Ask for current insurance and WCB certificates, confirm the contractor pulls the building permit in their own name, ask specifically for suites taken through permitting and registration rather than finished basements, insist on a drawing before a price, and get the change order process and warranty in writing.
Choosing a basement contractor is mostly a process of elimination. The questions below are not difficult to answer if the answer is good, which is exactly what makes them useful.
Ask for current insurance and WCB
Not a claim that they have it. The certificates, current, in your hand. This protects you if something happens on your property, and a contractor who hesitates here has told you something important.
Ask who pulls the permit
The contractor should be applying for the building permit in their own name, and the trade permits should be pulled by the licensed trades doing the work. If you are being asked to pull the permit as the homeowner, understand what that means before you agree. Responsibility follows the name on the permit.
Ask to see suites, not just basements
If you want a legal secondary suite, ask specifically for suites they have taken through permitting and registration. A beautiful finished basement is evidence of finishing skill. It is not evidence that someone can get a suite through inspection.
These are different competencies, and the second one is where projects go wrong. Ask how many suites, and ask whether any failed a rough in inspection and what happened.
Ask for a drawing before a price
A contractor who can quote a basement from a ten minute walkthrough is quoting a guess. The drawing is what makes the number mean something, and it is also what lets you compare two quotes honestly.
We produce a free 2D structure design before quoting, as part of the free consultation. Ask anyone you are considering whether you get a drawing, and whether it costs you anything.
Ask what happens when something unexpected appears
Listen for a process: priced, documented, approved by you in writing before the work happens. Vague reassurance that it will be sorted out is the answer that produces disputes four weeks in.
Want to put these questions to us? Twenty years, over five hundred projects, insurance and WCB on request. Free consultation, free 2D structure design. Call 587 439 5191.
Ask about the warranty in writing
What it covers, how long it lasts, and what is excluded. Ours is a one-year workmanship warranty, with manufacturer warranties on materials and appliances sitting separately. Get whatever you are offered on paper.
Ask who you call
Find out who manages the site day to day and who makes decisions. On a job with framers, electricians, plumbers, drywallers and tile setters moving through, a single point of contact is the difference between a managed project and a sequence of trades.
The quiet signals
Cash only pricing, pressure to decide quickly, a deposit that looks large against vague milestones, reluctance to put things in writing, and a quote that arrives as a single number with no breakdown. None of these are proof of anything on their own. Together they are a pattern.
Once you have a shortlist, run each quote through the basement quote checklist.
Key facts
- Ask for current insurance and WCB certificates in hand, not a claim that they exist.
- The contractor should apply for the building permit in their own name, with trades pulling their own permits.
- Finishing a basement well and getting a suite through inspection are different competencies.
- A contractor who quotes from a short walkthrough without a drawing is quoting a guess.
- Changes should be priced, documented and approved in writing before the work happens.
- A single point of contact matters on a job moving framers, electricians, plumbers and finishers through.
Frequently asked
What should I ask a basement contractor first?
For current insurance and WCB certificates, and who applies for the building permit. Both are simple to answer if the answer is good, and hesitation on either tells you something.
Should I pull the permit myself?
Understand what it means before agreeing. Responsibility follows the name on the permit, so a contractor applying in their own name is the normal arrangement, with licensed trades pulling their own trade permits.
Why ask for suites rather than finished basements?
Because they test different skills. A beautifully finished basement shows finishing ability. Getting a legal suite through permitting, rough in inspection and registration is a separate competency, and it is where projects go wrong.
Should I get a drawing before a price?
Yes. The drawing is what makes the number mean something and what lets you compare quotes honestly. We provide a free 2D structure design before quoting as part of the free consultation.
What are the warning signs?
Cash only pricing, pressure to decide quickly, a large deposit against vague milestones, reluctance to put things in writing, and a quote that is a single number with no breakdown. Individually weak signals, collectively a pattern.
