# ABLS Construction > ABLS Construction is a residential builder in Calgary, Alberta. It designs, permits and builds detached garages, legal basement suites, basement developments and garage suites, with the drawings, the City of Calgary permits and the construction under one contract. The complete text of https://abls.ca, generated from the same content the pages render, for AI assistants. The short index is https://abls.ca/llms.txt. Each section starts with the page it comes from. City of Calgary rules are cited to the City page that sets them. ## Key facts - Starting prices (CAD): detached garages $24,000 · basement developments $32,000 · legal basement suites $49,000 · garage suites $250,000. The price of a specific build is a written quote, itemized line by line, after a site visit. - Drawings and City permit fees are included in the contract price. - Offer: A Lennox ML14XC1 central air conditioner, supplied and installed while our trades are already in the house. Available on basement development contracts. $4,999 + GST, installed, with a basement development. - Service area: Calgary, Airdrie, Okotoks, Chestermere. Calgary communities include Auburn Bay, Mahogany, Rangeview, Seton, Silverado, Heartwood, New Brighton, McKenzie. - Contact: phone, text or WhatsApp (403) 667-9800 · email info@abls.ca · WeChat wxabls (Chinese-language service) · Mon to Fri, 9am to 10pm · [contact page](https://abls.ca/contact) - Google rating: 5.0 from 8 reviews ([Google profile](https://www.google.com/maps/place/ABLS+Construction/@51.0276233,-114.087835,10z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x803b967fe0b919e1:0xdffad83eaf9865dc)). - BBB accredited business ([BBB profile](https://www.bbb.org/ca/ab/calgary/profile/general-contractor/abls-construction-0017-271229)). --- # Detached garages URL: https://abls.ca/garages ## What comes standard on every ABLS garage - 16 × 7 insulated overhead door (or 8 × 7 on a single) - 36 × 80 insulated man door - 38 × 40 sliding window - Three exterior wall lanterns - Pre-engineered 4/12 trusses - Reinforced pad, 6 in curbs, 2 ft apron - Vinyl siding, matched to your house - 30-year architectural shingles - Aluminum soffit, fascia and gutter - Chain-drive opener, two remotes - Three outlets, two lights - Drawings and permits in the contract ## When each decision locks - Before the pour: Pad thickness, rebar grid, apron length, and whether it is a floating slab or a frost wall. A suite above the garage is decided here too. Nothing in this list changes once the concrete is down. - Before framing closes: Wall height, door and window sizes and where they sit, blocking for cabinets and slatwall, wall space for a subpanel. An 8 ft door needs 9 ft walls, so the truck decides the framing. - Before drywall: The insulation package, wiring for 240 V and the welder, the gas line to a unit heater, lighting circuits over the bench. Cheap now, a demolition job later. - After the doors hang: Floor coatings, cabinets, slatwall, opener upgrades, overhead racks. The ones you can add next spring without touching a wall. ## Questions - Q: How much does a detached garage cost? A: ABLS garages start at $24,000. Size, foundation and finish move the number more than anything else: a bare single-bay shell and a heated, finished double with a custom exterior are different projects. You find out where yours lands with a site visit, then a written quote itemized line by line, so you can see exactly what moves the number before you commit to anything. - Q: Do I need a permit to build a detached garage in Calgary? A: Yes. The City of Calgary requires a building permit for any detached garage larger than 10 m² (107 sq ft), and a separate electrical permit for the lights, outlets and door opener on every new garage. A gas line for a heater needs a gas permit as well. ABLS draws the garage, applies for every permit and answers the City's questions, all under the same contract as the build. Source: [City of Calgary: Garage, shed, gazebo and similar structures](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/garages-sheds.html); [City of Calgary: Garage permitting](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/garage-permitting.html) - Q: When does a garage need a development permit? A: When it goes past the City's limits for an accessory building: taller than 4.6 m (15 ft) to the peak or 3.0 m to the underside of the eave, larger than 75 m² (807 sq ft), bigger than the house, closer than 1.0 m to the house, or needing a relaxation of a setback. A building permit takes about 7 days; a development permit takes about 10 to 12 weeks. We measure your lot against these limits at the site visit. Source: [City of Calgary: Garage, shed, gazebo and similar structures](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/garages-sheds.html) - Q: How close to the property line can a garage be? A: The City's rule for a detached garage is 0.6 m (about 2 ft) from a rear lane or a side property line, and 1.2 m from a flanking street. A garage cannot sit in the front setback area, and a wall within 0.6 m of a side property line needs 5/8 in Type X drywall. Some land use districts differ, so we confirm the numbers for your address before anything is drawn. Source: [City of Calgary: Garage, shed, gazebo and similar structures](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/garages-sheds.html) - Q: How long does a garage take? A: The pad takes about a week to pour and cure before framing starts. A standard garage is then a few days of framing and a few more for the inspections between trades, so expect about three weeks from start to finish once the permit is in hand. Upgrades add to that: a finished interior, a heater, a custom exterior. You get a written schedule at quote time. - Q: Do you build garages outside Calgary? A: Yes, in Airdrie, Okotoks and Chestermere as well. Each town issues its own permits under its own bylaw, so setbacks, fees and timelines follow that town's rules rather than Calgary's, and we check them for your address before quoting. Source: [Government of Alberta: Permits and Alberta's safety codes system](https://www.alberta.ca/permits-and-albertas-safety-code-system) --- # Garages: Sizes & layouts URL: https://abls.ca/garages/sizes Standard footprints run 20×20 to 24×24, in 2-foot steps of width and depth. Pick by what has to fit, the second vehicle, the workbench, the freezer, and the pad, door and roof get sized to match. ## Standard footprints Any combination of width and