Calgary Framers develops unfinished basements in Calgary and the surrounding towns, from bare concrete to finished, inspected and permit-closed. We frame the walls, run the rough-ins through licensed trades, insulate, board, finish and hand you back a legal, code-compliant living space.
We come at this as a framing contractor. That matters underground more than anywhere else in a house, because a basement is where load-bearing walls, beam pockets, teleposts and floor joists all converge, and where a wall framed in the wrong place, or a beam moved without an engineer, causes structural problems on every floor above it.
Free on-site assessment · Fixed-scope written quote · No obligation
Eleven stages from bare concrete to permit closure, quoted as one scope and run by one contractor.
They differ in what you get, what it is worth, and how much of the City you have to deal with.
Rec room, bedrooms, bathroom, storage. No separate entrance, no second kitchen. The simplest permit path.
A self-contained dwelling unit you can legally rent. Separate entrance, separate kitchen, separate bathroom, egress bedrooms, fire separation. The most valuable, and the most regulated.
We frame, and you or your own trades finish. Common for owner-builders and for investors managing their own subs.
The City of Calgary requires that a secondary suite include, at minimum, these four things.
Beyond those four, a legal suite must satisfy the National Building Code – Alberta Edition on fire separation between dwelling units, interconnected smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, minimum ceiling height, and ventilation. Suites also require a development permit in addition to the building permit, and must pass Safety Codes inspection before they can legally be occupied.
We handle the full permit path: development permit, building permit, trade permits, and inspections through to Safety Codes sign-off.
What this means practically: a suite is not a finished basement with a stove added. Egress, separation and entrance are structural and planning decisions that have to be made before a single wall goes up. Retrofitting them after the fact is the single most expensive mistake we get called in to correct.
Including the inspection path through to Safety Codes sign-off on a legal suite. You get a floor plan and a fixed-scope written quote before any of it starts.
Free on-site assessment · Fixed-scope written quote · 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., seven days a week
Eleven stages, in the order they happen. Structural work comes before framing, and nothing gets boarded before it has been inspected.
Framing inspection and insulation inspection are the two stages where cutting corners is invisible after drywall. We call both.
We measure the space, check clear ceiling height under ducting and beams, locate the mechanical room, identify load-bearing walls and check whether the existing windows can be made egress-compliant.
You get a floor plan and a fixed-scope written quote, itemised by stage.
Development permit if a suite is involved, then the building permit. We prepare and submit.
Any beam, post, telepost or joist work happens before framing. If an engineer's stamp is required, we arrange it.
Concrete cut, lintel set, window and well installed, waterproofed.
Partition walls, bulkheads, backing, openings. Framing inspection called.
Electrical, plumbing and HVAC by licensed trades, each permitted and inspected.
Inspected before board goes on.
Flooring, doors, trim, paint, cabinetry, tile, fixtures.
Permit closed, warranty issued in writing.
Acoustic sealant beaded continuously along the bottom plate, up the corner and around the window opening before the vapour barrier goes on.
This is the air barrier being made continuous, the step nobody sees again after drywall, and the one that separates a wall that performs from a wall that merely has insulation in it.
Basements are where framers earn their keep. This is the work we do that a general finishing contractor typically subs out.
If your basement has a beam you want gone, tell us at the assessment. Whether it can come out, and what it costs to take it out, determines the layout, so it has to be answered first, not last. If the space you need is not under your floor, a home addition is the other path, and we will tell you which one your situation actually calls for.
Calgary (all quadrants, inner-city and suburban) plus the surrounding communities:
Secondary suite rules differ significantly outside Calgary city limits. Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks and Rocky View County each set their own land-use rules for suites. We confirm the correct authority and its current requirements before quoting.
Beams, posts, joists and load paths are our own trade, not a subcontract. We are residential framing contractors who develop basements, which removes the most common scheduling delay in a basement job and the most common source of finger-pointing when something is wrong.
