Renovation & Construction in Scarborough
Scarborough is built on post-war bungalows, sidesplits and backsplits sitting on generous lots — the kind of housing stock that rewards a second storey, a full-home renovation, or a legal basement apartment more than a teardown does. Nexon Build works across Birch Cliff, Cliffside, Guildwood, Bendale, Agincourt, Wexford and the neighbourhoods along the Bluffs, building to the Ontario Building Code with City of Toronto permits and inspections at every milestone. We take on the projects these homes are actually suited to: adding storeys and space, reworking dated layouts, and turning under-used basements into income.
Custom homes, additions, whole-home renovations and legal basement apartments across Scarborough's bungalow and sidesplit neighbourhoods. As a licensed renovation and construction company, Nexon Build manages feasibility, permits, scheduling, and quality control in Scarborough — every project tracked in Buildertrend so you always know where things stand.
Our services in Scarborough
Scarborough neighbourhoods we serve
We build and renovate throughout Scarborough, in east Toronto, including:
Building & permits in Scarborough
Scarborough is known for post-war bungalows, sidesplits and backsplits, plus larger homes near the Scarborough Bluffs. We manage the full permit process with City of Toronto (Toronto Building & Committee of Adjustment), including any Committee of Adjustment or minor-variance review your project requires — so your Scarborough build stays compliant and on schedule from day one.
Renovation costs in Scarborough
Renovation costs in Scarborough track the wider GTA market: kitchens from about $30K, bathrooms from about $15K, full home renovations $150K–$800K+, and ground-up custom homes at $350–$650 per square foot. Your number depends on scope, finish level, and the condition of the existing home.
See the full Toronto renovation cost guide, or get a free estimate for your Scarborough project in under 60 seconds.
The Building and Renovation Picture in Scarborough
Scarborough's housing stock is one of the most consistent in the GTA, and that consistency shapes what makes sense to build here. The bulk of it went up between the late 1940s and the 1970s: solid brick bungalows, sidesplits, backsplits and the occasional ranch, laid out on lots that are wide and deep by Toronto standards. Neighbourhoods like Bendale, Wexford and Agincourt are almost entirely low-rise single-family homes on this pattern, while Birch Cliff and Cliffside mix older cottages that have been added to over decades with larger rebuilds closer to the lake. Near the Scarborough Bluffs and through Guildwood you find bigger homes on premium lots where the land often carries more value than the original structure. For a homeowner deciding between renovating and moving, the shape of these houses matters: they were built simply and sturdily, which means they take well to being opened up, added onto and modernized.
That is why the projects we see most often in Scarborough are second-storey additions, whole-home renovations and legal basement apartments rather than ground-up custom builds — though we do those too where a lot warrants it. A one-storey bungalow with a good foundation and a wide footprint is close to the ideal candidate for a full second storey: you roughly double the living area without buying more land, and you get to redesign the main floor at the same time. Sidesplits and backsplits, with their staggered half-levels, are trickier to renovate well because the structure fights an open-concept layout, so they benefit from a builder who plans the framing and the beam work before a wall comes down. And across nearly all of Scarborough, high-and-dry basements under those post-war homes are prime territory for a self-contained legal apartment — a second unit that pays down the mortgage in a part of the city where rental demand is steady. Knowing which of these paths fits your specific house is the first conversation we have, and it is driven by what the building can actually carry, not by a sales target.
Permits, Zoning and the Committee of Adjustment in Scarborough
Scarborough has been part of the City of Toronto since the 1998 amalgamation, so every permit and every zoning approval here runs through the City of Toronto, not a separate Scarborough authority. Structural changes, electrical, plumbing and HVAC work all require permits from the City, and we pull every one the scope demands rather than working around them. Building without the right permits is where homeowners get caught later — at resale, at insurance-claim time, or when a future buyer's inspector flags unpermitted work. We manage the full application, coordinate the architectural and structural drawings the City needs, and schedule the inspections at each milestone so the work is signed off as it progresses instead of being questioned after the fact. For a legal basement apartment in particular, the permit process is what separates a compliant second unit — with proper ceiling height, egress, fire separation and smoke and carbon-monoxide protection — from an unregistered basement that carries real liability.
When a project needs relief from the zoning by-law — a side-yard setback that is a little tight, lot coverage or building height that edges past what is permitted, or a second-storey addition that changes the front massing — that request goes to the Committee of Adjustment. Toronto's Committee of Adjustment is organized into four district panels, and applications for Scarborough properties are heard by the Scarborough panel, which deals specifically with minor variances and consent applications in the former City of Scarborough. This is a routine part of building on these older lots, because the by-laws written for today's zoning do not always match how homes from the 1950s and 60s sit on their land. We prepare the variance application, the drawings and the required notice, and we plan the design from the outset to keep any variances genuinely minor — the smaller and better-justified the ask, the smoother the hearing. Getting this sequence right, and getting it right for Scarborough's own panel rather than a generic Toronto process, keeps a second-storey addition or an addition-plus-basement project moving on schedule.