depth between 20 and 24 feet. Sizes are the outside dimension, walls included, which is what the pad gets poured to; the plans below carry the clear inside dimension as well. These are the ones we build most, and what each is good for. - 24 × 24 [standard]: Two cars and a full shop. The largest standard footprint. (Area: 576 sq ft) - 24 × 22 [standard]: A truck bay plus workshop room on one side. (Area: 528 sq ft) - 22 × 22 [standard]: The most-built size. Two doors open fully beside an SUV or a half-ton without the mirror shuffle. (Area: 484 sq ft) - 20 × 24 [standard]: Two cars plus a workbench across the back wall. (Area: 480 sq ft) - 20 × 20 [standard]: Two cars, tight but workable. The smallest standard footprint. (Area: 400 sq ft) ## Wall heights Stud height decides what the garage can hold above the vehicles, and which overhead doors are possible. - 8-ft walls [standard]: The standard wall. Takes 7-ft-tall overhead doors. - 9-ft walls [upgrade]: Required for the 8-ft-tall overhead doors, lifted trucks, vans, anything on a roof rack. - 10-ft walls [upgrade]: Clearance for a car lift, a storage loft or an oversized vehicle. ## Roof trusses The truss decides two things at once: the roof line you see from the lane, and whether the space above the doors is empty air or somewhere to put things. Both are fixed the day the trusses are ordered. - Front gable [standard]: The ridge runs from the door wall to the back wall, so the triangle of the gable sits over the overhead door. The roof sheds to the side walls, clear of the apron. - Reverse gable [standard]: The ridge runs parallel to the door, so the lane sees a long, low eave over the overhead door and the gables face the side yards. Why: It keeps the garage low from the lane, which suits a lot where the garage sits close to the house. The eave is over the door, so the gutter there does the work of keeping meltwater off the apron. - Vaulted (scissor) trusses [upgrade]: The ceiling slopes up towards the ridge instead of closing off flat, for a taller room in the middle of the garage. - Attic storage trusses [upgrade]: Engineered trusses with a floored deck in the roof, totes, seasonal tires and camping gear up top, reached by an included pull-down ladder. Available on any standard footprint. Why: A standard truss is engineered to hold up the roof, not your stuff, loading its bottom chord risks the structure. Storage trusses are engineered for the weight from the start, which is why this is a build-time decision, not a renovation. - Mezzanine [custom]: A structural half-floor, workshop or storage above, parking below. Needs 10-ft-plus walls and moves the build to custom engineering. ## Beyond standard - Custom footprints [custom]: Anything past 24×24 is engineered as its own build: RV bays, three-car, footprints to 30×40, walls to 12 ft. Same materials and crew, stamped engineering, roughly two to three weeks longer. An RV build is mostly three numbers turned up: wall height, door height, pad thickness. ## Questions - Q: Can storage trusses be added to an existing garage? A: Not realistically. The truss is the roof structure, so swapping it later means opening the roof. Attic storage is a build-day decision, which is why we raise it at the consult even when nobody asked about storage. - Q: Can I go between two standard sizes? A: Yes. Width and depth step in 2-foot increments anywhere in the 20 to 24 ft range, so 20×22 and 22×24 are as standard as the square sizes. Past 24 ft in either direction the build moves to custom engineering. - Q: What size do I need for a full-size truck? A: A modern crew cab runs about 20 ft nose to hitch. 22×22 parks it with room to walk around; 24 ft of depth adds bench space in front of the hood. If the truck is lifted, plan the 8-ft-tall door, which needs 9-ft walls. --- # Garages: Foundations & pads URL: https://abls.ca/garages/foundations Every garage sits on a steel-reinforced concrete pad, and the pad is the one part you cannot upgrade later. This page is what goes into ours, in pour order, and what each upgrade changes. ## Pad types Four foundation types. The lot usually decides, grade, soil and what is going on top. - Floating slab on grade [standard]: The standard garage foundation: a reinforced slab with 6-inch curb walls on three sides, sloped toward the road. - Thickened-edge slab [upgrade]: Extra concrete depth around the perimeter where the walls bear. The step up for heavier structures on decent soil. - Full frost wall [upgrade]: Footings below frost depth, so the structure cannot heave with the freeze-thaw cycle. Required under a garage suite, and the right call on sloped lots. - Screw piles [upgrade]: Steel piles driven to stable soil, for lots where excavation or poor ground rules out a conventional pour. ## Inside the standard pad What we pour when nothing is upgraded, bottom to top. Each layer is there for a reason you can check. The last two are upgrades that go into the same pad, under the gravel and under the slab. - 4-inch gravel base [standard]: A compacted ¾-minus gravel bed under the slab. Why: The gravel gives the slab an even, firm bed and lets water drain instead of pooling under the concrete. - 10 mm steel rebar, 24-inch grid [standard]: Steel reinforcement both ways through the slab and curbs. Why: Concrete is strong in compression and weak in tension; the steel carries the tension when the ground moves. Wire mesh ends up kicked to the bottom of the pour where it does nothing, tied rebar stays where the engineer drew it. - 4-inch slab at 32 MPa, 6-inch curbs [standard]: The slab, measured at the apron, with 6-inch curb walls on three sides and the pad sloped toward the road. Why: Thickness is measured at the apron because the pad can run thicker mid-slab and at the edges, the apron is the honest number. The curbs lift the wall framing off the concrete so splash and snowmelt reach cement, not wood. - Smooth slab, broom apron [standard]: Steel-trowel finish inside, broom texture on the 2-ft apron. Why: Smooth concrete sweeps clean and rolls a jack easily. The apron gets the broom texture because it ices up, that is where boots and tires need grip. - Geotextile fabric under the gravel [upgrade]: A layer of geotextile fabric between the subgrade and the gravel base. Why: The fabric keeps the gravel from slowly sinking into the subgrade, so the base stays the thickness it was built at. - 15 mil vapour barrier [upgrade]: A heavy poly barrier between gravel and concrete. Why: Fresh concrete cures stronger