Ask three contractors what a basement costs and you will get three very different answers. Published prices in Ontario run from $35 to $130 a square foot, which on a 700 square foot Burlington basement is anywhere from $24,500 to $91,000. That gap is not us being vague. It is the market genuinely not agreeing with itself.
Burlington reads clearly by era. Alton and Millcroft, up toward the north of the city, are newer subdivisions with full height basements ready to frame. Aldershot and the older streets closer to the lake are a different job, with lower ceilings, older wiring and asbestos era materials in the mix. Water is the thread that runs through the whole city though, because the flood of 2014 changed how Burlington treats basements and it has been paying people to protect them ever since.
These are the prices other companies publish, not ours. We show you where each one comes from so you can judge it yourself.
| Scope | Published range | What that range rests on |
|---|---|---|
| Basic finish, no bathroom, about 700 sq ft | $24,500 to $91,000 | Contractor estimates spanning $35 to $130 per sq ft |
| Adding a three piece bathroom | Add $15,000 to $35,000 | Contractor estimates, a spread of nearly six times |
| Legal second unit, permits included | $50,000 to $180,000 | Contractor claims. Building permit records for basement suites declare a median nearer $25,000 |
| Lowering the floor or underpinning | $30,000 to $100,000 | 17 permit records for underpinning with finishing, median $60,000 |
Pulled from published Ontario contractor prices and municipal permit records on 1 August 2026. We show you the full spread instead of picking an average, because the sources really do disagree by up to four times, and two of the bigger ones turned out to be publishing the same numbers as each other. Your price comes from a free visit, fixed, with HST already in it.
Since the 2014 flood the city has charged nothing at all for a permit to put in a backwater valve or a sump pump, or to repair a sanitary line alongside one. It has forgiven more than half a million dollars in fees doing it. If your basement has ever taken water, that work is cheaper than you think and it comes before the drywall.
The city subsidises half the cost of having someone come and work out why your basement takes water. There are only twenty of them a year, so they go early. Worth doing before you spend anything on finishing.
Burlington allows up to three added units and asks for no additional parking space for the first one, which is unusual and makes a basement apartment far easier here than in most of the region. The second and third need one space each. There is a pre building approval step to clear before the building permit.
That is Burlington’s own fee for a 1,000 square foot basement finish. When a quote shows three or four thousand for permits, most of it is drawings and engineering, and those belong on their own line so you can see what you are paying for.
For a rental unit in a house that is already built, the rule is 6 feet 5 inches across the space, not the 7 feet people quote at you. Plenty of basements written off as too low actually pass. It takes two minutes with a tape measure to find out.
If the home went up before 1990, the law puts this on you as the owner rather than on your contractor. You have to have the materials checked and give the report to anyone quoting. It sounds like a hassle. It is far cheaper than finding it halfway through the job.
Give us the address and a time that works for you. No sales pitch and no waiting on a callback.
Ceiling height, damp, wiring, where the drain sits, and what the rules allow for what you actually want. About 45 minutes.
Written down, HST included. If there is anything we cannot price without opening a wall, we say so next to the number instead of hiding it.
One free visit, one fixed price, HST included. No sales pitch and no callback loop.
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