Salt Lake CityBasement Finishing
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Basement Finishing in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City Basement Finishing turns the unfinished lower level of a house into rooms the city will sign off on: an apartment, a bedroom, a bathroom, or the egress window that makes a basement room legal to sleep in. Salt Lake City is old housing. About 65 percent of its homes date from before 1980 and about a third from before 1950, with 1965 as the median year, so the work can begin with a lower level built to older rules.

Finishing a basement here involves a permit, wall framing and insulation, wiring with alarms, and an escape opening wherever someone will sleep. Our services are basement apartments, egress windows, basement bedrooms and basement bathrooms, in Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake and Bountiful. Estimates are free and follow a visit to the basement.

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Front of a 1960s brick rambler with a low-pitch roof, an attached single garage and two window wells at the foundation, mature maples and the Wasatch Range behind in evening light
Basement apartmentEgress window installationBasement bedroomBasement bathroom

Our basement finishing services

Basement apartment main room with a kitchenette along one wall, shaker cabinets, a small range and refrigerator, a loveseat and a separate exterior door with a glass panelBrick house with a round corrugated steel window well around a basement window at foundation level, gravel in the well, lawn and shrubs, and snow-capped mountains in the distance

Basement apartment

In Utah’s terms a basement apartment is an internal accessory dwelling unit. Salt Lake City’s guide to ADUs names the basement conversion as one layout, and the unit needs its own escape opening, alarms and a separation from the house. City rules cover who must live in the building and parking.

Egress window installation

An egress window is the opening, the window well outside it and the cut through the foundation wall. The code sets a net opening size, a sill height and a well size, and it treats a new bedroom differently from a basement that is only being refinished.

Finished basement bedroom with a made bed, wooden nightstand, closet with a white panel door, a small basement window with a roller blind and a smoke alarm on the ceilingFinished basement bathroom with a tiled walk-in shower and glass panel, a white vanity, grey porcelain tile floor, an exhaust fan grille and one small window

Basement bedroom

A basement room becomes a bedroom when it has an escape opening, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and enough ceiling height. In an older basement, where pipes and ducts hang low, the measured clear height is the first thing to check.

Basement bathroom

A basement bathroom is planned around a lower ceiling allowance, a shower clearance, an exhaust fan, protected outlets and plumbing that appears on the permit plans. It can be a half bath beside a family room or a full bathroom for a bedroom or apartment.

Basement finishing costs

These ranges cover hired labor, materials and permit steps for work inside an existing basement in Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake and Bountiful. Water problems and foundation repair are not part of them. The low end is a plain, simple job. The open top end is where more rooms, a bathroom, hard access or higher-end finishes come in.

Basement finishing

  • Small basement, about 400-600 sq ft$18,000 – $40,000+
  • Medium basement, about 1,000 sq ft$38,000 – $75,000+
  • Large basement, about 1,500 sq ft$55,000 – $110,000+
What is included

The framing, insulation, wiring, drywall, flooring and lights of a finished basement, with permit and inspection steps. Bathrooms, bedroom windows and apartments are priced as separate lines.

Get a free quoteSee an example project

Basement apartment

  • Basement apartment, about 700-800 sq ft$50,000 – $100,000+
  • Larger suite, about 1,000 sq ft or more, with its own outside entrance$75,000 – $130,000+
What is included

A separate unit with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen or kitchenette and living space, plus alarms, an escape opening and the wall and floor between it and the house. Utility upgrades are extra. The city decides whether a unit is allowed on your lot.

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Egress window installation

  • One egress window and well$3,500 – $7,000+
  • Two windows, for two bedrooms$7,000 – $14,000+
  • A harder cut: a thick foundation wall, or a well that must clear a step or porch$7,000 – $12,000+
What is included

Opening the foundation wall, setting the window and the well with its drain, and the inspection. Interior patching and paint and outdoor landscaping can add to the cost.

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Basement bedroom

  • One bedroom with a closet, about 120-150 sq ft, egress already in place$6,000 – $13,000+
  • One bedroom with a new egress window and well$9,500 – $20,000+
What is included

Walls, ceiling, a closet, a door, outlets, light and the alarms a sleeping room needs. The second line adds the new escape window and well.

Get a free quoteSee an example project

Basement bathroom

  • Half bath, toilet and sink$5,000 – $12,000+
  • Full bathroom, toilet, sink and shower$10,000 – $25,000+
What is included

Drain, vent and water lines for a half or full bathroom, a fan, protected power, waterproof surfaces and the fixtures.

Get a free quoteSee an example project

Ranges are 2026 estimates, not quotes. Your written estimate is free and comes after we have seen the basement.

What a finished basement includes

Utah builds under the 2021 International Residential Code with state amendments, and a basement finish is judged on the work being done. The state code says a building component that is not being altered does not have to be upgraded, so finishing a basement does not by itself pull the rest of the house into the project. The main items are these.

Framing against concrete

Wood against concrete is where moisture and decay become a code matter. Framing that bears on a foundation wall within 8 inches of exposed ground must be treated or naturally durable, and so must sills and sleepers on a ground-contact slab unless an impervious moisture barrier is between them. Our source is a partial list, so the drawings show where it applies.

Insulation behind the finish

Utah’s own energy chapter sets conditioned basement walls at R-10 continuous or R-13 between studs, checked by inspection before the interior finish covers them. Foam plastic needs a barrier in front of it, half-inch gypsum or a tested equivalent, unless 1 inch of masonry or concrete already stands between foam and room. Water in a basement is its own subject, and waterproofing is not work we do.

