Basement Finishing Guide

Floor plans must include the following applicable items:

• Room names and areas
• Door sizes (width and height)
• Window sizes (width and height) and operation type (casement, awning, slider etc.)
• Walls (no single line drawings are permitted).
• All proposed wall construction (interior partitions, structural walls, framing of an interior wall of around foundation walls to receive insulation).
• Bathroom layout (if applicable) □ Existing stair location
• Ceiling height (including areas where the ceiling height changes, such as under bulkheads or beams)
• Any new beams, lintels, or other structural supports (include size, material & location dimensions)
• Location of existing (or relocated) mechanical equipment, such as furnace, H.R.V. (heat recovery ventilator), water heater, clothes washer/dryer
• Location and sizes of existing duct work (including supply and cold air returns)
• Structural components (lintels, beams, columns, bearing walls) indicating size, spacing, material, and showing support details at bearing points
• Existing and new items are to be clearly differentiated on the plan. (This is commonly achieved by shading in existing walls or labelling all existing items and proposed elements (rooms, walls, ductwork, etc.).
• Include the existing square footage of the area, and square footage of the finished area.

Remember to:

• Ensure that the plans are dimensioned.
• Show all construction elements on the drawings and clearly label what they are.
• Clearly label all rooms, indicating which are new proposed and which are existing (example: “Existing Bathroom” or “New Bathroom”).
• Clearly differentiate between any new proposed and existing building elements (example: shade in existing wall construction but leave new proposed walls unshaded).

General requirements for fire safety

Single Residential Dwelling Units are required to contain both smoke alarms (O.B.C. 9.10.19.) and carbon monoxide alarms (O.B.C. 9.33.4.) as a fire safety measure.

Smoke alarms are required to be located so that,

• There is at least one smoke alarm installed on each storey, including basements,
• Any storey containing a sleeping room (ex: bedrooms),
• Within each sleeping room (ex: bedrooms), and
• In a location between the sleeping rooms and the remainder of the storey (ex: hallway).

Smoke alarms shall:

• Be installed with permanent connections to an electrical circuit with no disconnect switch,
• Include a battery back-up,
• Include a visual signaling component,
• Include an audio signaling component,
• Be installed on or near the ceiling, and
• Be wired so that they are interconnected, so that if one smoke alarm is activated it will cause the activation of all smoke alarms within the dwelling unit.

Carbon Monoxide Alarms are required to be:

• Located adjacent to each sleeping area,
• Mechanically fixed at the manufacturer’s recommended height, or in the absence of specific instructions, on or near the ceiling,
• Permanently connected to an electrical circuit with no disconnect switch,
• Wired so that its activation will activate all carbon monoxide alarms, and
• Equipped with an alarm that is audible within bedrooms when the doors are closed.

Safe Exiting:

The Ontario Building Code sets out minimum sizes for doorways (O.B.C. 9.5.11.) and hallways (O.B.C. 9.5.10.) to facilitate a safe path towards an exit in the event of an emergency.

Doors in the path between the basement and the exterior must be a minimum width of 810mm (32”) wide. This includes doors at the top or bottom of stairs.

Other door sizes (O.B.C. 9.5.11) are required to meet specific minimum size requirements to facilitate safe exiting, as well as general movability within the space.

• Utility room doors must be 810mm (32”) wide
• Bathroom doors are permitted to be 610mm (24”) wide
• Rooms located off hallways that are permitted to be 710mm (28”) wide
• All other doors must be a minimum width of 760mm (30”) wide

The unobstructed width of a hallway is required to be a minimum of 860mm (34”) wide.

Hallways may have a reduced width of 710mm (28”) wide, when there are only bedrooms and bathrooms at the end of the hallway furthest from the living area, and a second exit is provided to accommodate.

Ceiling height

As a health and safety matter, the Ontario Building Code regulates a minimum ceiling height (O.B.C. 9.5.3.) in all finished spaces.

Minimum ceiling height requirements:

• Living room/space, Dining room and Kitchen/kitchen space: 2300mm (7’ 6 ½”) over at least 75% of the required floor area, with a clear height of 2100mm (6’ 11”) at any point of the required floor area.
• Bedroom spaces: 2300mm (7’ 6 ½”) over at least 50% of the required floor area or 2100mm (6’ 11”) over all the required floor area.
• Bathroom or water closet: 2100mm (6’ 11”) in any location where a person would be in the standing position
• Passage and finished rooms not specifically mentioned above: 2100mm (6’ 11”)

Windows

In rooms that contain electric lighting minimum, unobstructed glass areas are required to be provided. This is actual glass area, not the overall window size (do not include frames in area calculations). For example, an 11m2 (120 ft²) bedroom would require a minimum window glass area of 0.55m2 (6 ft²). The table below provides the minimum requirements (O.B.C. 9.7.2.3.)

Every basement level that contains a bedroom must be provided with a way to safely get outside. If the basement does not have a door that leads directly to the exterior grade, an egress window is required (O.B.C. 9.9.10.1.) to be provided. The egress window must be located where it is always accessible to everyone who may be sleeping in the basement.

Stairs

Stairs are required to have uniform riser heights within the flight of stairs (O.B.C. 9.8.). If you intend to raise the height of the finished floor, or if you intend to finish the stairs with flooring, uneven riser heights must be avoided throughout the entire stair run for safety reasons. Stairs must also contain a code compliant guard and handrail. Stairs are required to be provided with adequate lighting (O.B.C. 9.34.2.3.). Stairs that serve finished spaces are required to have a 3-way wall switch located at the top and bottom of each flight of stairs.

