The plan came from her daughter: she would take the upstairs, and her mother would live below. Before she agreed to any of it, Erica sat with the question most people skip.
Erica, Durham Region · 11 min 37 · Full transcript below
“He went straight to the big windows, and he looked out and he looked up, and I could just see him smiling.”
Erica, Durham Region
The question she asked first
Could she actually be happy down there, for a long time? And could her adult son, who has special needs, settle somewhere new? “It takes such a long time for him to get used to new places. So I thought, if we are going to be here, how is this going to be functional for him?”
Why the windows were the brief
Five egress windows and a double-door entrance usually get written up as a code requirement and an upgrade. Here they were the point. He loves being outside. “We brought him in, and the first thing he went to was the big windows. He looked out and he looked up, and I could just see him smiling.”
How she chose
She researched three companies. What decided it was not price, and she is direct about that. “My questions were answered, and not only answered, but examples were given. You were able to explain to me what this really means. That is what separates BCR.”
Why it cost $264,341
A standard GTA in-law suite runs $60,000 to $95,000. This one carried 1,100 sq ft with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, a double-door below-grade entrance excavated from nothing with a glass stairwell cover, natural stone window wells and a stone sidewalk, five egress windows, a Bosch appliance package and heated bathroom floors. She knew the number before a shovel went in the ground. It was fixed and it did not move.
What it gave her
“It is not like a basement. It does not feel like a basement. It is so bright, and the windows make a big difference, and the double door makes a big, big difference. That gives me peace, because I know my son is going to be happy here.”
The project
Read the full transcript11 min 37
My daughter came with a picture, and I thought, okay, she could have upstairs and we will live in the basement. So I started thinking about how I would live down here. Would I be happy down here? Is this a place I want to stay for a long time? And I decided yes, because I want my daughter to be able to afford a home. She has a child and I want to be close to them.
What was important for us is that this basement needs to be functional. This is going to be my home. I have an adult child with special needs. It takes such a long time for him to get used to new places. So I thought, if we are going to be here, how is this going to be functional for him?
I had a dollar sign in my head that I was willing to put into this space, but would that be enough? So price was a big thing. Who is going to be honest enough to tell me what this space is going to be like?
We researched contractors and came up with three companies that stood out. What stood out with BCR is that my questions were answered, and not only answered, but examples were given. You were able to explain to me what this really means. And we would go and check whether the answers BCR gave us were right. That is what separates BCR.
I am very pleased with the quality of work. I still cannot believe this is my basement, because it is totally a different space. I feel like I am the only client BCR had.
BCR was able to sit down with me and say, yes, you can get what you want, but this is what it will cost. Compromising and understanding where I stand as a client was very important to me. I did not feel rushed into anything.
Windows are important. Outside is very important to my son. We brought him in, and the first thing he went to was the big windows. He looked out and he looked up, and I could just see him smiling.
It is not like a basement. It does not feel like a basement. It is so bright, and the windows make a big difference, and the double door makes a big, big difference. That gives me peace, because I know my son is going to be happy here.
The people you brought in to work are very respectful. They respect my property, they respect that we still live upstairs, they always knock.
I love everything about my basement. If I have to choose the two places I am totally in love with, it is my kitchen and my main bathroom.
Erica, Durham Region · recorded on site after completion
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