Every electrical, plumbing and gas rough-in on our jobs is done by a licensed trade under a pulled permit and inspected. Unpermitted basement work is the first thing an insurer looks for after a claim, and the first thing a buyer’s inspector finds at resale.
Framing and insulation. Both are invisible after drywall, and both are where cutting corners stops being visible.
Itemised by stage, with a written workmanship warranty on handover.
Clearance letters and certificates of insurance are available on request. Call (587) 355-2799 or email [email protected].
Reviews from Calgary homeowners we have built for.
They recently did a fantastic custom framing job for my new deck, and I couldn’t be happier. The attention to detail and craftsmanship were top-notch. Not only did they deliver a sturdy and beautiful frame, but they also took the time to understand my vision and bring it to life.
They transformed my outdoor space, and the framing work they did was absolutely flawless. From the initial consultation to the final touches, their team was professional and efficient. If you’re looking for a reliable and skilled deck builder, look no further than Calgary Framers.
They recently built a fence for my property, and I’m beyond impressed with the quality of their workmanship. The framing of the fence is solid and durable, providing both privacy and security for my home. The team was friendly, professional, and completed the project in a timely manner.
Still unsure? Call (587) 355-2799, 7am–7pm, 7 days. We would rather answer a question now than quote the wrong scope later.
Ask us about your projectYes. A building permit is required for basement development, and trade permits are required for electrical, plumbing and HVAC work. If you are building a secondary suite, a development permit is required as well. We prepare and submit the applications.
At minimum, the City requires bedrooms with proper egress windows, a separate bathroom, separate cooking facilities, and an entrance accessible from outside without passing through the main dwelling. Fire separation, alarms, ceiling height and ventilation requirements from the Alberta building code apply on top of that, and the suite must pass Safety Codes inspection.
Usually, yes, by replacing it with an engineered beam that carries the load to new point loads and down to footing. It requires structural design, and often an engineer’s stamp, both of which we arrange. It is not a wall you take out on a weekend.
It depends on the clear height under the lowest obstruction, not the height at the middle of the room. We measure under ducting and beams at the assessment. Where the height is short, the options are careful bulkhead design, relocating ducting, or lowering the floor through underpinning or bench footing.
A straightforward family-space basement generally runs six to ten weeks on site once permits are issued. A legal suite runs longer, because of the additional permit path and inspection stages. Permit turnaround at the City is the variable we do not control.
Yes. Framing-only and framing-plus-rough-in packages are available if you are managing your own finishing trades.
A permitted, inspected, code-compliant basement is a documented improvement. An unpermitted one is a liability that surfaces at resale, at refinancing and at claim time. That difference is the reason we do not take unpermitted work.
Yes. Airdrie, Chestermere, Cochrane, Okotoks, Strathmore, High River and the surrounding counties, subject to each municipality’s own requirements.
Tell us what you are planning. We will come out, look at the site, and put a fixed-scope quote in writing, with the scope itemised so you can see exactly what moves the number.
We reply within one business day, seven days a week.
We've received your request and will get back to you within one business day. Need to talk sooner? Call us at +1 (587) 355-2799.
Detached and attached garages, garage suites and packages. Slab to shingles, engineered trusses, permits handled.
Garage builders in CalgaryNew decks, elevated and walkout builds, covered decks and structural deck repair. Piles below frost, flashed ledgers, code-height guards.
Deck builders in CalgaryWood, cedar, vinyl and chain link, built to Land Use Bylaw heights with posts set below frost depth.
Fence builders in CalgaryRear additions, second storeys, bump-outs and garage conversions, foundation through roof tie-in.
Home additions in CalgaryFire, water and impact damage rebuilds, load-bearing wall removal, beam and joist repair.
Structural repairs in CalgaryFree on-site assessment. Written fixed-scope quote, itemised by stage. Permits handled by us.
Free on-site assessment · Fixed-scope written quote · 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., seven days a week
