Basement Finishing
Turn the unfinished square footage under your roof into bedrooms, bathrooms, and the room your family fights over. Planned on paper first, then built by qualified trades on an organized schedule.
What a well-run basement finish looks like
A basement finish touches nearly every construction trade: framing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, insulation, drywall, paint, doors, trim, and flooring, sequenced in the right order, inspected at the right stages. When those pieces are coordinated well, the project feels surprisingly calm. When they aren't, homeowners get the stories you've heard from neighbors.
Hunting Tanner Construction manages basements as a planning-first process. Before pricing, your project gets a written scope that defines each room and each system. Before construction, you know the schedule, the payment structure, and the decisions you'll need to make. During construction, you get regular updates and one accountable point of contact. That's the whole philosophy: see the six-step process for the details.
What's typically included
- Layout and space planning: bedroom placement, bathroom location relative to plumbing rough-ins, family-room sizing, storage that's planned instead of leftover.
- Permits and inspections: coordinated with your city's building department, scheduled into the timeline.
- Framing and insulation: exterior wall furring, interior walls, soffits around mechanical runs, sound insulation where it matters (like under the main-floor living room).
- Electrical: lighting layout, outlets, smoke and CO detection, and circuits for the way the space will actually be used: media equipment, an office, gym equipment, a fridge.
- Plumbing and HVAC: bathroom completion from the rough-in, wet-bar supply and drain, and heating/cooling balanced for below-grade comfort.
- Drywall, paint, doors, and trim: the finish stage where the space starts looking like the rest of your home.
- Flooring and fixtures: carpet, LVP, or tile selected through organized allowances.
Bathrooms & bedrooms
A conforming bedroom and a full bathroom are the two additions that change how a basement counts, for daily life and for how the home functions with guests, teenagers, or family staying long-term. Bedrooms need proper egress windows and smoke detection; bathrooms need supply, drain, and ventilation done right. Both are core HTC work, and both get planned around your home's existing rough-ins and window locations.
Family & entertainment rooms
The big open room is the heart of most basement projects: movie nights, game tables, toy space, church-group hosting. Good ones are designed deliberately: TV wall placement before the electrical goes in, lighting zones instead of one switch, sound control in the ceiling, and storage built into the plan.
Wet bars & kitchenettes
A snack center with a sink, drink fridge, microwave shelf, and real cabinetry keeps popcorn nights downstairs, and makes the space feel finished in a way paint alone never does. Full kitchenettes can also support long-term guests. We'll talk honestly about which level fits your budget and how each affects plumbing scope.
Home offices & gyms
Basements make excellent offices and gyms for the same reasons: quiet, separation, and stable temperatures. Offices get planned for lighting quality, outlets where the desk actually goes, and a door that signals "at work." Gyms get durable flooring, mirrors, ventilation, and ceiling clearance checked before anything is built.
What drives the cost
Homeowners deserve a straight answer on pricing, and the honest one is that basements vary widely. The main drivers are:
- Square footage being finished
- Bathrooms: count, and whether a rough-in exists
- Wet features: bars and kitchenettes add plumbing and cabinetry
- Bedroom count: egress windows and closets
- Finish level: flooring, tile, cabinetry, and built-in choices
- Existing conditions: ceiling height, mechanical layout, moisture
Rather than quoting a misleading per-square-foot number, we walk the space, write the scope, and price it line by line, so you can see exactly where the investment goes and adjust the plan before construction, not during it. If you share a target range early, we'll design the scope around it.
How long it takes
Most projects take anywhere from 4-8 weeks typically, depending on size, the number of wet areas, inspection scheduling, and selection lead times. Your proposal includes an estimated timeline for your specific scope, and weekly updates keep you current once work begins.
Basement finishing FAQs
What does "basement finishing" actually include?
Everything that turns bare framing and concrete into livable rooms: layout planning, framing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC adjustments, insulation, drywall, paint, doors, trim, flooring, and fixtures, plus permit coordination and inspections along the way. Your written scope spells out exactly what's included for your project.
My basement only has a rough-in. Can you add a full bathroom?
In most cases, yes. Builders in Utah County commonly stub in under-slab drains for a future bathroom. We confirm the rough-in location and condition during the walkthrough and design the bathroom around it. If there's no rough-in, adding one is still possible. It involves cutting and re-pouring a section of the slab, which we scope and price up front.
Do finished basements need special ceiling heights or windows?
Building codes set minimum ceiling heights for habitable rooms and require egress windows for bedrooms. Most newer Utah County homes meet ceiling requirements easily; older homes sometimes need creative planning around ducts and beams. We evaluate all of this at the walkthrough so surprises get engineered out before construction.
Can I finish my basement in phases to spread out the cost?
Sometimes that's smart. For example, completing framing, electrical, drywall, and one bedroom now, and leaving a future bathroom or wet bar roughed in. We're happy to scope a phased plan honestly, including what phasing saves and what it costs in efficiency.
Will you match the finishes to my upstairs?
If you want the basement to feel continuous with the main floor, we plan selections (trim profiles, doors, flooring tones, paint) to match or complement what you have. If you'd rather the basement have its own character, that works too. Selections are organized with allowances so choices stay on budget.
More questions answered on the full FAQ page, or learn how the process works.
Where we finish basements
Hunting Tanner Construction serves homeowners at their properties in Saratoga Springs, Lehi, Herriman, and communities throughout Utah County and the Salt Lake Valley:
Get a real plan for your basement
Start with a conversation and a walkthrough. You'll know what your space can become, what it takes, and what it costs, in writing.