Service 03

Basements & legal suites

The cheapest square footage you will ever add is the square footage you already own. A basement is only unusable until someone solves the height, the light and the exit.

8–14weeks on site

$65,000+Typical investment

5 yrWorkmanship warranty

Get a fixed-price quote Call 778.700.5618

Before After

Saanich basement — from storage and a furnace room to a one-bedroom legal suite with its own entrance.

The short version

Why this project is worth doing properly

There are two versions of this project and they are not the same job. Finishing a basement for your own family means comfort, moisture control and a ceiling you don't duck under. Building a legal secondary suite means all of that plus a code-compliant path: separate entrance, egress windows, one-hour fire separation, sound rating, interconnected alarms, parking, and a zoning check before anyone draws a line.

We do both, and we will tell you at the first visit which one your house can support. Some basements simply cannot make ceiling height without underpinning, and that is a conversation worth having before you fall in love with a floor plan.

Fixed-price contract after design — not an hourly estimate that drifts
One project manager, weekly written updates with photographs
Licensed, insured, WorkSafeBC covered, permits filed by us
Written five-year workmanship warranty on everything we build

Basements & legal suites by Island Home Renovations on Vancouver Island

Langford — basement living room, heat pump head above the sofa line

Scope

What's included

Every item below is in the base quote unless we tell you otherwise in writing.

Feasibility and zoning check

Before design, we pull your zoning, lot coverage and parking requirement, and measure ceiling height at the lowest duct. If a suite isn't permissible we say so in week one.

Moisture control

Perimeter drainage inspection, interior or exterior waterproofing, sump where required, and a vapour strategy that suits a coastal climate. Dry first, frame second.

Underpinning or slab lowering

Where height is short, we can lower the slab by bench footing or full underpinning with an engineer's design. It is not cheap, but it is the difference between a suite and a crawlspace.

Egress and light wells

Code-sized egress window in every bedroom, saw-cut through the foundation, with a drained window well and a proper lintel.

Fire separation and sound

One-hour rated assembly between dwelling units, resilient channel or a double-stud wall, insulation in the floor system, and interconnected smoke and CO alarms across both units.

Kitchen and bathroom

A full suite kitchen with its own venting and a bathroom built to the same waterproofing standard as anything upstairs.

Heating, ventilation, metering

Independent heating — usually a ductless heat pump — plus continuous ventilation, and separate electrical sub-metering where you want to bill utilities.

Permits and inspections

We prepare the drawings, file the building permit, and manage every inspection through to final occupancy sign-off.

Sequence

How the project runs

Six stages, in this order, every time. Weeks shown are typical for a project of this size on Vancouver Island.

Feasibility visit

Week 0

Height check, drainage check, panel capacity, zoning and parking. You get a straight answer on whether a legal suite is possible and what it will take.

Design and permit set

Weeks 1–5

Floor plans, fire separation details, egress schedule and mechanical layout, drawn to what your municipality wants to see.

Permit review

Weeks 5–11

Victoria and Saanich are typically six to ten weeks for a suite application. We answer reviewer comments; you do not have to.

Structural and moisture work

Weeks 11–14

Underpinning or bench footing if needed, egress cut-outs, drainage, and any post or beam changes — all inspected before framing.

Framing, rough-in, insulation

Weeks 14–18

Walls, plumbing, electrical, heat pump lines and ventilation, then insulation and fire-separation inspection.

Finishes and occupancy

Weeks 18–24

Drywall, flooring, kitchen, bath, doors and trim, then final inspection and your occupancy sign-off for the suite.

Investment

Three levels, honestly priced

These are real ranges from completed island projects, including labour, materials, management and tax.

Family basement

$65k – $95k

Open living space, one bedroom, a three-piece bath, flooring, lighting and heating. No separate entrance or fire separation.

One-bedroom legal suite

$110k – $155k

Separate entrance, egress windows, fire separation, kitchen, bathroom, ductless heat pump, permits and inspections.

Two-bedroom or underpinned suite

$160k – $240k+

Two bedrooms, or a slab lowering / underpinning package where ceiling height starts under 6'6".

Specifications we build to

Element	Our standard	Why it matters
Ceiling height (suite)	6'6" minimum under ducts and beams	BC Building Code minimum for a secondary suite
Egress window	0.35 m² clear opening, 380 mm minimum dimension	Required in every sleeping room
Fire separation	1-hour rated floor/ceiling and common wall assembly	5/8" Type X board, sealed penetrations
Sound rating	STC 50 or better between units	Resilient channel plus insulation gets you there
Heating	Ductless heat pump, independently controlled	Also handles summer cooling and dehumidification
Alarms	Interconnected smoke and CO in both units	Hard-wired with battery backup

Recent work

Basements & Legal Suites on the island

Questions

Basements & Legal Suites, answered

In most of Victoria, Saanich, Langford and Colwood, secondary suites are permitted in single-family zones — but conditions vary on parking, lot size, and whether a garden suite already exists on the lot. We pull your specific zoning and confirm in writing before design begins.

6'6" (1.98 m) clear under beams and ducts for a secondary suite. If you have 6'2" we look at re-routing ductwork first, since that is far cheaper than touching the slab. Underpinning is the last resort and adds $40,000 to $80,000.

A one-bedroom suite in Greater Victoria rents for roughly $1,500 to $1,900 a month at the time of writing. Against a $130,000 build, that is a payback measured in years, not decades — and lenders will often count a portion of the rent toward your mortgage qualification. Talk to your own accountant about tax implications.

Less than a kitchen renovation. We work from the exterior entrance where one exists, seal the stairwell with a dust wall, and run our own power and disposal. The noisy weeks are demolition and any concrete work — usually two of the fourteen.

Often, yes. We survey what is there, identify the gaps — usually egress, fire separation and alarms — and file a permit to bring it into compliance. Municipalities are generally cooperative when an owner comes forward voluntarily.

Also consider

Bathroom Renovations

Waterproofed, tiled and detailed properly — from a tight powder room to a curbless ensuite with heated floors.

Additions & Custom Builds

Rear additions, second storeys, garden suites and full custom builds — engineered, permitted and joined so the seam disappears.

Next step

Let's price your basements properly

Tell us about the room, the roofline or the whole house. We reply within one business day and site visits across Greater Victoria are free.

Book a free site visit Call 778.700.5618