Last updated: By ConcreteFinder Research Team
Basement underpinning costs about $350 to $480 per linear foot of foundation for the structural work alone, or $80 to $100 per square foot turn-key including engineering, permits, waterproofing and a new slab, according to Strong Basements. Nusite Group prices a 1,000 square foot basement lowered by two feet at $50,000 to $80,000. Bench footing runs $35 to $60 per square foot but gives up about two feet of perimeter floor space.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basement underpinning - structural work onlyStrong Basements' Toronto average for the structural work alone. Elsewhere on the same page they put the market rate for a professionally managed, fully insured project at $350 to over $600 per linear foot, with crawlspaces often at the higher end. Cost varies with soil conditions, depth of lowering, the underpinning method (non-shrink, overpour, L-shape, bench footing, engineered bench) and structural requirements such as load posts and beams. The flat $650 ceiling this guide used to show is not on their page. | $350–$480 | per linear foot | Strong Basements |
| Basement underpinning - turn-key project (engineering, permits, waterproofing, plumbing, new slab)Strong Basements' all-in figure for a basement-lowering project, the same sentence that carries their per-linear-foot rate. Their worked example is a 600 sq ft basement lowered by 2 feet at $62,900 all in. The $50 floor and $105 ceiling this guide used to show are not on their page. | $80–$100 | per sq ft | Strong Basements (low end: Nusite Group) |
| Underpinning a 1,000 sq ft basement lowered by 2 feet (total project)Nusite's worked example at their own $50 to $80 per square foot underpinning rate, over a four to ten week timeline. Permits, engineering, waterproofing, plumbing and finishing are all priced on top. | $50,000–$80,000 | per project | Nusite Group (Toronto underpinning contractor) |
| Bench footing - priced by floor areaBench footing keeps the existing footing and steps the new floor in from the wall, so it is cheaper than underpinning but gives up perimeter floor area. Nusite's timeline is four to eight weeks. | $35–$60 | per sq ft | Nusite Group |
| Foundation crack repair - polyurethane injection (leaking crack)DryShield's polyurethane tier, for stopping active leaks with a flexible seal that tolerates seasonal movement. HST and finishing work are not included unless quoted. The $500 floor this guide used to show is not on their page. | $750–$1,000 | per crack | DryShield Basement Waterproofing (Toronto/GTA, 2026) |
| Foundation crack repair - structural epoxy injectionDryShield's epoxy tier, for bonding structural cracks where strength restoration is the goal. Same floor as polyurethane, higher ceiling. Neither the $800 floor nor the $2,500 ceiling this guide used to show is on their page. | $750–$1,500 | per crack | DryShield Basement Waterproofing (Toronto/GTA, 2026) |
| Exterior waterproofing, as part of a basement-lowering projectNusite prices this only where exterior work is needed; an interior waterproofing system on the same job is $5,000 to $8,000, and the waterproofing line as a whole is $5,000 to $15,000. | $10,000–$15,000 | per project | Nusite Group (Toronto underpinning contractor) |
| Structural engineering drawings for underpinning permitStrong Basements' Toronto figure for the engineer to design the underpinning around the home's structure and soil and produce a drawing set for the permit application and construction. Some design-build firms fold it into a project package instead of billing it separately. Neither the $1,500 floor nor the $6,000 ceiling this guide used to show is on their page. | $2,000–$5,000 | per project | Strong Basements (Toronto) |
| Structural engineer hourly rate (Toronto/GTA)An hourly consultation rate for advice only. SEPCO puts Toronto and the GTA at the top of the provincial band, $150 to $300 per hour, for highest demand and fastest turnaround. | $150–$300 | per hour | SEPCO Engineering |
| Structural engineer site inspection / assessmentOpen-ended at the top: SEPCO writes $600 to $1,200+. Covers a site visit, assessment and an optional letter or report. | $600–$1,200+ | per visit | SEPCO Engineering |
| City of Toronto minimum building permit fee (2026)A floor, not a range, and not the whole permit cost. The City charges $214.79 minimum on all work in 2026 and then calculates the permit as a service index times floor area; examination and inspection time is $92.79 an hour. Engineering, drawings, revisions and plumbing permits are extra. | $214.79–$214.79 | per permit (minimum; underpinning is charged per linear metre on top) | City of Toronto Building Permit Fee Schedule |
| Building permit line as quoted by contractorsWhat a contractor bills for the permit, not what the City charges. Nusite lists it inside a $2,000 to $5,000 permits-and-engineering line, alongside $1,000 to $3,500 for the engineer's assessment and drawings; the direct City of Toronto minimum fee is $214.79. | $1,000–$1,500 | per project | Nusite Group (Toronto underpinning contractor) |
per project
Nusite Group (Toronto underpinning contractor)
Strong Basements (Toronto)
Nusite Group (Toronto underpinning contractor)
Nusite Group (Toronto underpinning contractor)
per sq ft
Nusite Group
Strong Basements (low end: Nusite Group)
per crack
DryShield Basement Waterproofing (Toronto/GTA, 2026)
DryShield Basement Waterproofing (Toronto/GTA, 2026)
8 of these 12 rows are drawn. The other 4 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.
