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LVL vs Steel Beam in an Ontario House (2026): Glulam and Flitch Too, Depth, Weight and Access, Priming and Fire, Connections, Flush vs Dropped and the Cost Installed
Framing & Building Systems
LVL or Steel: The Engineer Picks the Beam, You Pick the Ceiling
Homeowners ask which beam is better. The useful question is which beam can carry the load in the depth you have, get through the doors you have, and land on posts you can support. LVL is cheaper and easier to carry in. Steel does more work in less depth. Glulam is the one people leave exposed on purpose. A flitch beam is the old trick of bolting a steel plate between pieces of wood. This page explains each, what it costs installed, and what to ask before anyone orders one.
The numbers
$1,800 to $5,000LVL beam installed, a GTA contractor
$3,500 to $9,000steel W-beam installed, same contractor
$50 to $200LVL per foot installed, a Toronto structural company
$100 to $400steel per foot installed, same company
| Beam | Installed | Level | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| LVL beam | $1,800 to $5,000 | line in a Level 4 job | a GTA contractor |
| Steel W-beam | $3,500 to $9,000 | line in a Level 4 job | same contractor |
| Glulam beam | $3,000 to $8,000 | line in a Level 4 job | same contractor |
| LVL, per foot | $50 to $200 a ft, $800 to $2,500 typical | line in a Level 4 job | a Toronto structural company |
| Steel, per foot | $100 to $400 a ft, $1,200 to $4,200 typical | line in a Level 4 job | same company |
| Flitch beam | quoted per job | line in a Level 4 job | no price found |
| PSL post, each | $400 to $1,200 | line in a Level 4 job | a GTA contractor |
| Flush instead of dropped | adds $3,000 to $6,000 | Level 4 job | same contractor |
October 2026, before HST. A beam line is one part of a finished wall removal; the whole job, with engineer, permit, shoring, posts and patching, is on the wall removal cost page.
Why Ontario prices are all over the map: the contractors and structural companies we checked for this page quoted very different prices for the same beam. An installed LVL ran from $800 at a Toronto structural company to $5,500 at a GTA contractor, and steel from $1,200 to $9,000. Part of it is what installed means, and the pages do not spell it out the same way: a beam on its own, or a beam with posts, shoring and a flush pocket. Part is length and the storey above. Our planning number for the beam line alone is $4,000. Get two or three quotes on the same written scope and the same engineer’s drawing.
Four Beams in Plain Words
- LVL, laminated veneer lumber. Thin wood veneers glued into a long, straight, very consistent board. It does not shrink and twist the way sawn lumber does, and it usually arrives as separate plies that are fastened together on site to the maker’s or the designer’s schedule. Lighter pieces, carried in one at a time.
- Steel, a W-beam or a tube. The wide-flange I-shape most people picture, or a hollow steel section. For the same load it can be shallower than wood, which is often why a flush beam ends up steel. It comes in one piece and it is heavy.
- Glulam, glued laminated timber. Layers of dimension lumber glued into a big beam. Strong, good-looking, and the usual choice where the beam is meant to show, as in the post and beam houses the site covers. One heavy piece, like steel.
- Flitch beam. A steel plate bolted between two or more pieces of lumber. It puts some of steel’s strength into a beam that is mostly wood and can be nailed to like wood. It needs an engineer’s bolt pattern, and it is quoted per job.
There is also the beam you already have. Many older Ontario basements have a steel beam or a built-up wood beam on posts, and a new wall opening upstairs often sends its posts down to it. Whether it can take the extra is one of the first things the engineer checks.
Depth, Weight and Getting It Into the House
Depth decides flush or dropped. A flush beam has to fit within the depth of the floor joists so the ceiling stays flat. A dropped beam hangs below them and leaves a bulkhead. When the load is big and the joists are shallow, wood may simply not fit in the space, and the designer goes to steel or a flitch beam. When a bulkhead is acceptable, LVL usually wins on price.
Weight decides the delivery. LVL plies come through the front door one at a time. A steel beam or a glulam long enough to span a kitchen arrives as one heavy piece, and somebody has to plan the route: the driveway, the front step, the turn at the stairs, the hall that is two inches too narrow. Ask the contractor how it gets in and how many people or what lifting gear that takes. That cost is in a good quote and missing from a cheap one.
