The 5 Biggest Renovation Mistakes Toronto Homeowners Make (Plus What a Reno Actually Costs in 2026)
To renovate or not to renovate? Toronto buyers weighing a fixer-upper against a finished home, and for sellers deciding what to do before going to market, it’s one of the most expensive questions in real estate. Get it right, and you create a home you love that holds its value. Get it wrong, and you can burn through six or maybe even seven figures on work the market will never pay back.
The short answer for anyone budgeting a renovation in Toronto now: a mid-range, full-scope renovation runs roughly $400 to $600 per square foot all-in. A proper bathroom starts around $30,000, a mid-range kitchen at $50,000, and you should always plan for a 15 to 20 percent contingency on top of every quote. If those numbers surprise you, keep reading because they surprise almost everyone.
Ralph Fox and Kori Marin, co-founders of Fox Marin, have personally completed more than a dozen renovations between them. For this conversation, they brought in two team members with skin in the game: Ian Busher, a licensed contractor and Red Seal carpenter before his real estate career, and Jerome Werniuk, who is currently midway through a major renovation of his own 1890s Victorian in Leslieville. Together, they broke down the five biggest flubs Toronto homeowners make, plus a bonus round of the phrases every renovator regrets saying.
Watch the Full Episode
Prefer to watch instead of read? In this episode, Ralph Fox and Kori Marin discuss this topic and share practical insights drawn from helping hundreds of Toronto buyers and sellers.
Mistake #1: Budgeting by Hearsay
The most common renovation mistake in Toronto isn’t a bad title choice. It’s building a budget based on what your neighbour, your uncle, or even your realtor guesses something should cost.
Real numbers are sobering. When the outdated figure of $300 per square foot came up, Ian didn’t hesitate:
“I haven’t heard three hundred in twenty years. Anything starting with a three is just not possible.”
His starting point for a decent mid-range renovation is $500 per square foot, and the contractors he trusts with larger jobs push higher:
“Five hundred dollars a square foot is what I keep hearing these days.”
That per-square-foot figure includes costs people forget: permits, architectural drawings, engineering, and site logistics, not just drywall and lumber. Most inexperienced first-time renovators miss these details. Realtors exclude below-grade space when quoting a home’s square footage, but if you’re renovating the basement, that footage counts. A three-storey house with 1,000 square feet per floor plus a basement is a 3,000-plus-square-foot renovation. At $500 per square foot, a full-house gut can realistically cost around $1.5 million.
Jerome offered a useful refinement: price per square foot only makes sense for a full gut or new construction. For partial work, budget by room instead. Here are realistic 2026 ranges for toronto, pressure-tested by the group:
A standard three-piece bathroom renovation starts around $30,000 with mid-range finishes and no plumbing relocation. A mid-range condo kitchen runs $35,000 to $60,000, with $8,000 to $10,000 for appliances alone before cabinetry or stone. Adding an island can push the total to $75,000 or more. A finished basement of about 1,000 square feet with no underpinning starts around $50,000 and climbs toward $100,000 depending on the house’s age and condition. According to HomeStars figures cited on the show, the average cost of a Toronto condo renovation in 2025 ranged from $70,000 to $120,000.
One money-saving rule from the contractor’s side of the table: keep your plumbing fixtures where they are. A straight replacement is always cheaper than moving or relocating an entire plumbing stack.
Mistake #2: Skipping the Contingency
Every experienced renovator on the panel agreed: carry 15 to 20 percent above your quotes before starting work. Not because contractors pad their numbers, but because many of Toronto’s 100-plus-year-old homes can hide surprises behind almost every wall.
Jerome is living it. His renovation plan assumed the party walls of his 1890s Victorian townhome could support a new third-floor primary suite. When the walls came open, the team discovered the party walls weren’t brick at all. They were timber, and they couldn’t carry the new load. The fix: 25-foot steel posts, cut into the party walls, seated on the double-brick basement foundation. Jerome said:
“Out of nowhere, the budget jumped by roughly $50,000, and the planned basement work was cut from the scope entirely to pay for it. $50,000 is no joke.”
Ian Busher brought up a Cabbagetown project years ago; his crew opened up the back of a house expecting masonry foundations and found the structure partially resting on a levelled-off tree stump, likely cut down when the house was built more than a century earlier. The discovery meant new drawings, new permits, and a detailed timeline.
Ralph added a dimension most first-timers never expect: mission creep.
“Once in an older home, you fix one or two things, everything else looks ten times older.”
Fresh paint makes the floors look tired. New floors make the kitchen look dated. The new kitchen makes you notice how dark the back of the house is, and suddenly you’re pricing a rear addition. Then there’s the “while we’re here” effect: the walls are open, the plumber spots pipes with a few years left in them, and the responsible move is to replace them now rather than flood a finished basement later.
