Basement Development
Basement Bathrooms in Calgary
Everything hard about a basement bathroom is under the concrete floor or above the ceiling. The tile is the easy part.
We visit your home, then you get a written price and a start date.
McAra Design + Build gives you a fixed price in writing before any work begins. The simplest job is a three-piece bathroom built on an existing rough-in (the drain and pipe stub left in the floor for a future bathroom) that turns out to be in the right spot. Breaking up the concrete floor to move a drain, or installing an up-flush system (a pump that pushes waste up to the main drain line instead of relying on gravity) instead, both raise the price.
Cutting the concrete, hauling it away and pouring new concrete are priced as their own line item, so you can see exactly what the drain decision costs. You get a fixed number in writing before anything starts.
What's involved
Drain first, then everything else.
Where the drain sits decides the room layout, the ceiling height and about half the budget. We settle that before you pick a single fixture.
- 01Finding and camera-checking the existing rough-in
- 02Cutting and removing concrete
- 03Below-floor drain and vent piping
- 04Pouring new concrete with the right slope
- 05Up-flush or macerating pump system where it makes sense
- 06Water supply lines
- 07Exhaust fan and duct run
- 08Waterproofing system
- 09Tile, vanity and fixtures
- 10Permits and inspections
What we check that others don't
What we check that others don't.
- §1
Whether the existing rough-in is really where the last owner said it is. Rough-ins from the 1970s and 80s are often capped in the wrong spot, at the wrong depth, or not connected to anything at all. We find it, run a camera through it and confirm the invert (the depth of the drain pipe) before we plan a layout around a pipe stub sticking out of the floor.
- §2
Breaking the concrete versus an up-flush system, with real numbers for each. Breaking the concrete gives you a normal drain that relies on gravity, and a bathroom that works like any other. An up-flush or macerating pump avoids the concrete work but adds a pump, a limited lifespan and some noise. We give you both prices and tell you which one actually suits your floor and how deep your sewer line sits.
- §3
How to vent the fan when there's no outside wall nearby. A basement bathroom in the middle of the floor plan still needs its fan duct to reach outside air, and the space between floor joists doesn't count as outside. We plan the route and the outlet before framing starts, because otherwise the fan just pushes moisture into the floor structure.
- §4
Ceiling height after the drain slope is figured in. Drain pipes need a downward slope to work, and in a basement that slope often has to run under a ceiling that's already low, or through a boxed-in section called a bulkhead. We work out the finished ceiling height along the whole route first, especially where a rental suite has a minimum height it must meet.
- §5
The concrete floor and walls around the new room, checked for old moisture. A bathroom adds humidity to the part of the house that already has the most. We check the floor and the surrounding walls for existing moisture before we waterproof and finish the room, so the new bathroom isn't where an old problem finally shows up.
How long it takes
Three to five weeks on site.
A three-piece bathroom on a confirmed existing rough-in takes about three weeks. Breaking the concrete, moving the drain and pouring new concrete adds a week to ten days, mostly waiting on the concrete to cure and the plumbing inspection in between.
The plumbing under the floor has to be inspected before we cover it up, and that date is built into the schedule, not just written beside it. Both the start date and the finish date are in the contract.
We put it in writing.
- A fixed price
- agreed before we start, and it doesn't move unless you change the scope.
- A completion date
- in the contract, not a range, not a best guess.
- A workmanship warranty
- if it fails because of how we installed it, we fix it. No argument, no invoice.
Most renovation guarantees are a paragraph of conditions. Ours is three commitments you can hold us to.
Questions people ask before they book.
- Sometimes. McAra Design + Build can install an up-flush or macerating system, which pumps waste up to the existing drain and avoids concrete work. That convenience comes with a pump, a limited lifespan and some running noise. We price both the up-flush option and a normal gravity drain against your floor and sewer depth, then tell you which one we'd choose for your house.
- Only after McAra Design + Build finds it, runs a camera through it and confirms the depth and connection. A good number of the rough-ins found in Calgary basements sit in the wrong place for a usable layout, or are too shallow for the drain to slope properly. Checking this first stops us from designing a bathroom around a pipe connected to nothing.
- We work that out before design starts. Drain pipes need to slope downward, and in most basements that slope runs under a ceiling that's already low, or through a boxed-in section. McAra Design + Build calculates the finished height along the whole drain route first, which matters most where a legal suite has to meet a minimum ceiling height.
Where this sits
This work is part of Basement Development.
People looking at this page usually look at Legal Basement Suites and Basement Moisture & Waterproofing in the same conversation.
Get a free in-home quote.
We visit your home, then you get a written price and a start date.
What are you planning?
Or call Chris directly: +1 (587) 837-3113