when the ground cannot wick its moisture away early. Years later, the same sheet blocks ground vapour from migrating up through the slab, which is what keeps a future heated garage dry instead of damp. ## Pad upgrades - 5-inch or 6-inch slab [upgrade]: Thicker pours for heavier loads: ¾- and 1-ton pickups, trailers and small RVs at 5 inches; Class A/C RVs and machinery at 6-plus. - Tighter rebar: 18-inch grid [upgrade]: A denser reinforcement grid than the standard 24-inch spacing. - Fiberglass rebar [upgrade]: Swaps steel for fiberglass at no cost difference. Your call, we build either. Why: Fiberglass cannot rust or expand in moisture, which is what opens long cracks over Calgary winters. Steel bends without snapping, which is better under heavy point loads. Both are right answers to different questions. - Rebar chairs [upgrade]: Supports that hold the rebar permanently in the middle of the slab, for even strength through the section. Why: Rebar lying at the bottom of a pour reinforces only the bottom. Chairs cost more because the pour then needs a specialized pump, but the steel ends up where it works. - 40 MPa concrete [upgrade]: A harder mix than the standard 32 MPa. - Extended apron [upgrade]: More broom-finished concrete in front of the door than the standard 2 ft. ## Aprons & parking pads The concrete outside the door takes the same traffic as the pad, plus the turning loads the garage floor never sees. - Standard 2-ft apron [standard]: Included with every garage, broom-finished for grip where boots and tires meet ice. - Extended apron [upgrade]: More finished concrete in front of the door. Room to work, wash and turn. - Concrete parking pad [upgrade]: A reinforced pad beside or in front of the garage for the trailer, the third vehicle or the RV. Same layered spec as the garage pad. - Gravel parking pad [upgrade]: Compacted gravel over geotextile. The budget answer for trailer and RV parking that still drains and holds shape. ## Questions - Q: Steel or fiberglass rebar? A: There is no cost difference, and both are code. Fiberglass never rusts, so it wins on long-term crack prevention through freeze-thaw. Steel bends instead of snapping, so it wins under heavy point loads like a hoist. We ask what the garage will carry and build to that. - Q: Why does the pad thickness get measured at the apron? A: Because it is the one place you can verify. Pads can be poured thicker in the middle and at the edges, so a thickness quoted 'in the slab' can mean almost anything. The apron number is the one we put in writing. - Q: Why put the rebar on chairs? A: A chair is a small stand that holds the bar off the gravel so it ends up in the middle of the slab instead of the bottom. Rebar only works where it sits: at the bottom it reinforces the bottom inch and leaves the top to crack. Chairs make the pour harder, because the crew cannot walk the grid down and the concrete has to come in by pump, which is why they are an upgrade rather than the default. Worth it under a hoist, a heavy truck or an RV; a car garage on the standard grid does fine without them. - Q: Rebar spacing or concrete strength: which matters more? A: They do different jobs. The MPa number is how hard the concrete is in compression, which is what a tire load tests. The rebar carries tension when the ground moves, and its spacing decides how far a crack can travel before it meets steel. A tighter 18 inch grid controls cracking better than the standard 24 inch; a 40 MPa mix wears harder than 32. If the pad is going to carry something heavy, thickness comes first, then the grid, then the mix. Going from 32 to 40 MPa on a 4 inch slab helps less than going to 5 inches. - Q: What concrete strength does a garage pad in Calgary need? A: Ours are poured at 32 MPa as standard, with 40 MPa available. Most garage pads that fail here do not fail because the concrete was too soft. They fail because water got under the slab, the gravel base moved, or the reinforcement was lying on the ground. That is why the standard pad spends its budget on the base and tied rebar before it spends it on a harder mix. - Q: How long before I can use the new pad? A: The pour and the first cure take about a week before the framing crew loads it. Concrete keeps gaining strength for about a month, so the garage is being built on top of it while it finishes curing. By the time the doors hang it is ready for the truck. - Q: Floating slab or frost wall: which one do I need? A: For a garage on a flat lot with cars and a shop in it, the floating slab is the standard and the right answer. A frost wall puts footings below the frost line so the structure cannot heave, and it is required the moment there is living space above the garage. It also suits a sloped lot. Deciding at the pour is what keeps a suite possible later. --- # Garages: Doors & openers URL: https://abls.ca/garages/doors Overhead door sizes, panel styles, colours, glass and openers, plus the man door. Every door is triple-layer insulated steel; the choices below are about fit and the face it shows the street. ## Overhead door sizes Pick by what you park. Taller vehicles, lifted trucks and small trailers need the 8-ft-tall doors, which need 9-ft walls. A single door is an add-on, on the front beside the double or on the back wall. - 16 × 7 [standard]: The standard double door. Two cars or an SUV. (Wall height needed: 8'-0") - 16 × 8 [upgrade]: A foot more height for full-size trucks. (Wall height needed: 9'-0") - 18 × 7 [upgrade]: Two feet wider than the standard double, at standard height. (Wall height needed: 8'-0") - 18 × 8 [upgrade]: The big opening: lifted trucks, and a trailer beside the car. (Wall height needed: 9'-0") - 8 × 7 [add-on]: A single door at standard height. On the back wall it opens the garage to the yard. (Wall height needed: 8'-0") - 8 × 8 [add-on]: A single door tall enough for a lifted vehicle. (Wall height needed: 9'-0") ## Door construction - Triple-insulated steel, R-16 [standard]: Every overhead door, at every size: 24-gauge steel skins over a polyurethane core. Why: The door is the biggest hole in the building envelope. An insulated panel keeps a heated garage cheap to run, stays quieter on the tracks, and shrugs off the puck and bumper hits that dent single-skin doors. ## Panel styles Six panel styles, any of them in any door size. Swipe a door to see the finishes it comes in, or tap a swatch. - Flush panel [standard]: Smooth, line-free sections. The right call for modern stucco and flat-roof