What Building and Renovating Costs in Scarborough in 2026
Cost is the question every Scarborough homeowner wants answered honestly, so here are the ranges we are working with in 2026 for standard-to-good finishes. A full home renovation runs from roughly $150K for a mid-level refresh, up to $250K–$450K for a full gut of a typical bungalow or sidesplit with standard finishes, and $450K–$800K or more where the finishes and scope are premium — a full gut works out to about $200–$450 per square foot. Home additions, including the second-storey additions that suit Scarborough's bungalows so well, run $400–$700 per square foot of new space, and a complete second-storey addition typically lands around $300K–$550K all-in once you account for the structural work, the new roof, and the disruption to the floor below. Kitchen renovations range from about $30K for a refresh to $75K mid-range and $150K-plus for a full custom kitchen; bathrooms run $15K–$25K for a standard rebuild and $35K–$60K or more for a primary ensuite.
Basement finishing is where Scarborough's numbers get interesting, because so many of these homes can support a legal second unit. A legal basement apartment generally costs $50K–$80K where the existing ceiling height already works — and on many post-war Scarborough bungalows it does, which is part of why the neighbourhood is such strong territory for this. Where height is short and the floor has to be lowered, underpinning adds roughly $70–$150 per square foot, or about $35K–$85K on a typical basement. For a ground-up custom home on a Bluffs-area or Guildwood lot, construction runs $350–$650 per square foot, so a 3,000 square foot home is roughly $1.05M–$1.95M to build before land, design and soft costs. Every Nexon project is quoted as a fixed-price scope rather than an open-ended estimate, so the number you approve is the number you build to, and it is tracked transparently through Buildertrend as the work proceeds. Where the site throws up a real unknown — an old foundation, unexpected grading near the Bluffs — we tell you before it becomes a change order, not after.
How Nexon Build Works in Scarborough and Why to Choose Us
Nexon Build is a licensed and insured builder and renovation contractor, and in Scarborough that licensing is not a formality — it is what lets us pull City of Toronto permits in our own name, stand behind the structural work on a second-storey addition, and register a basement apartment as a legal second unit that will hold up under inspection and at resale. We start every Scarborough project the same way: by looking at what the specific house can carry. A Cliffside bungalow, an Agincourt sidesplit and a larger Guildwood home each call for a different approach to framing, layout and permits, and we plan that up front rather than discovering it mid-build. From there the scope is fixed and priced, built to the Ontario Building Code, and inspected by the City at each milestone, so there are no surprises about whether the work is compliant. You see the schedule, the selections and the budget in Buildertrend throughout, which is the same platform that keeps a large addition and a basement conversion coordinated when they are happening on the same house at once.
Choosing a builder for a Scarborough renovation or addition comes down to whether they understand this housing stock and this permitting process specifically, and whether they will do the unglamorous parts properly — the permits, the Committee of Adjustment application, the fire separation in a legal apartment — instead of cutting corners you only find out about later. That is the work we take seriously. Homeowners across Birch Cliff, Bendale, Wexford, Agincourt and the Bluffs come to us because they want a second storey, a whole-home renovation or a legal basement apartment done to a standard that a future inspector, insurer or buyer will not question. If you are weighing a home renovation in Scarborough, a home addition, a legal basement apartment, or a custom home builder for a Bluffs-area lot, the first step is a straightforward conversation about what your house can support and what it will realistically cost. Call Nexon Build at (647) 829-0272 to start that conversation.
Common questions — Scarborough
Does Nexon Build serve Scarborough?+
Yes — Scarborough is one of our active service areas, including Birch Cliff, Cliffside, Guildwood, Bendale. We handle custom homes, home additions, full renovations, and kitchen, bathroom, and basement work across east Toronto.
Do you handle building permits in Scarborough?+
Yes. We manage the full permit process with City of Toronto (Toronto Building & Committee of Adjustment), including any Committee of Adjustment or minor-variance review your Scarborough project requires.
How much does a renovation cost in Scarborough?+
Renovation costs in Scarborough track the wider GTA market: kitchens from about $30K, bathrooms from about $15K, full home renovations $150K–$800K+, and ground-up custom homes at $350–$650 per square foot. Your number depends on scope, finish level, and the condition of the existing home.
What kinds of homes do you renovate in Scarborough?+
Scarborough is known for post-war bungalows, sidesplits and backsplits, plus larger homes near the Scarborough Bluffs. We renovate, extend, and rebuild across all of it — modernizing systems and layouts while respecting each home's character.
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