the trade splits it up, drawn from the rows and factors already on this page. It carries no prices on purpose: those belong beside the source that published them.
What is under a finished slab
Most of what a slab costs is buried before the concrete arrives. Every layer here is a line this page prices separately, which is why two slab quotes can differ without either being wrong.
Excavation, down to undisturbed ground
Existing floor out, soil dug to depth. Wet, sloped or previously disturbed ground is corrected here or it shows up in the slab later.
Compacted granular base
Crushed stone, laid and compacted. Depth and compaction of this layer, not the slab above it, are what stop a pad settling.
Vapour barrier, and insulation where it applies
Sheet poly to keep ground moisture out of the slab, and rigid foam under heated space. Both are add-ons on most quotes rather than assumed.
Reinforcement
Welded wire mesh or a rebar grid. Rebar is the standard for a pad carrying vehicles, and it is a materially different price from mesh.
The pour, at a thickness matched to the load
A shed pad and a garage pad are not the same slab. Thickness and mix strength both step up where vehicles go, and a thicker slab needs proportionally more concrete.
Finish
Broom finish is the baseline. A decorative or coated surface is priced on top of a slab that is otherwise identical.
Read top down, the way the assembly is built up from the ground.
A rate per square foot is hard to picture. These are photographs published by ConcreteFinder companies working in this category across the Greater Toronto Area, at the size they deserve rather than as thumbnails. Each one links to that company's record, with its rating, its service area and its phone number.
Turbo Basements
Mississauga
Oakville Concrete Contractors
Oakville
Fēnix Finish
Greater Toronto Area
Concrete Plus
Richmond Hill
D.S Foundation and Concrete
Agincourt
GBC Concrete Forming
Agincourt
Spec, access and job size move concrete slab pricing more than anything else in Toronto. Each factor below is tied to a figure in the table above, so you can read a quote and see where the money goes.
Yes, Ontario changes the math: 13% HST sits on top of every quote, City permits apply to anything touching the right-of-way, and the freeze-thaw season closes the practical pour window. Each point below is what applies locally.
The biggest savings come from job timing, bundling small pours into one mobilization, and doing demolition yourself. Each lever below is tied to a real number in the table above, not to cutting the parts that matter.
Every price on this page was re-opened at its source and matched to the sentence that carries it. Where sources disagree, ConcreteFinder keeps each row on one publisher's own figure and writes the disagreement down here rather than blending them into a range nobody published.
ConcreteFinder tracks 10 concrete slab contractors across the Greater Toronto Area, rated 4.87★ on average. The three below rank highest on our review-weighted score, based on ConcreteFinder's analysis of 10 GTA businesses, July 2026.
164/100 ConcreteFinder Score
63 reviews · 4.9
Islington-City Centre West
3 of 4 details on file · Islington-City Centre West concrete contractor, 63 Google reviews average 4.9★, also listed under garage pads & slabs.
262/100 ConcreteFinder Score
19 reviews · 4.8
Whitby
3 of 4 details on file · Pours in Whitby as a concrete contractor, 19 Google reviews average 4.8★, also listed under garage pads & slabs and foundations & underpinning.
362/100 ConcreteFinder Score
76 reviews · 5.0
Willowdale
3 of 4 details on file · Pours in Willowdale as a concrete contractor, 76 Google reviews average 5.0★, also listed under garage pads & slabs and concrete patios & walkways.
Put your own dimensions through the numbers above. Each calculator shows the working line by line, so you can hold a contractor's quote against it.
Outdoor pads and interior basement or garage floors, with the base, mesh, rebar and foam a cheaper quote quietly drops.
Bar count, linear feet, weight and 20 ft stock bars for a slab grid or a strip footing, in Canadian metric sizes.
A quote is hard to compare when half of it is trade vocabulary. These are the terms used in the table above, defined in the words a contractor would use.
Most concrete slab quotes arrive alongside another one. These are the three ConcreteFinder guides closest to this job, each priced from its own named sources.
A 20x20 garage slab runs $5,000 to $8,000 installed; 25 MPa ready-mix is $245 per cubic metre at the plant.
Polished concrete runs $3 to $6 per square foot basic, up to $8 to $15 high gloss; epoxy floors $5 to $12.
Underpinning runs $350 to $480 per linear foot, or $50,000 to $80,000 for a 1,000 square foot basement.
2AZ Group prices a standard 20x20 garage slab installed by a GTA subcontractor at $5,000 to $8,000, materials and labour included. Compare Paving Contractors publishes a rate instead, $26 to $31 per square foot for a concrete slab, and prices an insulated-formwork slab from $15 per square foot. Add 13% HST: contractors quote before tax.
GTA installers price shed pads at $15–$25 per square foot installed, so a common 10'×12' pad lands at $1,800–$3,000 (Nice Guy Concrete, Milton/Oakville/Mississauga). That includes 8–10 inches of excavation, 4–6 inches of compacted gravel, wire mesh and a 4–5 inch broom-finished slab. Sloped or tight-access yards push toward the top of the range.
Pouring a new 4-inch basement slab starts around $10 per square foot in Toronto (Strong Basements). A full replacement stacks up fast, and every line is a floor rather than a ceiling: removing the old floor starts at $14, 5-inch gravel bedding is $5, 2-inch rigid foam starts at $4 and welded wire mesh is $1. That is about $34 per square foot and up, so a 600 sq ft rebuild starts near $20,000.
For garages, yes: any detached structure over 10 m2 (107 sq ft) needs a City of Toronto building permit, with fees starting around $220. Sheds under 15 m2 (161 sq ft) are exempt, though zoning still applies. Front-yard parking pads need a separate licence, $514.41 to apply plus $331.13 a year, both plus HST, and many central wards have moratoriums on new pads.
Sheds need 4 inches; garage floors carrying vehicles should be 5 to 6 inches of 32 MPa concrete with rebar (Strong Basements builds 6-inch reinforced garage slabs). Thickness drives cost: a 10mm rebar mesh runs $8+ per square foot against $1 for welded wire mesh, and a 6-inch slab needs roughly 50% more ready-mix at $250 to $350 per cubic metre delivered.
Yes, but it costs more and most contractors avoid it. GTA ready-mix suppliers add a $20–$40 per cubic metre heated-concrete surcharge from November to March (2AZ Group), and crews need hoarding, heaters and accelerating admixtures. The practical residential pour season is roughly April to November; a mid-season booking usually beats a rushed late-fall pour on price.
Almost never - Ontario contractors quote before tax, so add 13% HST when comparing bids. A $6,500 garage pad quote actually costs $7,345; an $8,000 quote becomes $9,040. There's no HST rebate for replacing a pad or slab; the renovation rebate only applies to substantial whole-home projects meeting CRA tests. Get 'plus HST' confirmed in writing.
Budget from $4 per square foot for 2-inch R10 rigid foam under the slab (Strong Basements) and $80 to $120 per 1,000 sq ft roll for 10-mil poly vapour barrier material (2AZ Group). The Ontario Building Code does not require insulation under basement floors, but it is strongly recommended with in-floor heating.
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