builds, and the only style ABLS has installed so far. Slimline window rows available. - Short panel [standard]: Four rows of small raised panels. The traditional look, and the one that disappears against almost any house. - Short panel carriage [upgrade]: Short panels with vertical batten grooves and black strap handles. Carriage-house character without hinges to maintain. - Long panel carriage [upgrade]: The same batten detail run across two long panels per row. Reads wider, and suits a double door better than the short version. - Long block [standard]: Two long recessed panels per row, no bevel and no grooves. The quietest of the raised-panel styles. - Raised colonial [standard]: Four rows of four deeply bevelled panels. The most formal of the six, and the one that suits an older house. ## Cottage collection The two-tone carriage series: a white frame over a contrasting panel field, in four bracing patterns. The most decorative doors on the list, and the ones that change the front of a build the most. - Style one [upgrade]: Plain panels inside the white frame. The quietest of the four, and the one that suits a modern farmhouse without shouting. - Style two [upgrade]: Vertical mullions divide each half into narrow lights. Reads as a set of barn doors standing side by side. - Style three [upgrade]: A single diagonal brace per half, mirrored across the middle. Less busy than the cross-buck, and more directional. - Style four [upgrade]: The full X cross-buck. The most recognisable carriage look, and the one people picture when they say barn door. ## Colours White and black are included on every style. The rest of the palette and the two woodgrains are upgrades, and every colour below is a factory finish on the steel, not paint applied later. - Steel palette [upgrade]: Ten factory colours. Iron ore, slate grey and café are not offered on the recessed grooved colonial panel. Custom painting is available on flush and short panel. - Woodtones [upgrade]: A woodgrain print on steel: the look of a timber door with none of the refinishing. Only available on woodgrain embossing, and only on the plank and flush panel styles. ## Windows A row of glass in the top section, in clear or frosted. It is the cheapest way to get daylight into a garage you actually work in, and the row sits high enough that nobody sees your bikes from the lane. - Ranch clear [upgrade]: Two wide lights, no bars. The plainest option and the most glass. - Colonial clear [upgrade]: Four separate lights across the section. Breaks the run up without adding pattern. - Prairie colonial [upgrade]: Four lights, each with a prairie grille set in from the corners. The detail that ties a door to a craftsman house. - Prairie ranch [upgrade]: The prairie grille on two wide lights instead of four. Same detail, calmer. - Madison and Stockton [upgrade]: Panel-matched glass in short and long panel widths, plus arched Madison. Stockton adds a divided-light grille. Any of them in clear or frosted. - Slimline windows [upgrade]: Narrow horizontal slots down one side of a flush door rather than a row across the top. The modern alternative, and the one that suits a flat-roof build. ## Openers - Chain drive [standard]: Included on every build with 2 remotes and a wall console. Proven and easy to service. - Belt drive [upgrade]: Whisper-quiet, with Wi-Fi and smartphone control. The right call when the garage shares a wall with living space. - Wall-mount opener [upgrade]: A LiftMaster 98022 bolted to the wall beside the torsion shaft instead of hung from the ceiling. Quiet, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built in, and battery backup and an automatic deadbolt available. Why: A ceiling opener runs a rail, a trolley and a motor down the middle of the garage, which is exactly where a storage deck, a tall vehicle or a hoist wants to be. On the wall, the only things overhead are the door and its two tracks. ## Man doors & windows Every garage includes a 36×80 insulated steel man door and a 38×40 dual-pane sliding window. Where they go is your call, side or rear. - Man door styles [upgrade]: Flush steel included; top-lite, craftsman 6-lite and half-lite glass styles as upgrades. - Bigger windows [upgrade]: A 36×36 fixed picture window for maximum glass with no draft, or 48×48 and 60×48 sliders for light and ventilation. Frosted or clear, white or black frames. - Sliding patio door [upgrade]: Swap a window for a full patio door where the garage opens onto a yard or shop space. ## Questions - Q: Chain drive or belt drive? A: Chain is included, proven and easy to service; the noise only matters if someone sleeps near the garage. Belt is near-silent and adds Wi-Fi control from your phone. Detached garage far from the house: chain is fine. Suite above or bedroom nearby: belt. - Q: Do I need the 8-ft-tall door? A: Measure the tallest thing you park, racks included. A stock half-ton clears a 7-ft door; most lifted trucks, vans and trailers do not. The 8-ft door needs 9-ft walls, which is a framing decision, not a retrofit. --- # Garages: Heat & insulation URL: https://abls.ca/garages/heating An unheated shell is the standard build. Everything here is about making the garage usable in January, insulation first, then the heater, in that order, because heat without insulation is money through the roof. ## Insulation & drywall - Insulation + drywall package [upgrade]: Batt insulation in walls and ceiling, 6 mil vapour barrier, half-inch drywall hung. R-12 in standard walls, upgradeable to higher R-values. Why: Insulation is the difference between a heater that cycles a few times an hour and one that runs all day. The vapour barrier keeps the moisture from a warm garage out of the wall cavity, where it would condense against cold sheathing. - Mud, tape & paint [upgrade]: The finish coat on the drywall package: taped, mudded, sanded, primed and painted in your colour. ## Heaters - Unit heater, natural gas or electric [upgrade]: Wall- or ceiling-mounted, on a wall thermostat. For the workshop, the gym, or just a warm car on a cold morning. The units we install are Reznor, Beacon Morris and Mr. Heater. Why: Gas costs less to run and heats a big space fast; electric skips the gas line and venting. Which one wins depends on whether the lot already has gas at the garage, that is a site-visit question. ## Built for heat from day one - A 15 mil vapour barrier under the slab [upgrade]: A pad upgrade, and the one to add if the garage may ever be heated. Why: Heat a slab with