This is the city we work from.
Saw Dog Construction finishes basements in Westminster, CO, and Westminster is where we are based. Our team designs the space, files the permit with the City of Westminster, builds it, and stays through the city's inspections. The work carries our 2-year workmanship warranty.
Saw Dog Construction is based in Westminster, so the walkthrough is close to home. Neighborhoods such as Hyland Greens, Northpark and Westminster Hills were built in the 80s and 90s, and a lot of those basements were never finished. The structure, roof and foundation are already there, so the budget goes into the rooms.
Bradburn Village, Huntington Trails and Legacy Ridge are the newer end. Plenty of those houses still have an unfinished lower level. Different decade, same City of Westminster permit, same 2-year workmanship warranty. The Westminster page covers kitchens, baths and backyards. The basement-specific story for older houses is Finishing an 80s or 90s Basement in Westminster.
Westminster spans Adams County and Jefferson County. Building permits for a house inside the city still run through the City of Westminster either way. We file that permit and schedule the inspections as part of the job. The project is not done until the city has inspected it.
On an 80s or 90s basement we walk the space before we promise a layout. Ceiling height, the mechanical layout and whatever rough-ins are already in the slab can change the scope. That shows up in the written estimate, before any work starts. If a bedroom is part of the plan, building codes generally require an emergency escape opening, and an egress window is the usual way to get there.
You can usually stay in the house. The mess stays downstairs, and we talk through access and the noisy days before we start.
A finished lower level with LVP, and a basement bath with a tub and shower surround.
A full base finish averages about $80 per square foot. A bathroom adds $12,000 and up, and a from-scratch egress window is $7,000. On an older Westminster basement, ceiling height, the mechanical layout and the existing rough-ins can add scope. That belongs in the written estimate, not in a surprise later.
Size examples for 800, 1,000 and 1,200 square feet are on the basement finishing cost page on SawDog.net. These figures are planning numbers, not a quote. See basement finishing for the full scope we use across the metro.