Legal & Secondary Suites in Edmonton
Basement suites, secondary suites, and garage suites built legally and to code. A properly permitted suite is real income or flexible family space, and it has to be planned from the start, not bolted on.
An illegal suite is a liability, not an asset
A legal secondary suite in Edmonton, whether a basement suite, a garage suite, or a garden suite, is one of the smartest ways to add income or flexible living space to a home. The key word is legal. A suite that is not permitted and built to code is a liability the day you try to sell, refinance, or insure it, and a safety risk in the meantime.
Plenty of Edmonton homes have a basement suite that was framed in without permits, proper egress, fire separation, or sound control. It rents until the day it becomes a problem: a failed inspection, an insurance claim denied, a sale that falls through, or worse, a real safety hazard.
A legal suite has specific requirements: a separate entrance, fire rated separation between units, sound control, dedicated smoke and carbon monoxide detection, proper egress windows, ceiling heights, and in many cases separate mechanical. These are not optional details, they are what make the suite safe and legal.
Retrofitting an existing illegal suite to legal is often possible but has to be assessed honestly. We will tell you what your space can support before you commit, rather than after.
How we work
Planned legal from day one
We plan a suite around the code requirements from the start, because trying to add egress or fire separation after the fact is expensive and sometimes impossible. That means designing the entrance, separation, egress, and mechanical as a system, then building and permitting it properly.
Because we are a design build renovation company, we handle the whole path: assessing whether your home can support a legal suite, designing it to code, pulling permits, and building it to a standard that passes inspection and lasts. You get one accountable team from first question to final sign off.
Our Process
Feasibility and assessment
We assess whether your basement, garage, or lot can support a legal suite, including egress, ceiling height, and mechanical.
Design to code
We design the suite around the legal requirements: entrance, separation, egress, detection, and services.
Permits
We handle the permit process so the suite is legal and inspectable from the start.
Build and inspect
We build to code, coordinate inspections, and finish the suite ready to rent or live in.
Suites we build
Legal basement suites
Self contained basement suites with proper egress, separation, and services, built to rent or house family legally.
Secondary suites
Permitted secondary suites that add income or flexible space within your existing home.
Garage suites
Suites above or attached to a garage, planned and built to code.
Suite retrofits
Bringing an existing non conforming suite up to legal standard where the space allows.
Separate entrances
Safe, code compliant separate entrances designed into the plan.
Fire and sound separation
Proper fire rated and sound controlled separation between units for safety and livability.
The part you never see is the part we obsess over.
Beautiful finishes are only half the job. What sits behind them, done properly, is why our work is still sound in ten years.
What sets the work apart
Why our suites hold up
We build suites to pass inspection and to be genuinely safe and comfortable, not just to look finished. Fire separation, egress, detection, and sound control are done to code because they protect the people living there and the value of your home.
A legal suite is also a moisture and mechanical project as much as a framing one, especially in a basement. We build from the concrete out and plan the mechanical properly, so the suite stays dry, warm, and healthy.
What shapes a suite budget
Suite cost depends on whether you are starting from an unfinished space or retrofitting, the mechanical and separation work required, the kitchen and bathroom scope, and permit requirements. A garage suite and a basement suite are different projects.
The false economy is an unpermitted suite. It costs less up front and far more later, when it cannot be sold, insured, or refinanced as legal space. We build legal because that is the only version that is actually an asset.
We quote against a fixed written scope so you know the full path, permits included, before committing.
The details that matter
Why legal is the only version worth building
An unpermitted suite saves money up front and costs far more later. It cannot be counted as legal space at sale, it complicates insurance and financing, and it can be a genuine safety risk without proper egress and fire separation. We only build legal because that is the only version that is actually an asset.
Building legal from the start is also cheaper than fixing an illegal suite later, because egress and separation are far harder to add after the fact than to plan in from day one.
A suite is a moisture and mechanical project too
Especially in a basement, a suite is as much about moisture and mechanical as it is about framing. We build from the concrete out, plan the heating, ventilation, and separation properly, and make sure the space stays dry, warm, and healthy for the people living in it.
That hidden work is what separates a suite that is comfortable and durable from one that looks finished but develops problems. It is where we spend our care.
The path from idea to legal, rentable space
A suite project starts with an honest feasibility answer: can your basement, garage, or lot actually support a legal suite given egress, ceiling height, separation, and mechanical. We would rather tell you no up front than sell you a project that cannot be permitted.
When it is feasible, we design the suite around the code requirements from the start, handle the permit process, and build to a standard that passes inspection and lasts. You deal with one accountable team from the first question to the final sign off, with no gap between design and construction.
The payoff is a suite that is a genuine asset: safe, comfortable, rentable, and countable as legal space when you sell, refinance, or insure. That is the whole reason to build it legal, and it is the only way we build.
Why homeowners choose us for suites
Legal, permitted, inspected
We build to code and handle permits, so your suite is a real asset.
Design build under one roof
One team from feasibility to final inspection, with nothing lost in handoff.
Honest feasibility
We tell you up front what your home can and cannot support.
Built to last
From the concrete out, with proper moisture, mechanical, and separation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a legal basement suite cost in Edmonton?+
What makes a suite legal?+
Can you make my existing basement suite legal?+
Do I need a permit for a secondary suite?+
Can I build a garage suite?+
Will a suite add value to my home?+
How long does a suite take to build?+
Do you handle the whole process?+
Let us build your legal suites
Tell us about your project and we will walk you through what it takes to do it properly.