no barrier under it and ground moisture migrates up through the concrete indefinitely. The sheet goes in before the pour, so it is decided at the pad stage even when the heater comes years later. ## Questions - Q: What does it cost to run a heated garage? A: It depends on insulation more than on the heater. An insulated garage held at working temperature through a Calgary winter costs a fraction of an uninsulated one, because the heater cycles instead of running. We size both at the consult based on how you plan to use the space. - Q: Can I add heat later instead of now? A: Yes. Two things are worth deciding during construction. The vapour barrier under the slab is an upgrade and has to go in before the pour. The insulation package matters too, because insulating finished walls later means opening them up. --- # Garages: Floor coatings URL: https://abls.ca/garages/flooring The standard finish is smooth trowelled concrete, clean, flat, done. Coatings and floor systems go over it when you want a floor that shrugs off road salt, oil and tire marks. ## Floor finishes - Smooth trowelled concrete [standard]: The standard slab finish. Sweeps clean, rolls easily, ready for anything on top. - Epoxy coating [upgrade]: A bonded coating over the cured slab. Sheds road salt, oil and brake dust; mops clean instead of staining. - Floating floor systems [upgrade]: Interlocking floor that sits on the slab without adhesive, replaceable tile by tile, and removable if you ever want the concrete back. ## Questions - Q: Epoxy or a floating floor? A: Epoxy bonds to the slab and is the durable, mop-clean surface for a working garage. A floating floor wins when you want something replaceable tile by tile, or to cover a slab that already has staining. Both go down after the concrete has cured. --- # Garages: Siding, roof & trim URL: https://abls.ca/garages/exterior The exterior is what the street sees and what the weather works on. Vinyl siding comes standard, matched to your house. Four styles, and the roof and eaves choices that decide how the building ages. ## Siding styles Vinyl horizontal lap, matched to your house, is the standard. Every other profile is an upgrade, and so is fibre cement or engineered wood on any of them. - Horizontal lap [standard]: Classic 6-inch lap, the most traditional option, blends with almost any home built since 1950. (Standard: Vinyl lap, matched to the house; Upgrade: Hardie Plank 6" exposure) - Board & batten [upgrade]: Alternating wide panels and narrow battens, clean, vertical, modern-farmhouse. (In vinyl: Vinyl board and batten; In fibre cement: Hardie SmartSheet panels, LP SmartBoard 1×3 battens) - Smooth stucco [upgrade]: Cement scratch coat with a smooth acrylic finish. Best with the flat-roof option for a contemporary look. - Two-tone accent [upgrade]: Any style with a contrasting gable, cedar accent or stone wainscot. ## Colours - Twelve factory-finished colours [standard]: Siding: arctic white, pearl grey, warm sand, slate, iron blue, charcoal. Trim and door: jet black, pure white, bronze, forest, deep navy, cedar stain. Any combination at no upgrade; the factory finish carries a 15-year fade warranty from the manufacturer. Why: Factory-applied colour outlasts site painting because it cures in controlled conditions on every face of the board, including the cut ends water finds first. - Custom colour match [upgrade]: Matched to any Benjamin Moore or Sherwin-Williams swatch from the house. Adds about a week. ## Roofing - Architectural shingle, 30-year [standard]: IKO Cambridge in charcoal, driftwood brown or weathered slate. - Standing-seam steel [upgrade]: 26-gauge steel rated for 40 years. The buy-once roof. - Flat / membrane roof [upgrade]: For modern stucco builds with a parapet look. ## Soffit, fascia & eaves - Vented aluminum + 5-inch gutter [standard]: Black, white or sand aluminum with a K-style gutter. - Bronze aluminum + leaf guard [upgrade]: The darker profile, with guards that keep the gutter clear. - Cedar tongue & groove gable [upgrade]: Real cedar on the front gable, the warm accent over the door. ## Questions - Q: What siding comes standard, and what does an upgrade change? A: Vinyl horizontal lap comes standard, in a colour matched to your house, so the garage reads as part of the property rather than as something added later. Fibre cement (Hardie) and engineered wood (LP) are upgrades: they hold paint, take a hail impact better and carry a 15-year factory fade warranty. They also cost noticeably more, which is why they are priced as a choice rather than built into everyone's quote. - Q: Should the garage match the house exactly? A: Close beats exact. Siding profiles and colours from different decades rarely match anyway, so we usually pick from the current palette to coordinate with the house rather than chase a discontinued colour. Bring a photo of the house to the consult. --- # Garages: Electrical & shop URL: https://abls.ca/garages/shop Standard electrical covers lights and a few outlets. Everything past that, the welder, the compressor, the EV, is a panel and circuit question, cheapest to answer while the walls are open. ## Power - Standard electrical [standard]: Three interior outlets, two interior LED lights, one switch. - 100A subpanel [upgrade]: Its own panel in the garage, capacity for a heater, a welder, a compressor and an EV at the same time, without running new feeds later. Why: The feed from the house to the garage is the expensive part, and its size is fixed by the trench. Sizing the subpanel generously on day one costs a fraction of re-trenching for more capacity in five years. - EV-ready 240V [upgrade]: A 240V circuit roughed to the parking bay, ready for a charger. - More outlets, inside and out [upgrade]: Extra interior receptacles where the bench goes, and exterior weatherproof outlets for the block heater and the trimmer. ## Shop lighting - LED shop lights [upgrade]: Bright 4000K linkable linear fixtures hung across the ceiling, 6000 lumens each, with a pull chain and a motion sensor. Run end to end they light the whole bay evenly instead of pooling in the middle. Why: Two bulbs light a garage; they do not light the work. A run of linear fixtures puts even light over the bench and both bays, which is the difference between a garage you store things in and one you use. - Hexagon LED grid [upgrade]: Linked hexagonal cells bolted flat to the ceiling in a honeycomb, wired as one run on a single switch. The array covers the whole bay instead of lighting