New-Home Drywall and Painting Cost in Ontario (2026): Per Square Foot of Floor by Grade, What the Allowance Should Be, and Three Real Houses Priced

Drywall, Taping & Painting

What the Inside of a New House Costs From Bare Studs to Painted Walls, by the Square Foot of Floor, So You Can Check the Builder’s Number in a Minute

When I budget a house, the drywall-and-paint line comes out of a measured takeoff, and then I check it against a ratio I have carried for thirty years: $18 to $24 per square foot of floor for a mid-grade finish, in 2026 money. It is the second-biggest finishing number after the kitchen and the one most often hidden in a builder’s contract as an allowance that turns out to be $12 a foot. Here is where the number comes from, what the three grades buy, three real houses, and the basement, which is its own arithmetic.

Southern Ontario, October 2026, before HST. Drywall supplied, hung, taped; primer, paint, ceilings, baseboard and casing painted; doors prefinished. Trim and doors themselves are a separate line.

The numbers

$18-24per sq ft of floor, mid grade
3.2xdrywall area to floor area
60/40drywall to painting split
$20-28per sq ft for a basement
GradeDrywall and tapingPaintingPer sq ft of floor2,000 sq ft house
Builder1/2 in. board, Level 4 throughout, standard beadContractor-grade flat ceilings and eggshell walls, one colour, trim brushed$15 to $19$30,000 to $38,000
Mid-gradeLevel 4 walls, Level 5 ceilings, raking-light inspection before primerMid-grade washable paint, proper drywall primer, trim caulked and enamelled$18 to $24$36,000 to $48,000
PremiumLevel 5 everywhere, 5/8 walls, paper-faced beadPremium paint, trim and doors sprayed, three coats on dark colours, multiple colours$24 to $32$48,000 to $64,000

These are the three grades in the complete interior finishing calculator, which runs your actual rooms instead of the ratio.

Three real houses

HouseFloorDrywall areaDrywall and tapingPaintingTotal before HSTPer sq ft floor
1,400 sq ft bungalow, 9-ft ceilings, attached garage, mid grade1,4004,900 + 900 garage$20,900$12,300$33,200$23.70
2,400 sq ft two-storey, cathedral great room, 22 doors prefinished, mid grade with Level 5 great room2,4007,600$31,500$20,400$51,900$21.60
3,200 sq ft custom, premium, Level 5 throughout, sprayed trim, three colours3,20010,400$49,800$36,600$86,400$27.00

The bungalow is the highest per foot because the garage is in it and a bungalow has more ceiling per square foot of floor than a two-storey. Ratios are a check, not a quote; the takeoff is the quote. How the takeoff is done.

The basement

One note on the HST that sits on the bottom of every one of these numbers: on a new house or a substantial renovation it may come partly back. The Ontario HST rebate site covers who qualifies and how much, and it is worth reading before the drywall budget is final.

A basement costs more per foot than the house above it: $20 to $28 per square foot of floor for drywall through paint. Bulkheads around the ductwork are all corners and short pieces; the staircase is a stairwell to paint and a route for 12-ft board that will not turn; the furnace room gets Type X; and if the house is lived in, everything is 15% slower. A 1,000 sq ft basement is $20,000 to $28,000. Finishing it with the house, before you move in, saves most of the 15% and all of the dust in your sock drawer. The drywall cost guide has a basement priced through.

Where homeowners go wrong

  1. Accepting an allowance without a ratio. $12 a square foot of floor for drywall and paint is builder grade with a thin paint job, or it is an extra waiting. Ask what grade the allowance buys. Allowances.
  2. Pricing the house, not the walls. The 3.2 ratio is a check; a cathedral ceiling or a two-storey foyer moves it. Measure.
  3. Choosing the grade for the whole house. Mid grade with Level 5 in the great room and premium paint in the kitchen is how most custom houses should be specified, and the calculator can do it room by room if you run it twice.
  4. Forgetting the doors are a separate decision. Prefinished doors cost more to buy and nothing to paint. 22 doors sprayed on site is $3,000 in the painting line. Doors and trim.
  5. Letting the schedule push the drywall ahead of the inspections. The sequence.

Questions people ask

How much does it cost to drywall and paint a new house in Ontario?

$18 to $24 per square foot of floor at a mid grade in 2026, before HST: $36,000 to $48,000 for a 2,000 sq ft house. Builder grade is about $15 to $19; premium $24 to $32. A basement is $20 to $28 a foot on its own.

What is a reasonable drywall and paint allowance?

At least $18 per square foot of floor for a mid-grade finish in 2026. An allowance of $12 to $14 is builder grade and will not cover Level 5 ceilings, washable paint or trim enamel.

How much of the cost is drywall and how much is paint?

Roughly 60% drywall and taping, 40% painting, at a mid grade with prefinished doors. Painting doors on site and premium paint push the painting share up.

Does the price include trim and doors?

Painting them, yes, where they are painted. The trim and the doors themselves, their supply and installation, are a separate carpentry line of about $4 to $7 per square foot of floor.

Run your own house

The complete interior finishing calculator prices your rooms at all three grades and shows the per-square-foot-of-floor number at the bottom. For a checked takeoff from your actual plans, the $249 takeoff.

Price the whole interiorTakeoff from my plans, $249

Sources and further reading