Exterior Finishes in Ontario: Siding, Brick and Stone, Stucco, Wall Protection, Soffit and Eavestroughs, Costs and How to Hire the Trades, From a Builder

RenovationsExterior Finishes

Exterior Finishes in Ontario: What the Outside of a House Costs, What Keeps the Water Out Behind It, and Why the Skin Is Never the Whole Price

Written by a builder who has put stucco, stone and siding on 300-plus houses, most of them over ICF, and has opened enough walls to know what the siding was hiding. Prices are Ontario rates checked October 2026, per square foot of net wall, installed.

The siding, the stucco, the stone: that is the part you pick from a sample board and the part every quote prices. It is not what keeps the house dry. The sheathing membrane, the flashing at every window, the drainage path and the kick-out at the roof do that, and they are the lines that vanish from the cheap quote and show up as rot when the next owner takes the siding off. These pages cover what each finish costs by grade, how to measure a house so the quotes compare, the wall under the skin, stucco priced the way it is actually built with its details, brick and stone with their ledges and weeps, the eaves by the foot, and how to hire and inspect the people who do it.

Price my exterior Read the cost guide Review my quotes, $99

The numbers

Central Ontario, per square foot of net exterior wall, mid grade, installed, before HST and before tearoff. Checked October 2026.

$9.50vinyl siding
$18fibre cement lap
$13acrylic stucco on ICF ($15 on wood frame)
$32manufactured stone; brick from $30

A 2,000 sq ft two-storey has 2,200 to 2,600 sq ft of net wall. In vinyl with new aluminum eaves it is about $26,000 before HST; in fibre cement with a stone front and the eaves, about $56,000; in acrylic stucco on ICF with stone and the bands and frieze priced, about $52,000. Tearoff, rotten sheathing, exterior insulation and scaffolding are on top, which is why they are separate lines everywhere on these pages.

Start here

Siding materials and costs

Vinyl, fibre cement, engineered wood, cedar and metal by grade, board and batten, vinyl problems, and how to measure a house.

Brick and stone

Brick from $30, stone by type and grade, manufactured vs natural, weeps and flashing, ledges, and why stone falls off.

Stucco and EIFS

Acrylic, cement and EIFS, stucco on ICF, the details priced by the foot, cracks, and moisture behind it.

Wall protection and insulation

House wrap, air and vapour barriers, rainscreens, flashing, water behind siding, exterior insulation at re-siding, ICF vs wood frame.

Soffit, fascia and eavestroughs

Costs by the foot, vented soffit and the attic, rotten fascia, trough sizing, guards, trim and capping.

Renovation costs, quotes and contractors

The new-home exterior budget, comparing quotes, hiring, the door-to-door pitch, inspection, painting, the contract.

The calculators

Two of them, on one set of rates. Use the one that matches the job.

Exterior cladding cost calculator

Every wall with its gable and openings, any mix of vinyl, fibre cement, wood, metal, stucco, stone and brick, on wood frame or ICF, with tearoff, sheathing, wrap, strapping, insulation, flashing, trim, scaffolding, stucco details and HST. Start here.

Soffit, fascia and eavestrough calculator

Eave length and depth, vented soffit, fascia cover or new board, the rotten feet, 5 or 6 in. trough, downspouts and guards, with the attic venting and downspout checks.

Window replacement cost calculator

Already on the site: the openings in these walls, priced per unit with the flashing and the finishing.

Roof replacement cost calculator

Already on the site: the roof above the eaves, so the drip edge and the kick-out flashing have a home.

Six things I tell every customer about the outside of a house

  1. Measure the wall, not the floor. Perimeter times height, plus the gables, less the openings. A 2,000 sq ft house is 2,400 sq ft of wall. Measuring.
  2. The siding is not the waterproofing. The membrane behind it and the flashing at every opening are. A quote that does not name them has not priced them. Flashing.
  3. Price stucco with its details. Bands, frieze, quoins and a second colour are where two stucco quotes for one house end up $8,000 apart. The details.
  4. Get a unit rate for rot before the tearoff. “Sheathing repair extra if required” with no price per square foot is a cheque you have not signed yet. The contract.
  5. Never fill a weep hole, and never cap a wet fascia. Both are water with a lid on it. Weeps; fascia.
  6. The fellow at the door with the moisture meter is selling siding. A real diagnosis has a probe, a report and no price on it. What the pitch looks like.

Have quotes or plans in hand? Let a builder read them first

For $99, I put your siding, stucco, masonry or eavestrough quotes on one grid, check the wall area against your house, name the product each one actually promised, price the tearoff, wrap, flashing, strapping and rot repair that was left as “extra”, and tell you which one to sign. For a new build or an addition, $249 turns your elevations into a wall-by-wall takeoff of cladding, stone, stucco details, eaves and flashing, with a budget by grade, that three contractors can price the same way.

Exterior quote review, $99 Exterior finish takeoff, $249 Check the quotes yourself first

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