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Kit Price vs Finished House Price in Ontario (2026): The Five Levels of Pricing for SIP, Log, Timber Frame, Modular and Framing Quotes, Brought to Level 4
Framing & Building Systems
A Kit Price Is the Groceries, Not the Dinner: The Five Levels of House Pricing
An $89,500 SIP package, a $96,000 framing quote, a $183,648 log kit and a $524,500 modular house show up in the same week of research and look like a menu. They are not. One is panels on a truck, one is a framed shell, one is logs and beams, and one is most of a house waiting for a foundation you have not paid for. This page sorts every price into one of five levels and brings each one up to a finished house.
The Five Levels
Level 1kit or materials: what the supplier makes or ships
Level 2installed structure: kit plus delivery, equipment and assembly
Level 3closed-in shell: roof, sheathing, wraps, windows, exterior doors
Level 4 and 5finished house; then complete property with septic, well, hydro, driveway, permits
Level 4, the finished house, is foundation, mechanical, interior and everything to move in, but not the land or the site. Every price you are handed sits on one of these five rungs, and most sellers quote from the rung that looks cheapest. That is not dishonest, just marketing. Climbing the rest of the ladder is your job.
| Published price | Level | Range | Source and note |
|---|---|---|---|
| SIP base frame package, 1,500 to 3,200 sq ft | Level 1 | $58,500 to $118,500 | an Ontario SIP package seller; about $37 to $39 a sq ft, derived |
| Log kit, 1,960 sq ft model, three kit levels | Level 1 | $105,186 to $206,527 | a Quebec log kit maker, April 2025 list |
| Timber frame package, per sq ft | Level 1 | $60 to $120+ | a timber frame company, April 2026 guide; its product page says $55 to $65 |
| House framing, labour only | Level 2 | $14 a sq ft | our planning number, inside a GTA framing contractor’s range |
| House framing, labour and materials | Level 2 | $40 a sq ft | our planning number, inside a Canadian finance guide’s $30 to $60 |
| Modular, delivered and installed, 1,066 to 2,125 sq ft | Level 3 to 4 | $339,500 to $629,500 | an Ontario prefab cottage seller; about $296 to $338 a sq ft, derived |
| Log home / timber frame, turnkey | Level 4 | $400 to $600+ / $400 to $700+ a sq ft | an Ontario log and timber company / an Ontario timber frame company |
| Custom house, straightforward, excluding land | Level 4 | $400 to $500 a sq ft | a Simcoe County custom builder; soft costs add 20 to 30 percent |
October 2026, before HST. Prices on the log list “may change at any time” and the list does not say what each kit level includes, so ask for the inclusions list before you compare it with anything.
Why Ontario prices are all over the map: the sellers, builders and price guides we checked for this page quoted very different numbers for the same house. A Quebec log kit maker’s list runs $63,611 to $224,708 by model and kit level, while an Ontario log and timber company says $400 to $600 or more a sq ft finished. A timber frame company quotes its frame at $55 to $65 a sq ft on one page and $60 to $120 or more on another. Nearly all of that gap is the level of completion and what is in the box. Budget about $450 a sq ft for a straightforward finished house (our planning number) and get two or three quotes on the same written scope.
What Each Package Leaves Out
A kit price is the groceries. Somebody still has to cook, set the table and wash the pots, and in house terms that is most of the money.
- SIP package (Level 1). Wall panels, roof panels, delivery and an installation guide. No crew, crane, slab, windows, roofing, siding, mechanical or interior. The SIP page covers the panels themselves.
- Log kit (Level 1). Logs and beams, and more of the shell at higher kit levels. No foundation, crew, crane or interior. The log homes page has the full cost picture.
- Timber frame package (Level 1). The frame, cut and fitted. An enclosure package delivered runs $150 to $300+ a sq ft from the same company, still Level 1: delivered, not erected. See post and beam homes.
- Framing quote (Level 2). A framed and sheathed structure, with or without trusses. Not windows, roofing, insulation, foundation or anything after.
- Modular price (Level 3 to 4). The most complete of the lot, but foundation, site prep, utility connections, permits and development charges are extra. The modular permits page walks through them.
Level 5, the complete property, is the part no brochure mentions: septic, well, hydro, driveway, permits and development charges, priced per lot. Get them quoted before you fall in love with any package.