a strip down the middle, so there is no shadow on the far side of the car. Why: It is the light people photograph their garage under, and it earns it: the cells throw from several directions at once, which is what kills the shadow you would otherwise stand in at the bench. Cell count is set to the bay at the electrical selection. - 2 × 4 LED panels [upgrade]: Flat edge-lit panels surface-mounted to the ceiling in a row. A uniform luminous face rather than a bright tube, so there is no glare spot to look into and nothing to see when you look up. Why: The choice when the ceiling should disappear. Even light with no hotspot suits a garage that stores more than it repairs, and the flat face collects far less dust than an open shop fixture. - Exterior wall lanterns [standard]: Three included on every build: one either side of the overhead door and one at the man door. Hammered matte black die-cast housing, smoke glass, 800 lumens at a warm 2700K, with a dusk-to-dawn sensor so nobody has to remember the switch. Wet-rated and cold-started to −20 °C, which matters here. - Motion flood + exterior add-ons [upgrade]: Twin-head motion flood over the apron, gable downlight, soffit pot lights, and a dusk-to-dawn photocell or smart switch for the standard lanterns. ## Questions - Q: What does an EV charger need? A: A 240V circuit sized to the charger, usually on its own breaker. If the garage gets a subpanel, the circuit is a short run inside the building; without one, it has to come from the house panel, which is the expensive direction. Roughing it in during the build costs little. --- # Basements: legal suite or development URL: https://abls.ca/basements ## Questions - Q: Suite or development: how do I decide? A: One question does most of the work: will someone pay rent to live down there? Yes means a legal suite, with the code work and registration that make the rent durable. No means a development: the suite requirements stop applying and the budget goes into the space instead. - Q: What does a basement cost? A: Basement developments start at $32,000 and legal basement suites start at $49,000. Where yours lands moves with the size of the basement, what exists down there today, and which of the two builds you choose. You get a written quote itemized line by line after a site visit, so you see what moves the number before committing to anything. - Q: Can a development become a suite later? A: Sometimes, but the conversion is not free: the entrance, the egress windows, the smoke separation and the heating all have to be brought up to suite requirements. If rental income is even a maybe, say so at the consult. Some decisions are cheap to make suite-ready now and expensive to retrofit. Source: [City of Calgary: Add a new secondary suite](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/new-secondary-suite.html) --- # Legal basement suites URL: https://abls.ca/basements/legal-suites A basement finished into a registered secondary suite: its own entrance, kitchen and bathroom, built to code and signed off by the City of Calgary. This page is what the City checks, what ABLS builds in, and how registration actually runs. ## What the City checks A suite is legal when it passes these, not when it looks finished. Each is designed in from the first drawing. - Separate entrance [standard]: The suite gets its own private entrance and an exit that leads directly outside. A shared stairwell is allowed as long as each home has its own door. - Egress windows [standard]: Bedroom windows that open to at least 0.35 m² with no side under 380 mm, so a person can get out in an emergency. - Fire separation [standard]: A smoke-tight separation between the suite and the main home: 1/2 inch drywall on the ceiling and both sides of the separating walls, and solid-core, self-closing doors. - Interconnected smoke + CO alarms [standard]: Smoke and CO alarms in the suite and the main home, wired so that one going off sets off the others. - Ceiling height & HVAC [standard]: At least 1.95 m from floor to ceiling through the living space (1.85 m under beams and ducts), and heating and ventilation that serve the suite on their own. - Dedicated electrical panel [standard]: The suite runs on its own panel. The code allows one shared panel if no circuit is shared between the two homes; a second panel keeps each home's breakers in its own space. ## What ABLS builds in The finish spec is the one our basement developments get, plus what a suite needs on its own. A tenant should not be able to tell the difference from upstairs. - The suite kitchen [standard]: A standard kitchen with quartz countertops and a 12 by 24 inch tile backsplash, laid out at the interior design selection. - Its own furnace [standard]: A second furnace for the suite, with round vents and diffusers, the cold-air return dropped to floor level, and the bathroom fan ducted outside through a sealed, flashed wall. Why: A suite on the upstairs furnace is on the upstairs thermostat. Its own furnace means its own heat, its own setting, and heating the City accepts as serving the suite. - Lennox ML196UH furnace [upgrade]: Swap the standard suite furnace for a Lennox ML196UH. Settled at the design selection, before the ductwork is run. - A ceiling that keeps the peace [standard]: Resilient channel and insulation in the ceiling between the suite and the main home, on every suite. Why: Two households share one floor structure. The insulation takes the airborne sound, the resilient channel breaks the path footsteps travel on, and the fire separation goes in at the same time. - Floors, doors and trim [standard]: LVP through the suite, up to 7 mm, with metal nosings on the stairs. Up to three hollow passage doors and two solid-core doors with chrome hardware, MDF jamb extensions on the windows, 3 inch casing, 4 inch baseboards, Sherwin-Williams or Cloverdale paint, and knockdown ceilings. - The bathroom [standard]: A 60 by 30 inch alcove tub with 12 by 24 inch tile around it, a Delta shower head and faucet in chrome, a custom vanity with a quartz top and rectangular sink, and a toilet, all on new plumbing. - Permits and drawings, in the contract [standard]: The City permit fees and the planning and architectural drawings are inside the contract price, not extras that arrive later. ## The path to registered - Permits, build, inspections, registration [standard]: We prepare the drawings, apply for the permits, build to them, and carry the suite through its inspections to City registration. You