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LYONHOMES

Basements

Legal suites and basement developments.

A full secondary suite with its own entrance, or a family basement with a bar and a bathroom. Framed, wired, plumbed, permitted and inspected, finished to match the floor above.

Basement suite kitchen, quartz counters and marble backsplash

NW Calgary

Two bedroom legal suite

Two bedrooms and one bathroom, with a full kitchen, marble counters and a tiled bathroom. Photographed on handover, before the tenants moved in.

Kitchen sink and marble counter
Suite bathroom
Suite kitchen and appliances

SE Calgary

Two bedroom legal suite for Airbnb

A legal suite with two bedrooms and one bathroom, built to be rented on Airbnb and photographed furnished.

Suite kitchen
Living room
Living and dining area
First bedroom
Second bedroom
Suite bathroom

Scope

What a fixed price covers.

This is the scope written into every Lyon Homes basement quote. If it is on this list it is in the price.

  • 01Framing: bedrooms, washroom and mechanical room
  • 02Full electrical to code, centre LED in each bedroom, exhaust fan with light in the washroom
  • 03Plumbing rough in and finish, Moen or equivalent, matched to upstairs
  • 04Drywall, tape, mud, sand and texture throughout
  • 05Doors, casings and baseboards matched to upstairs
  • 06Full paint throughout
  • 07LVP flooring matched to upstairs with metal nosing
  • 08Kitchen cabinetry with quartz counters, up to twelve feet
  • 09Standing shower with wall tile
  • 10All city permits and inspections

How much of your mortgage could a suite cover?

Put in your payment and what comparable suites near you advertise for. It is your money either way, this just shows who is paying it.

$2,600
$1,500
Rent coming in, a year
$18,000
Of your payment covered
58%
Left for you to pay
$1,100
Book a site visit

Straight arithmetic on the two numbers above. It does not account for vacancy, maintenance, insurance or tax, and it is not mortgage advice. A legal suite is what makes this rentable.

The job

How a basement runs.

Six stages, in the same order every time.

  1. 01

    Site visit

    We come to the property, measure it, and check the three things that decide whether a legal suite is possible at all: ceiling height, windows and the entrance. Free, and no obligation.

  2. 02

    Fixed price in writing

    One number for the whole job, scope listed line by line, exclusions stated plainly. Not a range and not a per square foot rate.

  3. 03

    Permits

    Pulled in the Lyon Homes name and paid for out of the contract price, not added to it later.

  4. 04

    The build

    Our team builds it, from framing to finishes. You hold one contract and speak to one person.

  5. 05

    Inspections

    Booked and passed at rough in and at completion. Nothing gets covered up before it has been signed off.

  6. 06

    Walkthrough

    You walk the finished space with us and check it against the scope. Anything outstanding is written down and finished before we call it done.

The money is agreed before the work is.

You get a written scope and a fixed price before anyone picks up a tool, and the payment terms are set out in that same document. Nothing about the money gets worked out while the job is running.

How a basement is built

The part you never see in the listing photos.

Ten stages, in the order they happen on site. The photographs are from our own jobs at each stage. Where a stage has no photo yet, it is because we have not stopped to take one, not because it was skipped.

  1. 01

    Permits: DP and BP

    Before anything is built we apply for the building permit, and for a development permit where the municipality asks for one. Some Alberta cities require a DP for basement development, and a legal suite always does. The bare basement is measured at the site visit: ceiling height, windows, the entrance.

    Unfinished basement
    Basement stairs before framing
    Mechanical room before the build
  2. 02

    Framing

    Once the permits are approved, framing starts: bedrooms, washroom, mechanical room and the stair boxed in. Straight framing is what makes everything after it easy.

    Framed walls
    Framing around the mechanical
    Stairs framed and closed
  3. 03

    HVAC rough in

    Supply and return runs to every room, the bathroom exhaust vented outside, and ducting re-routed where a wall or a bulkhead needs it.

    HVAC rough in
  4. 04

    Plumbing rough in

    Above grade: supply lines, vents and the laundry box, pressure tested. Below grade: the slab is cut, the drains for the bathroom, kitchen and laundry are run under it and tied into the main, then the concrete goes back.

    Laundry box and supply lines
    Slab cut for drain lines
    Drain lines under the slab
    Drain lines tied in
  5. 05

    Electrical rough in

    Boxes set, wire pulled, circuits run back to the panel. Every room gets its lighting and outlets to code before the walls are closed.

    Electrical box set in the wall
    Framing with electrical rough in
  6. 06

    Framing completed

    With the rough ins in, the framing is finished off: all the drops, and the ceiling drops in particular, built around the ducts, pipes and beams so the ceiling reads clean once it is closed.

  7. 07

    Building and rough in inspections

    The City inspects the framing and each rough in before a sheet of drywall goes on. Nothing gets covered until it has passed.

  8. 08

    Drywall

    Insulation and vapour barrier on the exterior walls, fire separation where a suite needs it, then board, tape, mud, sand and texture.

  9. 09

    Kitchen

    Cabinetry set and levelled, counters templated and installed, sink and appliances hooked up.

    Finished suite kitchen
  10. 10

    Finishing

    Flooring, paint, trim, doors, tile, fixtures and lighting, then the final inspection and the walkthrough with you.

    Finished suite bathroom

Book a free site visit.

We see every property in person before quoting. You get a fixed price in writing, for a scope you can read line by line.

Book a site visit

Or call 587 832 4273