Bringing Every Price to Level 4
The fair comparison brings every quote to the same rung. Here are four real package prices taken to Level 4.
| Package | Level 1 to 3 price | Level 4 range | Package share |
|---|---|---|---|
| SIP, 2,400 sq ft, base frame package | $89,500 (Level 1) | $960,000 to $1,200,000 | 7.5 to 9.3 percent |
| Log, 1,960 sq ft, standard kit | $183,648 (Level 1) | $784,000 to $1,176,000 | 15.6 to 23.4 percent |
| Timber frame, 2,000 sq ft, frame package | $120,000 to $240,000 (Level 1) | $800,000 to $1,400,000 | 9 to 30 percent |
| Modular, 1,550 sq ft, delivered and installed | $524,500 (Level 3 to 4) | $568,000 to $666,500 | 79 to 92 percent |
Our estimates, October 2026, before HST. SIP: 2,400 x $400 to $500, the custom-house range, because we found no independent finished SIP price (our assumption). Log: 1,960 x $400 to $600. Timber frame: 2,000 x $60 to $120, and 2,000 x $400 to $700 finished; the share runs from the cheap frame in the dear house ($120,000 / $1,400,000) to the dear frame in the cheap house ($240,000 / $800,000). Modular: $524,500 plus the seller’s own add-ons, basement $30,000 to $100,000, site prep $10,000 to $25,000, permits $500 to $5,000, delivery and crane $3,000 to $12,000, before Level 5.
Look at the SIP line. The package is under a tenth of the finished house. That does not make SIPs a bad idea; it means the package price tells you almost nothing about the house. The modular number is different in kind, because the factory has done most of Level 4 before the truck leaves.
The blunt part: an $89,500 SIP package and a $524,500 modular house are not a $435,000 saving. They are a Level 1 price and a Level 3 to 4 price, and comparing them is like comparing a bag of flour with a wedding cake.
Rules of Thumb for the Package Share
Sellers publish rough shares of the total for their part. Good as a sanity check, dangerous as a budget.
- Framing is often quoted as 15 to 20 percent of the build budget (a Canadian proptech blog). If a framing quote is $96,000, that implies a total of roughly $480,000 to $640,000.
- A timber frame shell package is 25 to 33 percent of the construction budget by one Ontario timber frame company, while a BC timber frame company says the frame alone is 5 to 10 percent of the total. The difference is the word “shell” against the word “frame”.
- A handcrafted log shell is about a third of the budget (an Ontario handcrafter, 2021, older figure).
- The modular factory price is 40 to 55 percent of the total (a GTA design-build firm).
- SIP: no independent share found. Treat the package as Level 1 and price everything else separately.
If a seller’s share does not match these, ask what their “total” includes.
Where ICF Sits on the Ladder
I build ICF houses, so read this section knowing that. On our houses the basement and exterior walls are ICF and the floors, interior walls and roof are wood. A 6-inch core ICF wall is $45 a sq ft of wall area and an 8-inch core $48, complete with forms, concrete, pump and crew, October 2026, rebar extra. That is a Level 2 price for the walls: installed structure, nothing added inside or out for insulation.
Our own figure, from the ICF vs stick-built page, is that full ICF foundation and above-grade walls add about $25,000 to $55,000 to a 2,000 sq ft custom house over wood frame. The other systems have real strengths too. SIPs go up fast and make a tight, well insulated shell. A timber frame gives you an open interior and a look nothing else matches. Modular takes the weather out of most of the build. Pick the house you want, then compare finished prices. ICFhome.ca shows the ICF houses we build, if you want to see one.
Every system page is linked from the home building systems guide.
Questions people ask
Is a kit home cheaper than a regular house?
Sometimes a little, often not. The kit is Level 1, often well under a third of the finished price by the examples on this page. The foundation, assembly, roof, mechanical and interior still have to be paid for whatever the walls are made of.
What does “turnkey” mean in a house price?
It should mean Level 4, a finished house with its foundation, excluding land and site. Ask whether the basement is finished and whether the septic, well, driveway and permits are in.
How much does a log home kit cost compared with the finished house?
A Quebec log kit maker’s 1,960 sq ft standard kit is $183,648; the same house finished at $400 to $600 a sq ft is $784,000 to $1,176,000 by our estimate. The kit is roughly 16 to 23 percent of it.
Why is a modular house price so much higher than a SIP package?
Because it is a different level. A modular price is usually Level 3 to 4, most of a house; a SIP package is Level 1, panels on a truck. Bring both to Level 4 before you compare.
What is not included in a finished house price?
The land, which is outside all five levels, and Level 5: septic, well, hydro service, driveway, permits and development charges, quoted per lot.
Bring your package price to Level 4
The kit to finished house calculator takes a SIP, log, timber frame or modular price, and shows what the finished house costs and what the package left out. The $99 review puts up to three quotes on one grid at the same level.
Sources and further reading
- A SIP system CCMC evaluation report (13016-R): what one evaluated SIP system covers, its limits, and when an engineer must seal the drawings.
- Building a modular house (Ontario): CSA A277 factory certification, the building permit for the site, inspections, Tarion and HCRA licensing.
- ICFhome.ca: where I build the ICF houses with wood floors and roofs that these framing notes come from.
