Flooring Removal Cost in Toronto: Carpet, Hardwood, and Tile Compared

Flooring removal cost in Toronto depends on the material, how much labour it takes to get it up, the weight of the debris, and the path to the truck. Light carpet rolls are a different job from tile and mortar that fills a load by weight. Square footage alone does not set the price.

Homeowners in Toronto, York, and Durham use this when a renovation needs the old floor out before new finishes go down. General contractors and project managers use it when a soft-strip flooring tear-out should leave in one visit. Protecting finished floors during a haul is a different guide, at junkofurs.com/blog/protect-floors-before-junk-removal. A full bathroom tear-out is at junkofurs.com/blog/bathroom-demolition-cost-toronto. A full kitchen tear-out is at junkofurs.com/blog/kitchen-demolition-cost-toronto. Drywall that is already down is at junkofurs.com/blog/drywall-disposal-toronto. Plaster weight and disposal are at junkofurs.com/blog/lath-and-plaster-removal-toronto. Gutting a basement is at junkofurs.com/blog/cost-to-gut-a-basement-toronto. This page compares carpet, hardwood, and tile. It is not legal advice.

Carpet and underpad

Carpet and underpad are the light end of a flooring job. A crew pulls the carpet, rolls or bags it with the underpad, and loads the truck. One loose room is a small haul. A whole house, or a suite of rooms, is more than most people want to cut and roll on their own.

Houses in the City of Toronto can set carpeting, underpad, and linoleum out on regular garbage day when each bundle is rolled and tied, no longer than 1.2 m (4 ft), and under 20 kg (44 lb). That follows the City's public oversized-item guidance, including the 2026 collection schedule materials. It is not legal advice. A multi-residential building may use different rules. Confirm the rule for your building type on toronto.ca before you set anything at the curb: https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/recycling-organics-garbage/houses/oversized-metal-items/

When the carpet covers several rooms, the crew tears it up, bags or rolls it, and hauls it the same visit. A small carpet-only job that is already rolled at the curb may land near a household load tier, when the volume matches. Household load examples, with HST included, are on the pricing page at junkofurs.com/pricing. There is no separate carpet menu. Tear-out work uses the renovation and demolition ranges below, and those ranges are before HST. Flooring leftovers from a renovation that is already open are at junkofurs.com/services/renovation-debris-removal.

Hardwood and engineered wood

Hardwood and engineered wood come up with scrapers and pry bars. Nailed boards often lift in strips. Glued-down boards, adhesive, and underlayment take more time and add weight. Stacked wood fills the truck by volume. A floor that is glued down is a labour job first.

The work stays interior and non-structural. We do not sand, refinish, or install the new floor. Subfloor repair, when the renovation plan needs it, stays with the flooring trade. What a selective interior tear-out includes is at junkofurs.com/services/selective-demolition.

Tile, mortar, and thin-set

Tile is dense. Ceramic, porcelain, and the thin-set or mortar under them can push a job onto the heavy schedule even when the room looks small. Weight drives the price more than square footage alone.

Mortar and thin-set come up with the tile when the plan calls for a clean base. Broken tile in buckets is still heavy. A full bathroom or kitchen tear-out, where the floor is only one part of the job, stays in those guides. This page is the flooring comparison.

Older vinyl, sheet goods, and adhesives

Older vinyl, sheet flooring, and some adhesives need a pause before anyone pulls them. Older flooring and black mastics can be designated substances. Have suspect material tested by a qualified professional before tear-out.

Junk 'Of' Urs does not test for, handle, or remove asbestos or any hazardous material. If a test finds a designated substance, a qualified specialist does that work. We do not. This is general information, not legal advice.

What drives the quote

The quote follows the material, the square footage and the layers, whether the visit is tear-out labour or haul only, stairs or a basement or a long carry, and how full the truck is by volume or by weight. Photos beat a guess. There is no flooring package price, and there is no price per square foot.

Every figure below is before HST. HST is extra. Junk and debris are priced by how much of the truck the pile fills, not by the hour. The hourly rate is only for tear-out labour.

Light mixed renovation and demolition debris, before HST, is a small pile at $99 to $150, an eighth of a load at $150 to $220, a quarter at $250 to $400, a half at $400 to $550, three quarters at $550 to $700, and a full load of about 15 cubic yards at $650 to $850. Each full load includes 60 to 90 minutes of loading and tear-out time.

Tear-out labour after that included time is $100 to $150 per hour for a two-person crew. The work stays interior and non-structural.

Tile, mortar, and other dense material in bulk use the heavy schedule. A heavy call-out is $300 to $450, then about $100 to $160 per tonne after the allowance. If the load weighs more than the photos suggested, we re-quote from the scale ticket.

Stairs, a basement, or a long carry to the truck add $50 to $150 or more.

For contractors and project managers, the old floor leaves with the tear-out so the finishing trades walk into a clear room. We're not a junk company. We're your site-clearing crew. Stop renting a bin. Hire a crew.

Photos that get a written price

For a fast quote, send a wide shot of each room. Add close-ups of the material edges and the layers, including underpad, adhesive, or thin-set if you can see them. Show the stairs and the path to the exit, and the driveway or curb where the truck can sit. Note whether the tear-out is already started, and whether suspect vinyl or adhesive has been tested.

We confirm volume, access, and weight from those photos, then in writing, before anything is removed. Send them for a written price at https://junkofurs.com/quote. Great projects start with a clean slate.

Frequently asked questions

How much does flooring removal cost in Toronto?

There is no price per square foot. Before HST, a light mixed haul is a small pile at $99 to $150, an eighth at $150 to $220, a quarter at $250 to $400, a half at $400 to $550, three quarters at $550 to $700, and a full load of about 15 cubic yards at $650 to $850. Each full load includes 60 to 90 minutes of loading and tear-out time. Tear-out labour after that is $100 to $150 per hour for a two-person crew. Tile and mortar in bulk start at $300 to $450, then about $100 to $160 per tonne. Stairs, a basement, or a long carry add $50 to $150 or more. Photos give the written range.

Can I put old carpet out with the Toronto garbage?

Houses in the City of Toronto can set carpeting, underpad, and linoleum out on regular garbage day when each bundle is rolled and tied, no longer than 1.2 m (4 ft), and under 20 kg (44 lb). That is public City guidance, not legal advice. Multi-residential buildings may differ. Confirm your building type on toronto.ca. A whole house or a suite of rooms often exceeds what anyone wants to cut and roll. A crew can tear it up and haul it the same visit.

Why does tile removal cost more than carpet?

Carpet and underpad are light and fill the truck by volume. Ceramic, porcelain, thin-set, and mortar are dense. A small tiled room can land on the heavy schedule because of weight, even when the square footage looks modest. Weight drives that price more than the room size.

Will you remove older vinyl or black mastic?

Have suspect vinyl, sheet goods, and black mastic tested by a qualified professional before tear-out. Older flooring and some adhesives can be designated substances. We do not test for, handle, or remove asbestos or any hazardous material. If a test finds a designated substance, a qualified specialist does that work.

Do you install the new floor?

No. We tear out interior, non-structural flooring and haul the debris. We do not sand, refinish, or install new floors. Subfloor repair stays with the flooring trade.