Elite Contracting Ltd. renovates basements in Vancouver from our shop at 10220 120 St in Surrey. One insured crew handles the design, the permit applications, every trade and the finishing, whether you want a family room downstairs or a legal secondary suite.
★★★★★ 5.0 on Google · free written estimates
Elite Contracting Ltd. renovates basements in Vancouver, British Columbia, working from a shop in Surrey, BC. A basement project here is usually one of two things: a finished basement that stays part of the house, or a secondary suite that becomes its own approved dwelling unit. We build both, and we run the job from design through construction under a single contract.
The City of Vancouver defines a secondary suite as an approved dwelling unit with its own kitchen and living area as well as separate external access, inside a larger one-family or two-family dwelling. Adding one to an existing house needs a permit. A secondary suite in Vancouver cannot be strata titled, and the city’s Zoning and Development By-law allows only one secondary suite per single family home.
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Reviewed by Ranbir Bagri, Owner, Elite Contracting Ltd.
A basement renovation in Vancouver usually includes framing and insulation, a moisture and drainage plan, electrical and plumbing rough-in, egress and fire separation where a suite is involved, then drywall, flooring and finishing. Here is what we take on downstairs:
Whether the basement becomes a family room or a rental suite, Elite Contracting Ltd. runs it under one contract, one schedule, and one workmanship warranty. See the residential side in full on our home renovation services page, or read how we work as a general contractor in Vancouver.
Vancouver basements sit under a rainy coastal climate and inside housing stock built across very different decades, so moisture control and the era of the house drive most of the work. These are the things we plan for before a single stud goes up.
A finished basement is only as good as the water management around it. We look at perimeter drainage, grading, downspouts and any past seepage first, because insulation and drywall installed over a moisture problem will fail, and no inspection catches that for you.
These boxy, front-gabled two-storey houses were mass-produced between 1965 and 1985. The front door usually sits to one side, a layout that was designed to allow main living quarters on the upper floor and a secondary suite on the bottom, which is why so many of them convert cleanly.
Older East Side and West Side homes often still run galvanized water lines, an undersized electrical panel, and sometimes knob-and-tube wiring in the walls we open. A basement suite adds a second kitchen and a second set of loads, so those systems get upgraded as part of the scope rather than discovered halfway through.
The city’s own definition of a secondary suite includes separate external access. On a sloped Vancouver lot that can mean a new exterior door, a stair well and drainage at the bottom of it, which is real construction rather than a detail you add at the end.
Older Vancouver basements were not built as living space, so headroom is the constraint that decides what is possible. We measure it on the first visit and tell you honestly whether the basement suits a suite, a family room, or a lowering job, before you spend anything on design.
We work from 10220 120 St in Surrey, on the Scott Road corridor. Crews reach Vancouver in roughly 30 to 45 minutes by Highway 91 and the Knight Street Bridge, or Highway 99 through the George Massey Tunnel. Secondary suite approvals run through the City of Vancouver, and we prepare those applications as part of the job.
A finished basement stays part of your house. A secondary suite becomes its own approved dwelling unit with its own kitchen, living area and separate external access, and it follows a different approval path. The difference changes the scope, the permits and the timeline, so it is the first thing we settle.
| Finished basement | Legal secondary suite | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Living space that stays part of your home: a family room, a bedroom, an office, a bathroom, a gym. | An approved dwelling unit with its own kitchen and living area as well as separate external access, inside your house. |
| Permit | Needed once the work moves interior walls, plumbing, electrical or gas lines. Replacing fixtures, cabinets or flooring on its own does not need one. | Always. The City of Vancouver lists adding a secondary suite to an existing house as work that requires a permit. |
| City limits | No unit is being created, so the suite rules do not apply. | The Zoning and Development By-law allows only one secondary suite per single family home. A third suite is not allowed, and a secondary suite cannot be strata titled. |
| Renting it out | Not a separate rental unit. | Suites not approved through the city’s permitting process are not legal dwelling units and are not eligible for short- or long-term licences. |
| Skipping the permit | A work-without-permit penalty is typically double the original permit fee, and as the homeowner you pay it yourself even if a contractor assured you no permit was needed. | Same penalty, plus the suite stays unapproved. If you later sell, the next owner inherits responsibility for work completed without a permit. |
We walk the basement, measure headroom, check the drainage and access, and settle whether you are building a finished basement or a legal suite.
We lay out the space and give you a written scope, priced from what we saw on site rather than from a phone description.
We prepare and manage the City of Vancouver applications, then run framing, mechanical, drywall and finishing with our own crews and book the inspections as the work moves.
We review the finished basement with you, clear the deficiency list, and back the work with our workmanship warranty.
One company takes the basement from the first sketch to the final coat, so nothing gets lost in the handoff between a designer and a builder.
We prepare the permit applications and deal with the inspectors, which matters most on suites, where the approval path is its own project.
Elite Contracting Ltd. carries full insurance and stands behind every basement with a workmanship warranty.
Clients across Vancouver, Surrey and the rest of Metro Vancouver rate us 5.0. Read them before you call, they say more than we can.
Tell us what you want downstairs. We will measure the space, tell you honestly whether it suits a suite or a family room, and put a price and a schedule in writing.
★★★★★ 5.0 on Google
We recently had our basement renovated, and the experience exceeded our expectations from start to finish. The team was professional, punctual, and respectful of our home. They kept us informed throughout the process, listened to our ideas, and offered creative solutions that made the space even better than we imagined.
raman sanghera · Google reviewHonestly, Elite Contracting did an amazing job for us. The crew showed up exactly when they said they would, they were great to deal with, and they really knew what they were doing. They finished right on time and didn't hit us with any surprise costs—the price was exactly what we agreed on.
Lakhvir Singh · Google reviewWe hired elite contracting Ltd for a complete home remodel and the result was outstanding. They finished on time, kept everything organised and delivered beautiful craftsmanship.
Joban Pamma · Google reviewA basement in Vancouver is one part of a service area that covers the whole region. Pick your city to see how we work where you live.
Elite Contracting Ltd. works out of 10220 120 Street, Surrey, BC V3V 4G1, on the Scott Road corridor. Crews cross into Vancouver by Highway 91 and the Knight Street Bridge, or Highway 99 through the George Massey Tunnel, in roughly 30 to 45 minutes.
The service area the owner lists is Surrey, Delta, White Rock, Richmond, Vancouver and West Vancouver.
