Guide
· 9 min read
Lath and plaster removal in older Toronto homes is priced by weight, before HST. Dust control, when to stop for asbestos, and why plaster is renovation waste.
Lath and plaster removal is a common first step when an older Toronto house is renovated, and it is heavier and dustier than taking down drywall. Before gypsum board was standard, builders pressed lime or gypsum plaster onto wood lath so the plaster locked between the strips. You still open those walls in houses in Rosedale, Leaside, Lawrence Park, and the Annex. Those neighbourhoods are context for the housing stock, not separate service pages. The same assembly shows up across the older city.
The work is selective and interior. The finish comes off. The structure stays. Junk 'Of' Urs does the tear-out and the haul so your trades walk into a ready site, on schedule. This guide covers the weight, the dust, and the disposal: why the haul usually follows the heavy schedule, when the job has to stop for asbestos, how to keep dust out of a house people still live in, and why plaster cannot go out as garbage or yard waste. What selective demolition includes, and what is always out of scope, is at junkofurs.com/blog/what-is-selective-demolition.
Plaster is dense. A coat locked into wood lath weighs far more than the same area of drywall, and it comes down in heavy chunks rather than light sheets. The lath adds bulk. The plaster is what fills the truck by weight before the box looks full. That is why a plaster and lath load usually leaves the light mixed bands and moves to the heavy schedule.
There is no flat lath and plaster removal cost. Every figure below is before HST. HST is extra.
On the heavy schedule, the minimum call-out is $300 to $450. After the allowance in that call-out, extra weight is about $100 to $160 per tonne. If the pile weighs more than the photos suggested, we re-quote from the scale ticket rather than guessing.
Soft-strip labour, for non-structural finish removal, is $100 to $150 per hour for a two-person crew. The rate applies after the 60 to 90 minutes included with a full load. That included time is per full load. It is not an automatic promise on a partial load. The labour is pulling plaster off lath, containing the mess, and carrying it out. It is not structural demolition, and it does not cover plumbing, electrical, or gas work.
Light mixed renovation debris has its own bands, still before HST. A small pile is $99 to $150. An eighth of a load is $150 to $220. A quarter is $250 to $400. A half is $400 to $550. Three quarters is $550 to $700. A full load of about 15 cubic yards is $650 to $850. Use those bands only when the load is truly light mixed debris. Plaster and lath usually do not qualify, because the weight arrives before the volume does.
Stairs, a basement, or a long carry to the truck adds $50 to $150 or more. A second-floor bedroom on a narrow stair is a different job from a ground-floor room with a clear path to the driveway. Debris that is already down and curbside-ready can take a haul discount of 5 to 15 percent when that discount applies. Most plaster jobs are not curbside-ready. The material is still on the wall or the ceiling when we arrive.
Older plaster, joint compound, and textured coatings can contain asbestos. Junk 'Of' Urs does not test for, handle, or remove asbestos or any other hazardous material.
Before a project begins, section 30 of Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act requires the owner to determine whether designated substances are present at the site and to prepare a list. Ontario's published guidance states that section 30 applies to project owners, including owners of residential properties who undertake projects. Ontario Regulation 278/05 covers asbestos on construction projects and in buildings, including an examination and a report before demolition, alteration, or repair is arranged. Section 2(4) excludes an owner of a private residence that the owner or the owner's family occupies, and an owner of a residential building of not more than four units when the owner or family occupies one unit. Duties on constructors, employers, and workers can still apply. Do not guess which case is yours. This is not legal advice.
If suspect material is present, or if nobody has checked, stop. A qualified assessor does the testing. If asbestos is present, an abatement contractor removes it before any non-hazardous tear-out continues. We haul only after clearance, when clearance applies. Finding suspect material can change the date and the price. It does not change our rule: we do not test it, and we do not take it.
Plaster makes a fine dust. After the material is cleared for non-hazardous removal, seal the work room before the first piece comes off, or the dust travels into bedrooms, closets, and the kitchen. Hang poly at the opening to the rest of the house, and cover the carry path, including stairs. Shut the HVAC off, or cover the returns in the work area, so the system does not pull dust through the ducts. Protect the floors on that path. Plaster grit scratches hardwood the renovation is keeping.
Grinding plaster or the masonry behind it can release crystalline silica dust. Silica is a designated substance in Ontario. Containment is part of the job for that reason. This is not medical advice, and it does not replace the asbestos check above. If the material has not been cleared, the dusty work does not start.
Lath and plaster ceiling removal is finish work. The plaster and the wood lath come down. The joists stay. Ceiling plaster drops in heavy pieces, so the floor is protected before the first section is opened, and the room stays sealed because ceiling work throws dust farther than a low wall. We do not cut joists, open a roof, or remove structure above the ceiling.
A plaster wall is a separate decision. We remove a wall only when your contractor or a structural engineer has confirmed in writing that it is not load-bearing. We do not make that call. If the confirmation is missing, the wall stays. We never remove load-bearing walls, roofs, foundations, or slabs. We do not excavate, and we do not take a building down.
Older walls often hide wiring, plumbing, or heating ducts. A qualified trade disconnects those before we open the wall. If the house sits in a heritage conservation district, exterior changes can have their own City rules. This work is interior finish removal. Confirm any exterior change with the City before it starts.
Plaster and lath are renovation and construction waste. They are not household garbage, and they are not yard waste. Curbside garbage and the City yard waste program take different streams. Broken plaster and wood lath do not belong in a kraft yard bag, beside the green bin, or in a regular garbage set-out.
We haul the load as construction and demolition debris to a depot or transfer site that accepts renovation waste. What a site will take, and what it charges, depends on the load and on that site's current rules. We do not quote a depot fee as if it were a flat plaster price. If the pile is mixed with drywall, tile, or loose wood, say so. Mixed streams can change both acceptance and the haul range.
If the plaster is already down, the visit can be haul only. If it is still on the walls or the ceiling, the visit is tear-out plus haul. Either way the card is the same: heavy when the weight says so, and light mixed only when the load truly is light.
Send photos of each wall or ceiling, a note on whether anyone is living in the house during the work, and the path from the room to where the truck can park, including stairs. Say whether a designated-substance report already exists, and whether a contractor or engineer has confirmed in writing that any wall is non-structural. Two angles and a doorway for scale are enough to start.
We confirm volume, access, and weight, then a written price, before anything comes off. Request a quote at junkofurs.com/quote. For the tear-out itself, start at junkofurs.com/services/selective-demolition. If the debris is already down, see junkofurs.com/services/demolition-debris-removal and junkofurs.com/services/renovation-debris-removal. Great projects start with a clean slate.
Soft-strip, demo and junk removal
6 years GTA experience. Send a quote, get your price, then book the pickup. You pay after the job is done. We reply Monday to Saturday, usually within 30 to 60 minutes.
