Basement Finishing Permits

What are the unexpected and often unpleasant side effects of not getting the proper basement finishing permits?

Well, the worst case scenario is having to tear out the entire basement finish. Typically the municipality will ask to expose your wiring, plumbing and top plates to verify proper procedures were adhered to. All this results in thousands of dollars of unplanned costs. Some contractors argue that your property taxes will go up if you get permits, and while that’s true, only with basement finishing permits will you be able to also determine your home’s resale value.

Not to mention the risk of unlicensed and unskilled workmanship

For example, a few companies who offer a “Basement Finishing System” will argue against basement finishing permits for the benefit of the homeowner, offering to deliver material after hours and drive plain trucks for your benefit when in reality their systems panels and install methods will not pass a permitting process anyway, which would remove them from being qualified to work on the project. You should also know that some roofing companies are offering the Owens Corning System as a sideline and will not get your permits for one reason…they can’t.

But maybe you think you won’t get caught? Think again!

Remember Mrs. Kravitz from Bewitched? Every neighborhood has one. And neighbors who went and got their permits will want to make sure you jumped through the same hoops. Or maybe you are unlucky enough to have an inspector driving by at the wrong time? Finally, neighbors don’t like contractor’s trucks parked all over the street.

And lastly, if you asked four different contractors for quotes, and only one is awarded the work, we have been told by homeowners that the other three who didn’t get the work waited until the job started, then called in a complaint themselves!

Remember, at resale, a private home inspector just might ask for a copy of your basement finishing permits and occupancy permits as part of the inspection, and if you don’t have one, guess what? Bad News!

How are we different?

We pride ourselves on staying up to date on the yearly and sometimes quarterly changes that municipalities adopt. And it’s not easy, right in our area there are twelve municipalities and six fire districts, all with their own rules and regulations.

So, to make things easier on you, we permit every job and make sure we carry the required licensing to work in that area. We handle all the scheduling of inspections as well as attending as the owners representative.

We provide copies of the occupancy permit, and place a company logo’d  sticker on the furnace at completion with our contact info, the permit # and the date the occupancy permit was issued. This makes selling your home very easy.

So don’t leave your basement finishing project to your brother-in-law, leave it to the professionals at Absolute Basement Finishing, LLC. And we will make sure we leave your home exactly how we found, just a little bit better! Finally, we want to make sure you realize that proper basement finishing permits are part of the job, and only then will you truly have the basement you want with peace of mind. Now that you know how the process works, take a look at some of our work, read a little about us, what some of our clients have said about us, or contact us for a free consultation.