And budget more than money. Ralph and Kori’s renovation, planned for three months, took seven. Build contingencies of time and, as Ralph joked, contingencies of sanity.
Mistake #3: “We Don’t Need a Permit for That”
In the City of Toronto, you almost certainly do. Permits are required for structural work, additions, most gut renovations, plumbing and drainage changes, new exterior openings, laneway and garden suites, changes of use, and major demolitions. The City of Toronto’s building permit process also comes with timelines you can’t control, which is where the real pain lives.
Jerome’s front window in Leslieville is papered over the permits he’s legally required to display. His biggest setback wasn’t a construction problem but waiting on the first building permit. He said:
“A permit delay is one of the most frustrating things in a renovation because you have almost zero control over it.”
Worse, delays cascade: when the permit finally arrived, his framer had moved on to another project, adding weeks more. The lesson: build a timeline contingency for permits, no matter what.
Unpermitted work also follows the property. Ralph has seen deals nearly unwind when lawyers discovered, days before closing, that an entire rear addition was built without permits. Most agreements of purchase and sale today include representations that there are no open permits and that all work was properly permitted and completed in a good and workmanlike fashion. Open or missing permits can jeopardize your sale, your financing, and your insurance.
Ralph’s practical advice for anyone renovating: document everything as you go. Keep all permits, warranties, receipts, and manuals in one place to hand a complete package to a future buyer, appraiser, or lender. Ian calls his version the house Bible, and both agree it changes how buyers perceive a home. A meticulous file signals a meticulously maintained house, and buyers pay for that confidence.
Mistake #4: Skipping Condo Board Approval
Condo renovations play by different rules, and ignoring them is one of the costliest mistakes an owner can make.
First the logistics. Kori noted condo renovations typically take 30 to 50 percent longer than comparable house projects. Contractors are restricted to weekday working hours, all materials are loaded via a shared elevator booked through the concierge, and there’s no easy access for trucks. Ian’s advice: before planning, check how reliable your building’s elevators are and how cooperative your property management is. He’s lost entire days of trades’ time to a single out-of-service elevator, and on a large condo renovation, a lost day is real money. Measure the elevator too. That 12-foot island you’re dreaming of may need to arrive in three pieces rather than one slab.
Second, the paperwork. Renovations beyond cosmetic updates require written approval from the condo board, and your contractor must provide proof of insurance to property management. Flooring deserves special attention: sound transmission to the unit below is governed by your condo corporation’s rules, so the right underpad and board sign-off are essential.
Third, the consequences. Most well-drafted condo offers require the seller to warrant that all renovations were completed with the condo corporation’s permission. Ralph pointed to a unit that has been on the market for a year and a half, largely because a major unapproved renovation was flagged in the status certificate. The approval letter is a minor administrative step. Skipping it can make your condo nearly unsellable.
And a final warning for condo owners tempted to go big:
“You’ll just never be able to outwit the average price per square foot for a building.”
Kori said of over-improved condos. Or as she told one client who’d put $300,000 into a kitchen:
“You are never gonna see this again until 2040, my friend.”
Mistake #5: The One-Quote Wonder
Getting a single referral, a single quote, and signing on the spot is how renovation horror stories begin.
Both Ian and Jerome recommend at least three quotes, treated as interviews rather than price comparisons. Walk each contractor through the property, review your drawings together, ask about past projects and references, and watch how they communicate. If one quote is dramatically low, something is missing, or the contractor plans to make it up in extras. If one is dramatically high, ask why. Ralph shared an industry secret: some contractors who don’t want a job price it absurdly high rather than declining. In the trade, it’s called the F-off quote, and clients unaware of it can get a distorted sense of their project costs.
On itemized quotes, Ian cautioned homeowners inclined to nitpick line by line. Contracting involves estimates and trade-offs, and a client who demands that the $200 grout line be removed so they can do it themselves is telling that contractor not to return. Judge the total, the scope, and the person.
Ralph closed with two protections. Be wary of contractors who take a 50 percent deposit, work enthusiastically for three weeks, then stop answering the phone. It happens often, and it’s why due diligence beats a friend-of-a-friend referral every time. Hold back a portion of payment until the job is truly complete, because even good contractors can be hard to bring back for the final 10 percent, and that last 10 percent is where a renovation is won or lost.
The Bonus Round: Things Every Renovator Regrets Saying
The panel’s list of famous last words: “I can manage this myself.” “This will be so fun.” “The neighbours won’t even notice.” “I know what I like, I don’t need a designer.”
Jerome, deep in his own project with two kids and a full-time job, votes as the biggest flub of all:
“I can manage this myself.”
