Do I need to fix water before finishing?

Yes. We will not frame a basement that has an unresolved water problem, because framing hides it rather than fixing it. The fix is often outside the house — downspouts and grade — rather than inside it.

Should I test for radon first?

Test before you finish, not after. Retrofitting mitigation into a finished basement means opening what you just paid to close, and the test itself is inexpensive.

What makes a basement bedroom legal?

An emergency escape opening, sized to your city’s code — we confirm the figures before anything is cut. Without egress the room is not a legal bedroom, an appraiser will not count it as one, and a buyer’s inspector will flag it.

Will I lose ceiling height?

Some, around ducts and beams. Code sets a minimum finished ceiling height, typically 7 feet, with limited allowances for beams and ducts. In some houses full height is not achievable everywhere, and the plan works around it.

Basement Finishing in the Twin Cities

What we build downstairs

Family rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms, home offices, gyms, bars and saunas. A lower-level bathroom sometimes needs the drain broken into the slab, or a sewage ejector where the line runs above the fixtures. A home gym wants a floor that takes dropped weight, and a sauna is a small building inside a building, with its own vapor control, ventilation and electrical. Each of these is decided before framing, because each one changes what happens under the floor.

A finished lower level stair with painted risers and a wood handrail.

A cedar and glass sauna cabin built into a finished basement.

A basement wet bar with navy cabinetry and a quartz counter.

Water, egress and the walls

We will not frame a basement that has an unresolved water problem, because framing hides it rather than fixing it. A number of wet basements in the metro are fixed outside the house — extending downspouts and correcting the grade — which is a far cheaper conversation than interior drain tile. Radon is worth testing before you finish, not after.

Any basement bedroom needs an emergency escape opening, and cutting one means cutting the foundation wall, so egress is settled before a single partition is drawn. Without egress the room is not a legal bedroom, an appraiser will not count it as one, and a buyer’s inspector will flag it.

Foundation walls are insulated with rigid or spray foam directly against the concrete, with the framing held off it, so the wall stays above the dew point and can dry inward rather than trapping moisture behind the drywall.

What an older basement can be hiding

Basements are where a house keeps its history. In anything built before 1978, painted surfaces bring federal lead-safe requirements into play once they are disturbed, and the wrapping on old duct runs and pipe insulation is a classic place to find asbestos. Old floor tile and its adhesive are another. Where the age of the house calls for it, we arrange testing before demolition, and anything that has to be removed is handled by a specialist we bring in as part of the same project.

Mold is the one people ask about most, usually because they can smell it. Remediation is licensed work and we bring in a specialist for it rather than handling it ourselves — we will tell you what we have found and who is doing what. It happens before framing rather than behind it.

How we price this work

You get a written scope of the work. Where it is well defined we quote a fixed price. Where it genuinely is not — an old structure, an unknown behind a wall — we work cost-plus, and we tell you which model we are using and why before you sign anything. Any change to the scope or the price is written up as a change order and agreed before the work happens.

What moves the number is how much of the space is wet-room and mechanical work rather than open floor. A large open lower level with one bathroom costs less than a smaller one with a bath, a bar and a sauna.

See financing options

Questions we get asked on site visits

Do I need to fix water before finishing?: Yes. We will not frame a basement that has an unresolved water problem, because framing hides it rather than fixing it. The fix is often outside the house — downspouts and grade — rather than inside it.
Should I test for radon first?: Test before you finish, not after. Retrofitting mitigation into a finished basement means opening what you just paid to close, and the test itself is inexpensive.
What makes a basement bedroom legal?: An emergency escape opening, sized to your city’s code — we confirm the figures before anything is cut. Without egress the room is not a legal bedroom, an appraiser will not count it as one, and a buyer’s inspector will flag it.
Will I lose ceiling height?: Some, around ducts and beams. Code sets a minimum finished ceiling height, typically 7 feet, with limited allowances for beams and ducts. In some houses full height is not achievable everywhere, and the plan works around it.

More on this from our blog

Finishing a Basement in Minnesota: Water, Egress and Insulation A basement finish comes down to three things decided in order — water, egress and the walls — and what an inspector checks along the way.