Short answer: in Ontario, turnkey drywall installation — board, hanging, taping, mudding and sanding — runs about $2.00 to $5.50 per square foot of board, before HST. Where you land in that band depends almost entirely on the finish level you need. Labour-only (you buy the board) starts around $1.50 per square foot, and per sheet you can figure $30–70 to hang and finish a standard 4×8. Below is how those numbers break down, what moves them, and what real rooms cost.
What “per square foot” actually measures
Drywall is priced by board area, not floor area. That means every wall and every ceiling you are covering gets counted. A “12×12” bedroom with 8-foot ceilings has roughly 144 sq ft of floor but about 530 sq ft of board (four walls plus the ceiling, minus door and window openings). Quotes that look cheap per square foot are sometimes measuring floor area — ask which one before you compare.
Drywall installation cost by finish level (2026)
The single biggest lever is the finish level — the industry’s Level 0–5 scale for how smooth the surface needs to be. For homes, three levels matter:
| Finish level | Where it belongs | Turnkey cost per sq ft | Minimum labour charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 3 | Garages, utility rooms, anything going under texture or heavy paint | $2.00–2.75 | $800 |
| Level 4 (most chosen) | Standard rooms — ready for regular flat or eggshell paint | $2.75–4.00 | $1,200 |
| Level 5 | Full skim coat — high ceilings, raking light from big windows, dark or glossy paint | $4.00–5.50 | $2,500 |
Level 5 labour is roughly double Level 4 because the whole surface gets skimmed, not just the seams and screws. It is worth it exactly where light rakes across a wall — a living room with floor-to-ceiling glass, a stairwell, a ceiling under pot lights. It is wasted money in a garage.
The full breakdown of what each level includes, plus a calculator, lives on our drywall installation page.
Rough cost by project
- A single room (roughly 12×12): $1,500–2,500 turnkey
- One- or two-car garage at Level 3: $1,500–3,000
- A full basement: $6,000–12,000+ depending on size, bulkheads and finish level
- A whole floor or new build: scales up from the per-square-foot rates; the minimum charges stop applying at that size
These are before HST and assume normal access. A downtown Toronto condo with an elevator booking and a paid parking spot sits at the top of each band; a Brampton or Mississauga house with a driveway sits lower.
What moves the number up or down
Ceilings cost more than walls
Overhead hanging is slower and needs a lift or two people; taping a ceiling in raking light is the hardest finishing there is. Expect ceilings to price at the upper end of the level’s band.
Board type
Standard ½” board is the baseline. Moisture-resistant board for bathrooms and laundry rooms, ⅝” Type X fire-rated board for garages and legal basement apartments, and soundproof board for shared walls each add material cost and, for Type X, weight and hanging time.
Bulkheads, curves and cut-ups
A basement with ducts to box in, a curved wall, or a room full of pot lights and corners takes more taping per square foot than an open wall. Corner bead is where cheap jobs crack first.
Removing what is there now
Tearing out old drywall or lath-and-plaster is a separate line. Plaster removal in a pre-1950s Hamilton or Toronto house is heavy, dusty work and is quoted on site. If the old surface is sound, a skim coat over it can be cheaper than replacement — see when that makes sense in our drywall repair guide.
Insulation and vapour barrier
Exterior basement walls need insulation and a vapour barrier before board goes up. If that is not done yet, it is added to the scope, and it is the part that fails inspection when skipped.
Labour-only vs turnkey
If you prefer to buy your own board, screws and compound, a labour-only rate starts around $1.50 per square foot. Turnkey is usually the better deal on anything bigger than one room: contractor pricing on board, delivery to the room instead of to your driveway, and one person responsible if a sheet arrives damaged. Either way you should get one written price for the whole job, not an hourly estimate.
Drywall installation cost by city
- Toronto — access and parking push jobs to the top of each band; condo work also means building approvals and elevator scheduling. Details on the Toronto drywall installation page.
- Mississauga — mostly houses and finished basements, driveway access, mid-band pricing. See drywall installation in Mississauga.
- Brampton — lots of new-build touch-ups and basement build-outs, often at Level 4. See drywall installation in Brampton.
- Hamilton and older towns — more plaster removal and out-of-square walls, which adds prep time rather than a higher rate.
How to get a quote that will not change
- Measure the board area — length × height of every wall, plus every ceiling — or send room dimensions and photos and let the contractor do it.
- Say which rooms get which finish level. Level 4 for living spaces and Level 3 for the garage is the usual split.
- Mention anything unusual: ducts to box in, curved walls, pot lights, a shared wall that needs soundproofing, a garage that needs fire-rated board.
- Ask for a written price that lists material, labour, cleanup and HST separately. That is the only way two quotes can be compared.
IntraBuild quotes drywall this way for the GTA and Southern Ontario: one insured crew, a written price within 48 hours, no travel fee. Get a drywall installation quote or call (647) 558-8723.
Frequently asked questions
How much does drywall cost per sheet installed?
Figure $30–70 per 4×8 sheet to hang and finish, depending on finish level and whether it is a wall or a ceiling. Per-sheet pricing is handy for small jobs; per-square-foot pricing is fairer on whole rooms.
How much does it cost to drywall a basement in Ontario?
Most full basements land between $6,000 and $12,000+ turnkey at Level 4, before HST. Bulkheads, a bathroom and a Level 5 ceiling push it higher; an open rec room with few corners sits at the low end. If the basement is being finished end to end, see the full basement renovation pricing.
Is Level 5 worth it?
Only where light rakes across the surface — large windows, long hallways, ceilings under pot lights — or under dark, glossy paint. In a normal bedroom with eggshell paint, Level 4 looks identical.
Do you charge a travel fee outside the GTA?
No. IntraBuild quotes the same per-square-foot rates from Mississauga to Niagara, Barrie or London; only site access changes the number.
Are prices before or after HST?
Everything above is before HST. Any quote you receive should show HST as a separate line.
