Residential
Basement Development in Saskatoon
Unfinished space turned into usable living area: family rooms, home offices, bedrooms and permit-compliant secondary suites.
Overview
The cheapest square footage you will ever add to your house
The walls, roof and foundation already exist. Basement development is the one project where you are adding real living space without extending the building envelope.
It is also the project where the requirements catch people out: ceiling height, egress windows, separation and ventilation all have rules, and they apply whether or not you knew about them.
What this solves
- 01The household has outgrown the main floor
- 02There is a full basement doing nothing but storing boxes
- 03A secondary suite could offset the mortgage, if it is done to permit
Scope
What is included
Framing
Wood or steel stud framing, squared and set out to give a flat, true finish.
Insulation and vapour control
Detailed for Saskatchewan winters, with attention to the rim joist where most heat is lost.
Drywall, taping and texture
Our own crews board, tape, sand and texture, so the finish is not subcontracted out and back.
Egress and ceiling height
Assessed before anything is priced, because both can change what is legally possible in the space.
Bathrooms and kitchenettes
Rough-in and finish, including the drainage considerations specific to below-grade fixtures.
Flooring and finishing carpentry
Floors, trim, doors and built-in storage to complete the space.
Process
How the work runs
01
Assessment
We look at ceiling height, existing windows, services and moisture before discussing layout.
02
Layout and estimate
A plan that works within what the space legally allows, with an itemised written price.
03
Framing to finishing
Framing, insulation, services, board, tape, texture and finishes, run by our own crews.
04
Walkthrough
Joint inspection, deficiency list cleared, then handover.
Questions
Common questions
It varies a great deal depending on whether you are adding a bathroom, whether the ceiling height works, and what condition the existing space is in. We price it properly after seeing it, a basement with adequate height and existing windows is a very different job to one without.
That depends on your property, and it is worth establishing before you spend money on design. Secondary suites carry requirements around egress, ceiling height, separation and ventilation. We walk through what applies to your specific basement before anything is priced.
Ceiling height is the first thing we check, because it determines what is possible. It is better to know at the assessment stage than after framing has started.
It should be assessed before you finish a basement, not after. Finishing over an existing moisture problem hides it rather than solving it, and it will come back through the new work.
Part of our residential work
See the full range, or tell us what you are planning and we will point you to the right starting point.
Next step
Start your project with a written estimate.
Tell us what you are planning. We visit the site, agree the scope, and put an itemised price in writing.