UNDERPINNINGCALGARY
Illustrative clean structural shell with new concrete walls, steel beam and posts
Demonstration project 03

BOWNESS

Secondary Suite Preparation

Clear height · illustrative

6′3″ → 7′6″

Area
920 sq. ft.
Structural phase
12 weeks

Illustrative, excluding design & approvals

The challenge

The owners were thinking about a future suite, but the basement couldn't support that conversation yet. Headroom was short and drainage raised questions that needed proper answers. The structural phase was framed as one defined step, with the wider approval process kept clearly in view.

Objective
Prepare the structure for a possible secondary suite.
Constraint
Headroom and drainage questions required coordination.
Concept
Treat structural preparation as a defined phase within a broader project.
Illustrative cluttered Bowness basement with old furnace, cracked slab and low ceiling
Before · illustrative
Conceptual planning section for BownessExisting clear height 6′3″. Proposed clear height 7′6″. Conceptual support extensions shown below the existing footings. GRADECEILING · FIXEDCONCEPTUAL SUPPORTEXISTING SLABPROPOSED FLOOR · CONCEPT6′3″7′6″
Conceptual planning diagram · not a construction drawing

Scope summary

  • 01Underpinning to the assessed design
  • 02Floor lowering
  • 03Drainage coordination
  • 04Slab-related work

Structural preparation does not establish secondary-suite approval, registration or occupancy permission. Those follow their own process.

Illustrative clean structural shell with new concrete walls, steel beam and posts
After · structural shell · illustrative
Concept of a restrained future suite with green kitchenette and living area
Finished-space concept · beyond the structural scope

A prepared structural shell for subsequent work.

Illustrative review
“We appreciated knowing what this phase would and wouldn't include. We still had other suite work ahead of us, but the structural part was finally a clear plan.”
★★★★★ Nina S. — Bowness

Thinking about a
basement like this?

Next project · 01

Upper Mount Royal