Basement finishing in Oxford County

What finishing a basement includes

• Planning and layout. Where rooms go, around the furnace, water heater, support posts and any existing drains.
• Moisture check. The walls and floor are checked for dampness before anything is covered up.
• Framing and insulation. Exterior walls are framed and insulated to Ontario Building Code requirements, which makes a big difference to comfort and heating bills.
• Electrical. New circuits, outlets, pot lights and switches, under an ESA permit.
• Heating and air. Supply and return ducts extended so the basement isn't the cold room in the house.
• Drywall and ceilings. A drywall ceiling for a clean look, or a drop ceiling where you want access to pipes and shut-offs.
• Flooring, doors and trim. Usually vinyl plank or carpet over a suitable subfloor, then doors, baseboard and paint.

Half-finished, stalled and partly finished basements

Not every basement starts from bare concrete. Lots of basements in Oxford County are somewhere in between:

• Started and stopped. Framing is up but there's no drywall, or the drywall is hung but never taped. Maybe a DIY project ran out of time, or a previous owner left it half done.
• Partly finished. One room or one end was finished, and the rest is still concrete. The storage side, a bedroom or a bathroom never got done.
• Bought that way. You moved into a house with a basement someone else started.

These are welcome jobs. A contractor checks the work already done (framing, insulation, wiring and plumbing that's already in) and tells you what can stay, what needs fixing to pass inspection, and how to match the new work to the existing rooms. If earlier work was done without a permit, they can explain your options.

Popular ways to use the space

Most finished basements around Oxford County end up as a mix of a family or rec room, a spare bedroom and a bathroom. Home offices, gyms, playrooms, theatre rooms and a proper laundry room are common too. If you're thinking about renting it out or housing family, look at a basement apartment instead, because the rules are different.

Bedrooms need a proper window

A basement bedroom needs a window big enough to climb out of in an emergency. If the existing windows are too small, an egress window can be cut into the foundation wall. It's worth sorting out at the planning stage, not after the drywall is up.

Permits

Finishing a basement usually needs a building permit from your municipality once you're adding walls, plumbing or ductwork, and electrical work needs an ESA permit. The contractor can tell you exactly what your project needs. Read more in our guide to basement permits in Oxford County.