Need More Bedrooms but Don't Want to Lose Your Backyard?

Building up instead of out can give you another floor while keeping your yard. The first question is whether your existing house can support it, and what changes it needs to carry the new floor. See what decides it.

Adding a 1,000 sq ft second floor with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom to a Toronto bungalow costs about $450,000 to $655,000 CAD at October 2026 prices. The low end places the new stairs over the existing stairs, and the high end adds a second bathroom, puts the stairs in a new spot, upgrades the finishes, and keeps your family living at home during the work. Both include foundation and wall reinforcement, the most likely outcome of the engineer's assessment.

A second storey also keeps the home, street, and schools you already have. See what adding on saves compared to moving.

Both add space without moving. The better fit depends on how much yard you want to keep and what your house and lot allow.

Many houses can. An engineer checks whether your foundation and main-floor walls carry the new floor, and the zoning rules for your lot set how tall your house can be.

When the engineer finds the foundation or walls too weak for the new floor, steel beams, posts, or a stronger foundation go in first, and your final quote prices them. When the new floor is taller than zoning allows, your contractor applies for a minor variance from the Committee of Adjustment, or your designer lowers the design to fit. When neither works, you may be able to add the space at ground level with a home addition at the back or side.

The new stairs need a spot on your main floor, and that spot decides how much of your main floor changes. Select where they go in your estimate, and your designer places them in your drawings.

You choose where your family lives while the roof is replaced and the structure changes. Each choice changes your schedule, your daily routine, and your price.

At your home visit, your contractor checks each item below, and your final quote prices what it finds. See how your quote becomes your final quote.

Two houses the same size can need very different reinforcement. Each one was built with its own foundation and wall layout, and each has aged in its own way.

• Foundation: Whether your foundation can carry a second storey, reviewed by an engineer. A foundation built for one storey may need wider or deeper footings, and a cracked or shallow one costs more to strengthen than a sound one.
• Walls: Whether your main-floor walls can carry the new floor, reviewed by an engineer. Where few inside walls sit under the new rooms, steel beams and posts carry the new floor down to the foundation.
• Drawings: Your drawings, reviewed by an engineer before the design is final.

Your estimate prices the new floor and the new roof that replaces the old one.

Many homeowners adding a storey also price a home addition, load-bearing wall removal, or a kitchen renovation on the main floor. Each one has its own estimate, and your quote sums up every estimate you save. To take one out, select Delete from quote on its page.

Every True Frame Builders contractor meets our standards for licences, insurance, permits, payments, and warranty before joining.

• Foundation and walls: Shoring holds up the house while the crew adds the steel beams, posts, or stronger foundation the engineer calls for.
• Roof replacement: The roof of the new floor replaces the old roof over the area it covers, and the house stays covered from rain throughout the work.
• Plumbing, heating, and electrical: The new floor gets its own lines, ducts, and circuits. An older electrical panel often needs replacing to power it, and your updated quote prices it after the home visit.