Basement Development & Legal Suite Contractor in Saskatoon

The Secondary Suite Incentive (SSI) Grant provides 35% of eligible costs up to $35,000 for creating a new legal basement suite. This includes construction costs, permits, and up to $5,000 for appliances.

A basement suite in Saskatoon typically costs $45,000-$120,000+ depending on size and finish level. A basic bachelor suite starts around $45,000, while a premium 2-bedroom with high-end finishes can exceed $120,000. The SSI Grant can offset up to $35,000 of these costs.

Most basement suites take 8-12 weeks from permit approval to completion, depending on the scope and complexity of the project.

Yes, legal basement suites require building permits, electrical permits, and plumbing permits. We handle all permit applications and inspections for you.

Yes, you can stay in your home during most of the construction. We work to minimize disruption and contain the work area. Expect some noise during business hours and brief utility interruptions for plumbing and electrical tie-ins.

A legal suite has proper permits, meets building code for ceiling height, egress windows, fire separation, and smoke detectors, and has an occupancy permit. Illegal suites lack these — meaning no insurance coverage if something goes wrong, fines from the city, and reduced resale value. We only build legal, fully permitted suites.

Once your suite passes final inspection and receives occupancy approval, you can immediately start renting it out. We'll help you understand local rental regulations.

We offer flexible payment schedules tied to construction milestones. The SSI Grant also significantly offsets your costs — on a $100,000 project, you'd get $35,000 back, bringing your net investment to $65,000. Many homeowners also use a home equity line of credit (HELOC) for financing.

Ceiling height of at least 2.0 m in living areas, kitchens and bedrooms, and 1.95 m in bathrooms and hallways. Every bedroom needs an egress window with a clear opening of at least 0.35 square metres, no dimension under 380 mm, and a sill no higher than 1.0 m. You also need a separate entrance with direct access outside, fire separation using 5/8" Type X drywall on the ceiling, fire-rated doors, and smoke detectors.

Yes. Finishing a raw basement into living space runs $30-$50 per square foot, so roughly $21,000-$35,000 for 700 square feet. Renovating a basement that is already finished runs $40-$80 per square foot: a cosmetic refresh is $15,000-$25,000, and a full renovation with walls moved, a panel upgrade and an added bathroom is $40,000-$80,000.

Finishing turns a raw basement into usable living space at $30-$50 per square foot. Renovation reworks a basement that is already finished at $40-$80 per square foot. Development means building a legal secondary suite with its own entrance, kitchen and bathroom at $65-$120 per square foot. Only the legal suite qualifies for the SSI Grant.

The building permit is a percentage of declared construction value, usually $1,000-$3,000 or more, and the new entrance needs a separate building permit. Plumbing is $500-$1,500 and electrical is $300-$800. A development permit of $236-$443 applies only where discretionary approval or a footprint change is triggered. Stamped engineering drawings run $2,000-$4,000.

Usually yes. The common disqualifiers are no separate entrance, no permits, egress windows that are too small, and no fire separation. We cut the foundation for a new entrance with stamped engineering drawings, correct the egress and fire separation, and apply under the City's Legalizing Existing Suites permit, $2,250 as of January 2026. A suite that was never permitted still qualifies for the SSI Grant.

Basement finishing runs $30-$50 per square foot, so 1,000 square feet is roughly $30,000-$50,000. Renovating a basement that is already finished runs $40-$80 per square foot, or $40,000-$80,000 at that size. A legal suite runs $65-$120 per square foot, and the suite itself cannot exceed 80 square metres under Bylaw 9990.