Hear from Our Customers
Your basement is already there. You’re already paying to heat it, cool it, and maintain it. The question isn’t whether you have the space—it’s whether you’re actually using it.
Most Holbrook homeowners sit on 600 to 1,000 square feet of unfinished basement. That’s a home office, a guest suite, a playroom, or a media room you’re not getting any value from. Finishing your basement costs about 60% less than building an addition, and it’s the fastest way to increase your home’s livable space without breaking ground outside.
You get a finished space that works for your family now—and adds real value if you ever decide to sell. No foundation work. No roofing. No exterior permitting headaches. Just clean, functional square footage that makes your home work harder for you.
We’ve been doing basement remodels in Holbrook and across Suffolk County since 2016. We’re licensed, insured, and we only use our own crews—no subcontractors. That means the people who show up are the people we trained, and the quality stays consistent from start to finish.
We know how Long Island basements behave. We know the moisture issues that come with being this close to the water table. We know what Suffolk County inspectors look for, and we know how to get your permits approved the first time.
You’re not getting a sales pitch or a bait-and-switch estimate. You’re getting a fixed price, a clear timeline, and a one-year warranty on the work. We’ve built our reputation in Holbrook by doing what we say we’re going to do—and doing it right.
We start with an in-home consultation. We’ll measure your basement, talk through how you want to use the space, and identify any moisture or structural issues that need to be addressed before we frame anything. You’ll get a fixed-price estimate that includes materials, labor, permits, and timeline—no surprises later.
Once you approve the estimate, we handle the permit applications with the Town of Islip. We know what Suffolk County requires for egress windows, ceiling height, electrical, and HVAC. We submit everything, and we don’t start demo until the permits are approved and posted.
During construction, you’ll work with the same project lead from start to finish. We’ll frame, insulate, run electrical and HVAC, install drywall, and finish with flooring, trim, and paint. We clean up daily, and we don’t move on to the next phase until you’ve seen and approved the last one. When we’re done, we walk the space with you and the inspector, and you get a one-year warranty on all the work we performed.
Ready to get started?
A finished basement isn’t just drywall and carpet. It’s a code-compliant living space that’s dry, comfortable, and safe. That means proper moisture barriers, insulation rated for below-grade spaces, and egress windows if you’re adding a bedroom or office.
In Holbrook, most basements need a vapor barrier and moisture-resistant framing before anything else goes up. We use pressure-treated bottom plates and mold-resistant drywall in areas prone to humidity. If your basement has water issues, we’ll address drainage and waterproofing before we frame a single wall.
You’ll also get updated electrical to handle lighting, outlets, and any equipment you’re adding. We’ll tie into your existing HVAC or add a ductless mini-split if your current system can’t handle the extra load. Flooring options range from luxury vinyl plank to carpet to tile, depending on how you’re using the space. And if you’re adding a bathroom or wet bar, we’ll run plumbing and get it inspected before we close up the walls. Everything we do is pulled-permit work, so it’s documented, inspected, and part of your home’s official record.
Most basement finishing projects in Holbrook run between $50,000 and $95,000, depending on size and what you’re adding. That typically covers framing, insulation, drywall, electrical, HVAC, flooring, and trim for a 600 to 1,000 square foot space.
If you’re adding a bathroom, wet bar, or custom built-ins, expect to add $8,000 to $20,000 depending on finishes and fixtures. If your basement has moisture issues or needs waterproofing before we start, that’s another $3,000 to $7,000 depending on severity.
We give you a fixed price upfront that includes materials, labor, permits, and cleanup. No allowances, no “we’ll figure it out later” line items. You’ll know exactly what you’re spending before we start, and that number doesn’t change unless you change the scope.
Yes. Any work that involves framing, electrical, plumbing, or HVAC in Holbrook requires a permit from the Town of Islip. That includes finishing a basement, even if you’re not adding a bathroom or bedroom.
Suffolk County inspectors will check framing, insulation, electrical rough-in, and final finishes. If you’re adding a bedroom or office, you’ll also need an egress window that meets code for size and height. If you finish your basement without permits and try to sell later, it’ll show up in the home inspection—and you’ll either have to rip it out or go through a much more expensive after-the-fact permitting process.
We handle all permit applications, inspections, and code compliance as part of our process. It’s built into the timeline and the price, so you don’t have to deal with the Town or worry about whether something will pass. We’ve done this enough times to know exactly what inspectors are looking for.
Most basement finishing projects take 6 to 10 weeks from permit approval to final walkthrough. The timeline depends on the size of your basement, whether you’re adding plumbing, and how quickly inspections get scheduled.
Permitting with the Town of Islip usually takes 2 to 4 weeks. Once we have permits in hand, demo and framing take about a week. Electrical, plumbing, and HVAC rough-ins take another week, followed by insulation and drywall. After that, we’re into finish work—flooring, trim, paint, and final fixtures—which takes 2 to 3 weeks depending on your selections.
We don’t rush, and we don’t overlap trades in ways that create problems later. You’ll get a project schedule during your estimate, and we update you weekly on where we are and what’s coming next. If inspections get delayed or materials are backordered, we’ll let you know immediately—not the day before we’re supposed to show up.
Ignoring moisture issues before they start framing. If your basement has water intrusion, high humidity, or poor drainage, finishing over it doesn’t make it go away—it just hides the problem until mold shows up or drywall starts crumbling.
Long Island basements deal with a high water table, humidity from being near the coast, and older homes that weren’t built with proper foundation waterproofing. If you’ve ever seen water on your basement floor, even once, that needs to be addressed before any finishing work happens. That might mean exterior grading, a sump pump, interior drainage, or a vapor barrier system.
The second biggest mistake is hiring someone who doesn’t pull permits. It might save you money upfront, but it’ll cost you way more later when a home inspector flags unpermitted work and a buyer either walks or demands a massive price reduction. We’ve seen homeowners lose $30,000+ in sale price because they finished their basement with an unlicensed contractor who didn’t permit anything. It’s not worth the risk.
Yes, but it has to meet Suffolk County code requirements. For a bedroom, you need an egress window—that’s a window large enough for someone to climb out in an emergency. The window has to be at least 5.7 square feet of opening, with no dimension smaller than 20 inches, and the sill can’t be more than 44 inches above the floor.
Most Holbrook basements don’t have egress windows, so we’ll need to cut into the foundation, install a window well, and add a code-compliant window. That adds about $3,500 to $6,000 to the project depending on how much concrete work is involved.
For a bathroom, you need proper plumbing rough-in, venting, and drainage. If your basement floor is below the sewer line, you’ll need an ejector pump to move waste up and out. We’ll also need to frame for plumbing access and get everything inspected before we close up walls. A basic basement bathroom—toilet, vanity, shower—usually adds $12,000 to $18,000 depending on finishes and whether we’re cutting into the slab for drainage.
We only use our own crews. Every person who shows up to your job is a Jaguar Renovation employee—not a subcontractor we hired for the week. That means we control quality, scheduling, and accountability from start to finish.
When you use subcontractors, you’re dealing with multiple companies, multiple schedules, and multiple standards of work. If something goes wrong, everyone points fingers. If someone doesn’t show up, your project sits. If the quality isn’t there, you’re stuck trying to get a subcontractor to come back and fix it.
We don’t operate that way. Our crews have been with us for years. They know how we work, they know what we expect, and they know they’re coming back to fix anything that isn’t right. You’ll meet your project lead during the estimate, and that’s who you’ll see every day until the job is done. One team. One standard. One point of contact.
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