Fireblocking and stairs

Concealed stud-wall spaces are closed off at the floor and ceiling lines and every 10 feet or less between them. Stair enclosures behind a door or access panel get half-inch gypsum on the walls and the underside of the stair.

Ceiling height

In habitable space the ceiling must clear 7 feet. Ducts, beams and girders can come down to 6 feet 4 inches, and bathrooms plus basement areas without habitable space are held to 6 feet 8 inches.

Alarms and power

Utah’s code treats a permitted alteration like new construction for alarms: smoke alarms located as in a new house and interconnected, carbon monoxide alarms on each level and near sleeping areas. Outlets in unfinished basement areas need ground-fault protection by Utah amendment.

Utah Residential Code 2021 (IRC chapter 3 as adopted), UpCodes viewerUtah Code 15A-3-202, amendments to IRC chapters 1 through 5Utah Code 15A-3-203, energy efficiency chapterUtah Code 15A-3-206, amendments to IRC electrical and other chapters

Basement permits in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City Building Services says nobody may alter, repair, improve or convert a building, or change its electrical, plumbing or mechanical systems, without first obtaining the prescribed permits from the building official. Applications go in electronically through the Citizen Access Portal, and the city asks for plan review checklists with them.

The city’s permit page also says Magna, Kearns, Emigration Canyon and other unincorporated parts of Salt Lake County are served by the Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District. If your address is not inside the city limits, that office, not the city, handles your permit. Fees and review times are the city’s to state, and we do not quote them.

Salt Lake City Building Services, building permits

Our process

01

Visit and measure

We walk the basement and measure the clear ceiling height under beams and ducts, the windows and wells, the stairs and the mechanical corner. The first conversation then starts from what is actually down there.

02

Plan and permit

Drawings name each room’s use and show window sizes, insulation values, alarm locations and the plumbing and electrical layout. Once the city has reviewed them, the permit is issued and work begins.

03

Frame, insulate and rough in

Studs go up along the walls, then the wiring, pipes and ducts are run. Inspection of the insulation happens while it is still visible.

04

Inspect

Inspections follow the stages named on the permit. In an apartment, fire-rated separation is checked after the gypsum is hung and before taping, so those joints stay open for the inspector.

05

Finish and hand over

Drywall, paint, flooring, trim and fixtures follow, then a final inspection and a walk-through with you.

Housing in Salt Lake City

Census figures count about 101,000 housing units in Salt Lake City. The median year built is 1965; roughly 65 percent of units predate 1980 and about 34 percent predate 1950. Detached single-family houses are about 43 percent, buildings of five or more units 41 percent, owner-occupied units 46 percent. Median value: $539,500.

That mix points to two kinds of owner: people with an older house, whose bedroom windows and ceiling heights were set by earlier rules, and owners of small buildings, who need to ask what the city allows. Year built says nothing about whether a house has a basement; that is the first thing we look at.

What changes the cost

The ranges above are a starting point, and the space and the plan decide where a job lands. A written estimate follows a visit. Factors:

  • The floor area to be finished
  • Whether the plan adds a bedroom, a bathroom or an apartment
  • New egress openings and window wells
  • Plumbing, which grows with each bathroom, kitchen or wet bar
  • Ceiling height, ducts and furnace-room work
  • Electrical and heating changes
  • The level of finish: flooring, trim, fixtures and cabinets
  • Permit and plan costs, which depend on the project

Service area

Salt Lake City is the base. South Salt Lake is about 8 miles away by road and Bountiful about 10 miles north, in Davis County, and each has a page. Other nearby places have their own permit offices, so send the address and we will say which one applies.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a permit to finish my basement?

Salt Lake City’s building permit page says alterations, conversions and changes to electrical, plumbing or mechanical systems need the prescribed permits from the building official. Ask the city about your plan before you start.

What does finishing a basement include?

Framing, insulation, wiring, plumbing and ducts, drywall, flooring and fixtures, plus the alarms and escape openings the code asks for. The items above set out what the code says about each, and which of them your basement needs depends on its current state.

Can a basement be finished for $10,000?

It depends on the size and on what goes into it, and the ranges above give a starting point, with a written estimate after a visit. Bathrooms, kitchens, new egress openings and apartments add work that a plain family room does not. The cost list above shows what moves a price.

What does a basement bedroom need?

A sleeping room in the lower level has three code needs: a way out through an emergency escape opening, alarms for smoke and carbon monoxide, and ceiling height of 7 feet in habitable space. Each is explained on the basement bedroom page.

Is my address inside Salt Lake City?

The city’s permit page says Magna, Kearns, Emigration Canyon and other unincorporated parts of Salt Lake County are served by the Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District, so check which permit office covers your address before you plan.

Should I test for radon before finishing a basement?

Utah’s environmental quality department puts the share of homes testing over the EPA’s 4 picocuries per liter action level at one in three, with an average near 5.3, and suggests testing the basement or lowest floor. State code leaves passive radon controls optional; any that go in follow Appendix F of the IRC. Mitigation is another trade.

Request a free basement finishing quote

Tell us the address, which parts of the basement are unfinished, and whether you want a bedroom, a bathroom, an apartment or an egress window. Mention the house’s age if you know it and anything you have already measured or heard from the city. We'll get back to you soon with an estimate or any questions we have. Estimates are free and there's no obligation.

Call (385) 386-4115

Call (385) 386-4115