Without a good general contractor and designer running his renovation, he said plainly, “We would be so screwed.” Ian seconds the designer’s point: even skilled tradespeople produce homes with a fridge in the living room and baseboards that change mid-hallway when nobody thinks through the layout. You’re spending serious money. Spend a little of it on design.
Ralph and Kori both vote for:
“This will be so fun.”
It isn’t so much fun after five hours staring at four nearly identical grey grout samples. As Kori put it after confessing to watching castle-renovation videos online:
“It actually looks super fun when you watch those videos. However, in reality, it’s nothing like that.”
Ralph added one final flub he sees constantly: buying a home with big renovation plans, never doing the work, then spending $70,000 seven years later just to get the property ready to sell.
“Why didn’t we do this seven years ago and have the enjoyment of living in this renovated property?”
If you buy with the intent to renovate, follow through early, keep your choices timeless, and never renovate beyond what your street or building can support. Always remember that a basement is your lowest-ROI dollar, while a kitchen is your highest.
The Fox Marin Perspective
Renovating in Toronto can absolutely be worth it, but it is a project with real financial, regulatory, and emotional weight, and the biggest mistakes are all avoidable with honest budgeting, early planning and due diligence. Sometimes the smartest renovation decision is not renovating at all. As Ralph told viewers:
“Given all the costs and risks inherent in renovation, sometimes paying a premium for a renovated property can make a lot more sense.”
Letting a seller keep that premium can sometimes be far cheaper than a year of disruption, budget overruns, and choosing grey grout.
If you’re weighing a fixer-upper against a finished home, deciding what to renovate before selling, or trying to figure out whether your renovation budget matches your street’s ceiling, that’s exactly the analysis we do with clients every week. Reach out to the Fox Marin team, and we’ll help you run the numbers before anyone swings a hammer. Contact us (we’re nice.)
A mid-range full renovation runs roughly $400 to $600 per square foot all-in, including permits, drawings, and soft costs. A full gut of a 3,000-square-foot home (including basement) can realistically reach $1.5 million.
Expect to start around $30,000 for a proper three-piece bathroom with mid-range finishes, assuming you keep plumbing fixtures in their existing locations. Moving fixtures adds meaningfully to the cost.
A mid-range condo kitchen typically runs $35,000 to $60,000, with appliances alone accounting for $8,000 to $10,000. Adding an island can push the total to $75,000 or more.
For roughly 1,000 square feet with no underpinning, budget $50,000 to $100,000 depending on the home’s age, moisture conditions, and whether you’re adding a bathroom or partition walls.
Add 15 to 20 percent above all quotes for surprises discovered behind walls, plus a timeline contingency for permit delays and trade scheduling.
Yes, for more substantial work: structural changes, additions, gut renovations, plumbing and drainage changes, new exterior openings, laneway or garden suites, changes of use, and major demolitions. Cosmetic work, such as painting, generally does not require a permit.
Unpermitted work can surface during a sale through title and permit searches, and most offers require sellers to warrant that all work was properly permitted. Open or missing permits can delay or kill a transaction and create insurance and financing problems.
Yes, for anything beyond cosmetic updates. Your contractor will need property management approval for insurance, and any flooring changes must meet the building’s soundproofing requirements. Unapproved renovations can be flagged on your status certificate and severely hurt resale value.
Buildings rules typically restrict work weekday office hours, require all materials to move through booked service elevators, and limit site access, adding 30 to 50 percent to typical timelines.
At least three. Treat each as an interview: review the scope, references, communication style, and insurance, and be suspicious of quotes that are dramatically above or below the pack.
It depends on where you spend. Kitchens typically deliver the highest return; basements the lowest. Never renovate beyond your street’s or building’s price ceiling, because the market won’t repay over-improvement.
Not always the fixer-upper. Once you account for realistic renovation costs, contingencies, carrying costs, and a year of disruption, paing a premium for a professionally renovated home is often the better financial and lifestyle decision.
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This article was written by Ralph Fox, Broker of Record and Managing Partner here at Fox Marin Associates. Ralph is a Torontonian native who recognized from an early age that the most successful people in life apply long-term thinking to their investments, relationships, and life goals. It’s this philosophy, along with his lifelong entrepreneurial drive and exceptional business instincts, that help to establish Ralph as a top agent in the real estate market in downtown Toronto.
Ralph Fox & Kori Marin
Kori and Ralph's love affair with Toronto Real Estate have spanned several decades! It is incredible to see how far their mad crazy passion for design, architecture and innovation has taken them, which is only the beginning of their bigger vision and relentless goal-setting! Kori and Ralph have created this forum for their readers to explore the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly real estate. An honest perspective about the ins & outs of the business - one in which they live, work and experience first hand every day. Nothing is more interesting than the "real" in real estate!