The rule of thumb. One GTA contractor uses LVL for spans under about 14 ft and steel over about 15 ft. It is one contractor’s habit, not a Code rule, and the foot in between is the engineer’s to argue about. The calculation decides, not the tape measure.
Two Ways to Span 16 Feet, Added Up
| Option | Basis | Beam line |
|---|---|---|
| LVL, per foot, low to high | 16 x $50 to 16 x $200 | $800 to $3,200 |
| Steel, per foot, low to high | 16 x $100 to 16 x $400 | $1,600 to $6,400 |
| Dropped LVL, middle of the per-foot range | 16 x $125 | $2,000 |
| Flush steel, middle of the per-foot range | 16 x $250 | $4,000 |
| Flush instead of dropped, the rest of the job | a GTA contractor | +$3,000 to $6,000 |
| Flush steel over dropped LVL | $4,000 – $2,000 + $3,000 to $6,000 | +$5,000 to $8,000 |
October 2026, before HST, our estimate, mixing the Toronto structural company’s per-foot prices with the GTA contractor’s flush premium. 16 ft is over the one-contractor 15 ft line, so steel is the likely answer, but an engineer may still make LVL work there. These are beam lines, not whole jobs.
So the flat ceiling costs about $5,000 to $8,000 more in this example. That is real money for a strip of ceiling. Some people pay it happily. Others put a row of upper cabinets under the bulkhead and nobody ever knows.
Connections, Priming and Fire
A beam is only as good as its two ends and everything hanging off its sides. The ends need enough bearing on a post that is carried down to proper support. A flush beam has joists hung off it in hangers or bolted connections, and on steel that often means a wood nailer fastened to the flange so the floor can be nailed to it. Every one of those details belongs on the engineer’s drawing, and the inspector looks for them.
Under the 2024 Code, all exterior steel beams must now be primed. Indoors, ask the designer whether the beam has to be boxed in with drywall and what type. Steel loses strength when it gets very hot and wood chars from the outside in; how the beam is protected is the designer’s call, not a finishing choice.
Who sizes it matters as much as what it is made of. A municipal guide accepts LVL sized with engineered software output or an engineer’s stamped report. Loadbearing steel and big point loads fall outside Part 9 and need an engineer. The structural engineer page covers when you need which. Outdoor beams for decks are a different job again, on the deck framing page.
- Ask for the beam, the posts and the connections on one drawing.
- Ask how the beam gets into the house and whether that is in the price.
- Ask flush or dropped and what the difference is in dollars.
- Never let anyone notch or drill a beam, an engineered joist or a truss except where the manufacturer or the engineer allows it.
Questions people ask
Is LVL or steel cheaper?
Usually LVL. A GTA contractor lists an LVL beam installed at $1,800 to $5,000 against $3,500 to $9,000 for a steel W-beam, before HST. Per foot, a Toronto structural company lists $50 to $200 for LVL and $100 to $400 for steel.
How far can an LVL beam span?
It depends on the load above, the depth and the number of plies, and only an engineer or a qualified BCIN designer should give you that number. One GTA contractor’s rule of thumb is LVL under about 14 ft and steel over about 15 ft.
Why would anyone pick steel?
Less depth for the same load, which matters for a flush beam, and longer spans. The cost is weight, price and a harder delivery.
Can I leave the beam exposed?
Glulam is made for it. A steel beam outdoors must be primed under the 2024 Code; indoors, ask the designer whether it needs to be covered for fire.
What is a flitch beam?
A steel plate bolted between pieces of lumber. It is used where wood alone is too deep or too weak and a solid steel beam is awkward. The bolting is engineered, and the price is quoted per job.
Put the beam in the whole job
The beam and wall removal calculator prices LVL, steel and glulam with the engineer, permit, shoring, posts, footings, services and finishing around them. If you have quotes that use different beams, the $99 review reads up to three of them and tells you whether they are pricing the same opening. More on beams is on the beams and structural changes hub.
Sources and further reading
- The 2024 Ontario Building Code: Ontario on the 2024 Code: in force January 1, 2025, and harmonized with the national codes.
- Removing a load-bearing wall (City of Kitchener guide): the permit drawings, the beam sizing, the posts and footings, and the inspections.
- CSA O86: engineering design in wood (Canadian Wood Council): the wood design standard behind engineered beams, heavy timber and timber frame connections.