Two ways to get basement height, and what each one costs you
Both lower a basement floor. They are different jobs with different structural work, and a quote for one is not comparable with a quote for the other.
Do you need the full floor area, or the full saving?
Underpinning
The existing footings are extended downward in staged sections, so the wall goes deeper and the whole floor area is kept at the new level. It is the more expensive of the two and the one that keeps your square footage.
Bench footing
A concrete bench is poured inside the existing footing instead of going under it. It is the cheaper route, and it gives up roughly two feet of floor around the whole perimeter.
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.
AquaGuard Injection & Waterproofing
Oakville
Above & Beyond Construction
The Kingsway
Aquamaster Basement Waterproofing Mississauga
Mimico
SolidCore Inc.
Willowdale
ACCL Basement Wateproofing
Greater Toronto Area
CTA Contracting
Agincourt
Spec, access and job size move underpinning 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 144 foundation contractors across the Greater Toronto Area, rated 4.86★ on average. The three below rank highest on our review-weighted score, based on ConcreteFinder's analysis of 144 GTA businesses, July 2026.
186/100 ConcreteFinder Score
282 reviews · 4.9
Willowdale
3 of 4 details on file · Listed for foundation contractor work around Willowdale, 282 Google reviews average 4.9★, also listed under concrete repair & leveling and polished concrete & epoxy floors.
282/100 ConcreteFinder Score
145 reviews · 5.0
Burlington
3 of 4 details on file · A foundation contractor working Burlington, 145 Google reviews average 5.0★, posted working hours.
381/100 ConcreteFinder Score
448 reviews · 5.0
Harbourfront
3 of 4 details on file · Pours in Harbourfront as a foundation contractor, 448 Google reviews average 5.0★, also listed under concrete contractors.
One thing the address genuinely changes is access, which every quote on this page is sensitive to: a downtown lot a truck cannot chute into means a pump or a wheelbarrow crew, and a rear-laneway job is formed differently from an open suburban frontage. The other is how many companies will bid at all. These are the Greater Toronto Area areas where ConcreteFinder tracks the most foundation contractors, with the count on each.
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.
Minimum footing width and thickness straight out of Ontario Building Code Table 9.15.3.4, plus the concrete it takes.
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 underpinning quotes arrive alongside another one. These are the three ConcreteFinder guides closest to this job, each priced from its own named sources.
Crack repair runs $750 to $1,500; resurfacing is $4 to $8 per square foot, about half the cost of replacement.
A 20x20 garage slab runs $5,000 to $8,000 installed; shed pads are $15 to $25 per square foot.
A 20x20 garage slab runs $5,000 to $8,000 installed; 25 MPa ready-mix is $245 per cubic metre at the plant.
For the structural work alone, Strong Basements puts the Toronto average at $350 to $480 per linear foot, and says a professionally managed, fully insured project ranges from $350 to over $600 per linear foot with crawlspaces at the higher end. Their own method table starts at $300+ for a bench on party walls and $420+ for a flash L-shape. Quotes below $300 per linear foot usually exclude excavation, waterproofing or the new slab.
Strong Basements prices turn-key basement lowering at $80 to $100 per square foot, and Nusite Group puts underpinning at $50 to $80 per square foot, or $50,000 to $80,000 for a 1,000 sq ft basement lowered by two feet. Real published Toronto examples from Strong Basements run from $62,900 for a 600 sq ft shell to $120,571 including HST for a 1,500 sq ft Etobicoke bungalow.
Yes. Nusite Group prices bench footing at $35 to $60 per square foot against $50 to $80 for underpinning, roughly a third less, on a four to eight week timeline rather than four to ten. The trade-off: the concrete bench eats roughly two feet of floor space around your basement perimeter.
DryShield publishes $750 to $1,000 per crack for a polyurethane injection on a leaking, non-structural crack and $750 to $1,500 for a structural epoxy injection, with crack length and accessibility driving where you land. If exterior excavation is needed as part of a larger job, Nusite prices exterior waterproofing at $10,000 to $15,000. Finished basements and hard-to-access cracks push prices higher.
The direct City of Toronto fee is small. The 2026 schedule sets a minimum building-permit fee of $214.79 for all work, with underpinning then charged per linear metre on top; Strong Basements says the City's share on a 100-linear-foot project came to under $400 under the 2025 rate. Contractors typically quote $2,000 to $3,000 for 'permits' because that bundles engineering drawings, application preparation and expediting.
Strong Basements prices stamped underpinning drawings for the permit at $2,000 to $5,000 in Toronto. GTA structural engineers bill $150 to $300 an hour, and a one-off site inspection with a letter runs $600 to $1,200+ (SEPCO Engineering). Field review visits during construction are usually mandatory on Toronto's clay and silt soils.
Yes - the digging happens under the house, so underpinning is less season-bound than exterior foundation work. But concrete poured below 5°C needs heated enclosures and cold-weather protection, which can add several thousand dollars between December and March. Typical project duration is 4–10 weeks regardless of season.
You cannot skip either. Toronto requires a building permit with P.Eng-sealed drawings, and the Ontario Building Code mandates professional field review when soil is clay or silt, which covers most of Toronto, or when digging goes below a neighbour's footings. Budget $2,000 to $5,000 for engineering plus the City fee, which starts at a $214.79 minimum.
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