Metro Detroit Home Remodeling | Custom Edge Remodeling
Basement Finishing in Farmington Hills
Half of Farmington Hills was built between 1950 and 1979, and the city's biggest building year was 1985. That is a lot of forty and fifty-year-old basements with original mechanicals and no egress window. The city lists basement finishing by name as permit work, and we pull it.
Request a walkthrough →What We Find Behind Farmington Hills Basement Walls
The median house here dates to 1978, and the city has been essentially built out since the vacant land ran short after 2000.
1980s Homes
The single largest decade at about twenty-five percent of the housing. The city's peak year was 1985, when nearly 2,400 units went up. Taller pours and better layouts than the decade before.
1970s Homes
Another twenty-two percent. Sound full basements with ductwork routed for convenience rather than for a finished ceiling.
1950s and 1960s Ranches
Roughly twenty-eight percent combined. Lower ceilings, older mechanicals, and the most headroom recovery work of anything in the city.
1990s Subdivisions
About fifteen percent, and the easiest to finish. Open-space subdivisions and cluster housing were the dominant pattern here.
Six Things Farmington Hills Basements Have in Common
This is a market of forty-five to seventy-year-old basements. Two items show up on most estimates here.
Headroom Under Original Ductwork
The single most common line item in this city. Moving a trunk line is usually the cheapest usable height you can buy.
No Conforming Egress
Michigan is still on the 2015 residential code, which requires an emergency escape opening for a finished basement whether or not it has a bedroom. Most original Farmington Hills windows come nowhere close.
The City Names Basements Directly
Basement finishing appears by name on the city's list of work requiring a permit. There is no ambiguity here, which we appreciate.
All Three Trades, Every Time
The city publishes examples: electrical covers the sump pump and new circuits, plumbing covers water distribution over ten feet, heating and cooling covers the furnace and ductwork. A typical basement with a bath trips all three.
Sump Discharge Rules
Downspouts, weep tile and footing drains cannot discharge into the sanitary system. Sump discharge goes to the storm sewer through an enclosed system with a minimum four-inch pipe. If yours is tied to the sanitary, that gets fixed first.
Re-Occupancy at Transfer
Farmington Hills requires a permit for use changes and ownership transfers, with a re-occupancy application and a floor plan. Doing the basement on permit is the version that does not create a problem at closing.
We Pull the Permit, You Do Not
Farmington Hills permits through the Building Division, part of Planning and Community Development on West Eleven Mile Road. As of early March 2026, all building permit applications and inspection requests moved to the city's online portal, replacing paper applications and phone-scheduled inspections.
- →Drawings prepared for Farmington Hills plan review
- →Building permit filed through the city's online portal
- →Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits pulled separately, all three of them
- →Sump and drain discharge confirmed to the storm system, never the sanitary
- →Inspections booked and met by us on the scheduled day, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The city does not publish a plan review turnaround, so we build a realistic buffer into your schedule instead of promising one we cannot control.
What a Finished Basement Costs in Farmington Hills
Most of our basement work runs $60,000 to $95,000 against a Farmington Hills median around $395,000, putting a mid-range project at roughly nineteen percent of the house. Projects here run toward the middle and upper-middle of our range, mostly because of the two items that show up on nearly every estimate in this city: gaining headroom under original ductwork, and cutting and framing an egress opening where none exists.
What We Build Down There
Basement Finishing
Family room and media wall, designed around the headroom the house actually has after the ductwork moves.
See the service →Wet Bars and Kitchenettes
A plumbing and venting question, settled before framing rather than after.
See the service →A Full Bath Below Grade
What turns a finished basement into a guest suite. Below-slab drainage decides the layout.
See the service →Home Gyms
Floor flatness and clearance under the ductwork decide the location. We find the best section on the walkthrough.
See the service →Headroom Recovery
Often the first phase in this city. Moving a trunk line changes what the whole basement can be.
See the service →Guest and In-Law Suites
Bedroom, bath and sitting area, with egress and sound separation handled properly.
See the service →Farmington Hills Homeowners Ask Us This
Anything not answered here, call Tim directly at 313.236.0985.
Do I need an egress window if there is no bedroom?
Yes. Michigan is still on the 2015 residential code, which requires an escape opening for any finished basement. Anyone telling you otherwise is quoting the 2021 code, which Michigan has not adopted.
My ceiling feels low. Can anything be done?
Usually quite a lot. In this city the ductwork is the problem more often than the pour. Moving a trunk line and using recessed lighting instead of a dropped ceiling gets most people where they need to be.
Do I really need three separate trade permits?
For a basement with a bathroom, yes. The city publishes examples and a typical basement finish trips electrical, plumbing and mechanical. We pull all of them.
My sump drains into the sewer line. Is that a problem?
Yes. The city does not allow footing drains, weep tile or downspouts to discharge into the sanitary system. It gets corrected before the basement is finished, not after.
Does an unpermitted basement cause problems when I sell?
It can. Farmington Hills requires a permit for ownership transfers and asks for a floor plan with the re-occupancy application. Doing the work on permit is the version that does not surprise you at closing.
How long does a Farmington Hills basement take?
Most run eight to twelve weeks from permit to final, longer when headroom or drainage work comes first. The city does not publish a review time, so we build in a buffer and tell you what it is.
Full service area across Oakland, Wayne, Macomb, Washtenaw and Monroe counties.
We Are Already in the Neighborhood
Tim walks the basement, tells you what the height and the mechanicals will allow, and gives you a straight answer before anyone talks about price. Free, about an hour.