end with paper that says legal, not a promise that it should be. Why: An unregistered suite is a rent discount and an insurance problem waiting for a claim. Registration is the whole point of the build, so we run it as part of the job rather than leaving the paperwork with the owner. ## Questions - Q: What does a legal suite cost? A: Legal basement suites start at $49,000. The number moves with the size of the basement, what exists down there today, and the finish level. The City permit fees and the drawings are inside the contract price. You get a written quote itemized line by line after a site visit, so you see what moves the number before committing. - Q: Can my basement become a legal suite? A: The usual blockers are ceiling height, window sizes and where an entrance can go. The City requires at least 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) from floor to ceiling, or 1.85 m under beams and ducts, and a bedroom window that opens to at least 0.35 m² with no side under 380 mm. Some blockers are fixable and some are not worth fixing. A site visit answers it in an hour, before you spend anything on drawings. Source: [City of Calgary: Add a new secondary suite](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/new-secondary-suite.html) - Q: What permits does a legal basement suite need in Calgary? A: A building permit, a separate electrical permit, and a plumbing permit for the new plumbing, plus a gas permit where gas work is involved. A development permit is needed only where suites are a discretionary use in your land use district or the design needs a relaxation. The City inspects twice, at framing and at final. ABLS applies for the permits and books the inspections as part of the job. Source: [City of Calgary: Add a new secondary suite](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/new-secondary-suite.html) - Q: What does the City check before a suite is legal? A: A smoke-tight separation from the main home (1/2 inch drywall on the ceiling and both sides of the separating walls, with solid-core, self-closing doors), smoke and CO alarms interconnected between both homes, a bedroom egress window, 1.95 m ceilings, sound separation of at least STC 43, heating and ventilation of its own, and an exit that leads directly outside. Each one is drawn into the plans before the first wall goes up. Source: [City of Calgary: Add a new secondary suite](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/new-secondary-suite.html); [City of Calgary: Secondary Suites Guidebook (PDF)](https://www.calgary.ca/content/dam/www/pda/pd/documents/secondary-suite-program-guidebook.pdf) - Q: Does a legal suite need its own furnace? A: A new suite does. The City requires a new secondary suite to have heating and ventilation separate from the main home; only suites that existed before 2018 may share one system. Every ABLS suite gets a second furnace with its own ductwork. Source: [City of Calgary: Secondary Suites Guidebook (PDF)](https://www.calgary.ca/content/dam/www/pda/pd/documents/secondary-suite-program-guidebook.pdf); [City of Calgary: Legalize an existing secondary suite](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/existing-secondary-suite.html) - Q: How does registration work, and what does it cost? A: After the final inspection passes, the City lists the suite on its Secondary Suite Registry and mails a numbered sticker for the entrance, usually two to three weeks later. The sticker does not expire and stays with the address if the house is sold. The City has waived registry fees until December 31, 2026. Source: [City of Calgary: Legalize an existing secondary suite](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/existing-secondary-suite.html); [City of Calgary: Registered Secondary Suites map](https://secondarysuites.calgary.ca/) - Q: Is the Secondary Suite Incentive Program still open? A: Only as a waitlist. Since June 24, 2026, new applications go on a waitlist with no guarantee of funding. The program pays up to $10,000 toward building and registering a suite inside the home, and the City does not fund work that started before the application, so apply before construction begins. Source: [City of Calgary: Secondary Suite Incentive Program](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/secondary-suite-incentive-program.html) - Q: Can I have a basement suite and a backyard suite on the same lot? A: No. Since the City of Calgary repealed citywide rezoning on August 4, 2026, a property can have a secondary suite or a backyard suite, but not both. Source: [City of Calgary: Repeal of citywide rezoning](https://www.calgary.ca/planning/projects/rezoning.html) - Q: How do I check whether a suite is legal? A: Look the address up on the City's Secondary Suite Registry map. A suite on the map has been permitted and inspected; a suite that is not on it has never been checked by the City, and the City can take action against an unregistered suite that falls short of its safety minimums. Legalizing an existing suite follows the same path as building one: permits, inspections, then registration. Source: [City of Calgary: Registered Secondary Suites map](https://secondarysuites.calgary.ca/); [City of Calgary: Legalize an existing secondary suite](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/existing-secondary-suite.html) --- # Basement development URL: https://abls.ca/basements/development Finishing the basement for the family: rec room, bedrooms, bathroom, office, gym. Fewer code triggers than a suite, and the budget goes into the space itself. The finish standard is the part most people do not expect. ## Included as standard The base spec, before any upgrades. Product choices happen at the interior design selection. - Framing and drywall [standard]: 2 by 4 walls with bulkheads and door headers, half-inch drywall with mould-resistant board around the tub and shower, mudded and taped, in certified Canadian lumber. Why: Regular drywall behind a tub surround wicks the first leak into the wall. The mould-resistant board goes where water lands, and nowhere it is not needed. - Plumbing under the slab [standard]: New hot and cold supply lines, the sanitary run cut into the slab and the concrete repaired, a riser to the main drain, and a backwater valve drilled into the line. Why: A finished basement is the floor a sewer backup ruins first. The backwater valve is the one part of the job you hope never does anything. - Electrical and lighting [standard]: A new breaker and