Plumbing for Bathrooms and other locations

If there is a bathroom roughed in, or if you intend to add bathroom fixtures the work must meet the plumbing requirements of the Ontario Building Code. This also applies to all plumbing work that is proposed. Some common examples include bar sinks, washing machine hook-ups, laundry tubs, sump pits. Reminder: Bathrooms require ventilation/exhaust to the exterior. 

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)

All homes have Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning (H.V.A.C.) system. In older homes it may just be a furnace and windows that open to allow air circulation. Newer homes have more complex systems.

H.V.A.C. design (9.32. & 9.33.) in most homes (especially new homes), the ventilation and heating systems are combined, but the requirements for ventilation need to be looked at separately from the heating/cooling. An adequate amount of supply and return air ducts are required to be provided for the basement space. If you are unsure of the requirements, speak with a qualified mechanical contractor who is H.R.A.I. registered (Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada) to ensure the system is properly designed and installed. A poor design will cause discomfort and lead to poor energy efficiency as well as higher operating costs.

In many newer houses a Heat Recovery Ventilator (H.R.V.) was installed when the house was built. If you wish to reuse the H.R.V. for the exhaust of the bathroom, a new H.R.V. balancing report will need to be submitted after the installation. Many older homes do not contain an H.R.V. system.

The age of your house, scope of the proposed work, and type of existing H.V.A.C. that your house has will determine what requirements will need to be met. In general terms, each room in a basement is required to be provided with a heat source. Depending on the use of a room, it will be required to have adequate fresh air supply and air circulation. These are all key to ensuring the health and safety of anyone who may be enjoying the use of the basement.

For newer homes, H.R.A.I. explains that there are three options for heating a habitable (finished) basement.

• Option 1: is to provide a secondary heat source for the basement that will supplement 20% of the heat loss in conjunction to the use of the primary heat source. With this option, the heat ducts are permitted to remain at the ceiling level and must deliver 100% of the required heat load of the basement. This method is thermostatically controlled.
• Option 2: is to create a separate system or zone of a system which is controlled by a thermostat that is located in the area that it serves. This separate system or zone of a system must deliver 100% of the required heat load to the area that it serves.
• Option 3: applies to basements that are fully insulated (full height of exposed walls). Supply heat is to be located at the exterior walls, or in immediately adjacent walls. The supply heat is to be within 6” of the basement floor and the circulation fan on the furnace shall be set to run continuously.

All bathrooms require mechanical ventilation by way of exhaust equipment. If the bathroom is not being exhausted through an H.R.V. unit, it is usually done with an exhaust fan. The exhaust equipment being used must be approved by Home Ventilating Institute (H.V.I.) and must be vented directly to the exterior with properly sized duct work. The minimum capacity required to be met is 25 L/s (50cfm).

Ontario Building Code

You may also visit elaws at Ontario.ca for a full version of the O.B.C. for reference.

Reminders

• Contact the Electrical Safety Authority (E.S.A.) to obtain an electrical permit for any electrical work to be completed.
• A qualified gas technician is required for:
  • Gas fireplace installations.
  • Relocating or changing fuel fired appliances.
• Carbon monoxide alarms are required to be installed adjacent to sleeping areas when a fuel fired appliance is used.
• Egress is required if sleeping areas are provided (eg. egress windows).
• To provide sufficient supply and return air ducts for the new layout.

Once a permit is granted

• If any changes are proposed from the approved building permit drawings, contact Building Services Division to speak with the Plans Reviewer prior to proceeding with any work. Revised drawings may be required.
• The approved plans will need to be printed in colour. A copy is to be on-site during inspections.
• Building Services will provide the contact information of the inspectors assigned to your building permit at the time of building permit issuance.
• Whenever possible it is recommended to have the builder present during inspection to assist the Building Inspector in relaying important information. This will help eliminate delays during the process.
• Ensure that each inspection is passed before proceeding with the next phase of work. Failure to notify the appropriate inspector of readiness for a mandated inspection may result in removal of finishes to the satisfaction of the inspector to ensure inspection may take place.

Inspections

Remember to provide your inspector with minimum 48 hours notice of inspections.

Common inspection deficiencies include:

• What is constructed does not match the floor layout of the approved plans.
• The top or bottom rise of stairs is not uniform due to change in floor or tread finishes.
• Ceiling height does not meet requirements.
• Door size to the utility room is too small.
• Make-up air is not provided to fuel burning furnace.
• Improper dryer ducting.
• Improper washroom ventilation.
• Improperly vented plumbing pipes.
• Moisture protection of bottom plates of walls is not provided.
• 3-way switch missing or improperly located to serve stairs.
• Supply and return air ducts are not provided to all rooms.

Checklist for a Complete Building Permit Application

When applying for a building permit to finish a basement, the following items must be included for the application to be complete and accepted by the Building Services Division. If you do not have all required information, your application is incomplete and cannot be processed.

Please ensure that the following items are provided at time of building permit application:

• A completed Building Permit Application form.
• Any approvals that are required from City departments or Agencies.
• Schedule 1: Designer Information (The person that prepares the drawings must either be the homeowner, or a qualified and/or registered designer as per the O.B.C. requirements). This form may be found with the Building Permit Application form.
• Fees, as required.
• A copy of construction drawings and floor layout.

Remember that the more time spent pre-planning your project will help minimize confusion during the building permit application review process. It will also reduce any frustration on site, once you have obtained building permit and have commenced construction.

No construction is to commence prior to building permit issuance.