This is the cheapest square footage you can add — if it is finished legally. We are a licensed contractor in Maryland (MHIC #111971) — we pull the permits through the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services, coordinate the licensed trades, and hand you a written line-item scope before demolition starts.
A finished basement needs a building permit and, in almost every case, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits alongside it. Two code requirements decide whether the space is legal: any room used for sleeping needs proper emergency egress, and habitable space needs a minimum finished ceiling height. The framing and rough-in inspection has to pass before insulation and drywall — get that wrong and the drywall comes back off.
Your Chevy Chase permit goes through the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services. We pull it under our license and we hold the inspection schedule — you do not chase inspectors and you do not sign the application.
“Chevy Chase” covers several separately incorporated municipalities, and a number of them run their own building and permit review in addition to Montgomery County. Which village you are in changes who reviews your plans and what they care about — particularly for anything visible from the street.
The housing here is largely 1910s–1930s colonials, Tudors and Craftsman homes with plaster walls, original millwork worth protecting, and mechanical systems that have been added to rather than replaced. Kitchens and baths in these houses almost always need the electrical and plumbing rebuilt behind them, not just refinished.
What's includedA planning range, not a quote. Your written line-item price comes after a free on-site walkthrough. HVAC, electrical and plumbing are performed by licensed trade partners.
A written, line-item scope for your basement finishing project. No design fee, no obligation.
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Our Chevy Chase crews cover Bethesda, Kensington, Somerset, Friendship Heights and every ZIP in the area — 20815.
Yes. United Developers is a licensed contractor in Maryland (MHIC #111971) and works throughout Chevy Chase and Montgomery County, including 20815 and nearby Bethesda, Kensington, Somerset.
We do, under our license, through the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services. A finished basement needs a building permit and, in almost every case, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits alongside it. Two code requirements decide whether the space is legal: any room used for sleeping needs proper emergency egress, and habitable space needs a minimum finished ceiling height. The framing and rough-in inspection has to pass before insulation and drywall — get that wrong and the drywall comes back off.
“Chevy Chase” covers several separately incorporated municipalities, and a number of them run their own building and permit review in addition to Montgomery County. Which village you are in changes who reviews your plans and what they care about — particularly for anything visible from the street.
Most Chevy Chase projects land in the $32k – $100k range. That is a planning range for Montgomery County, not a quote — your written price comes after a free on-site walkthrough.
Yes. The walkthrough and the written scope are free and yours to keep whether or not you hire us. There is no design fee and no consultation invoice.
Only with proper emergency egress — that means a code-compliant egress window and window well, or a walkout. It is the single most common reason a basement bedroom fails inspection or gets flagged at resale. We settle it during design, before framing, because retrofitting egress into finished walls is expensive.