wiring for the outlets and lights, disc lights in the bedrooms, pot lights in the living room, the bathroom fan connected, and a return-air grille for the furnace. - LVP flooring [standard]: Luxury vinyl plank through the living space, chosen from a range of styles. Warm underfoot, quiet, and shrugs off spills. - Tiled bathroom with tub [standard]: A 60 by 30 inch alcove tub with 12 by 24 inch tile around it, a chrome shower head and faucet, and a toilet. Tile in the bathroom is the base spec, not an upgrade. - Custom vanity, quartz top [standard]: The vanity is custom cabinetry with a quartz countertop, a rectangular sink, a proper mirror and finished sides. - Doors, trim and paint [standard]: Interior doors in the style you pick at the design selection, chrome hardware, MDF jamb extensions on up to two windows, 3 inch casing and baseboards, primer and two coats of Sherwin-Williams or Cloverdale in your colour, doors and trim in semi-gloss white, knockdown ceilings. - Permits and drawings, in the contract [standard]: A development needs a building permit even without a suite. The fees and the drawings are inside the contract price. ## The features - Wet bars [upgrade]: A huge range of wet bar selections, from a counter with open shelving to full cabinetry with a beverage fridge and tiled backsplash. - Media walls [upgrade]: A built media wall: recessed fireplace, feature panelling, and the TV where it belongs instead of on legs. - Air conditioning while we are there [upgrade]: A Lennox ML14XC1 central air conditioner installed during the development, while the electrician and the furnace access are already on site. See the offer on this page. ## How it runs - Sign, select, build [standard]: You sign with the spec set out in writing, then an interior design selection covers floors, tile, doors, vanity and features. Not sure about the layout? A floor plan consult comes first, and we draw it with you before anything else moves. Why: Basements go wrong when selections happen ad hoc during construction. Deciding products up front means the schedule holds and the space matches what you pictured, not what was in stock. ## Questions - Q: What does a basement development cost? A: Basement developments start at $32,000. The price moves with the size of the basement, what is down there today, and the features you add, such as a wet bar or a media wall. The permit fees and drawings are inside the contract price, and you get a written, itemized quote after a site visit. - Q: Do I need a permit to finish my basement? A: Yes. The City of Calgary requires a building permit when a basement is developed for the first time, when walls are moved or when new openings are cut, even without a suite. Electrical and plumbing work carry their own permits; painting and cosmetic upgrades on their own do not need one. We pull the permits as part of the job, the same as on every build. Source: [City of Calgary: Home renovations and basements](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/basements.html) - Q: Can a basement development have a wet bar or a kitchen? A: A wet bar, yes. A full kitchen, no: the City treats a basement with a kitchen and a bathroom as a secondary suite that has to be permitted as one, and a wet bar in a development cannot have a cooking appliance. If you want a second kitchen downstairs, the build is a legal suite. Source: [City of Calgary: Home renovations and basements](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/basements.html) - Q: Does a basement bedroom need an egress window? A: Yes. A bedroom window has to open to at least 0.35 m² (3.8 sq ft) with no dimension under 380 mm (15 in), and a new egress window needs a window well with 760 mm (30 in) of clearance in front of it. Each bedroom and the hallway serving it also needs a hard-wired smoke alarm, interconnected with the rest of the house. Source: [City of Calgary: Egress window guidelines (PDF)](https://www.calgary.ca/content/dam/www/pda/pd/documents/building/advisories/advisory-egress-window-guidelines-jun-2022.pdf); [City of Calgary: Home renovations and basements](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/basements.html) ## Add air conditioning with your basement development A Lennox ML14XC1 central air conditioner, supplied and installed while our trades are already in the house. Available on basement development contracts. $4,999 + GST, installed, with a basement development. --- # Garage suites URL: https://abls.ca/garage-suites Written from a permitted ABLS backyard-suite design, drawn to NBC 2023 (Alberta edition). One design, redrawn for each lot. ## The numbers - Suite floor area: 878 sq ft (813.8 sq ft useable, after the stair) - Bedrooms: Three (Primary with ensuite and walk-in closet) - Bathrooms: Two (4-piece main, plus the ensuite) - Garage below: 822 sq ft (778 sq ft useable) - Parking: Two stalls (One for the house, one for the suite) - Footprint: 24 ft × 34 ft 3 in (20 ft 11 in to the ridge; the suite above runs 36 ft 7 in) ## Upstairs: the suite A three-bedroom suite with its own stair, laundry and two bathrooms. The stair lands in the suite, not in the garage, so the tenant never walks through your parking. - Living area: 13 ft 1 in wide, open to the kitchen, windows on two walls - Kitchen: Along the back wall, 11 ft of run beside the living area - Primary bedroom: With a 4-piece ensuite and a walk-in closet - Bedroom two: 9 ft 10 in wide, 5 ft × 4 ft slider - Bedroom three: Off the hall, beside the main bathroom - Main bathroom: 4-piece, tub with a tiled surround - Laundry: Stacked washer and dryer in its own closet at the head of the stair ## Downstairs: the garage Two parking stalls behind two 8 ft by 8 ft doors, with the mechanical room, the storage and the stair worked into the plan rather than stolen from a stall. - Two stalls: One assigned to the main house, one to the suite - Two 8 × 8 doors: One per stall, so neither tenant blocks the other - Storage under the stair: Its own door, off the entry - Mechanical room: Furnace and hot water for the suite, on its own - Engineered beam and post: A drop beam on a steel telepost carries the suite over the parking - Radon rough-in: Inlet under the slab, capped, ready if a test ever asks for it ## Assemblies - The floor between you and the tenant (1-hour fire separation, STC 52): 5/8 in T&G subfloor glued and screwed, engineered joists with R28 batt, resilient metal channels at 16 in, and two layers of 5/8 in Type X gypsum under it. NBC 2023 Table 9.10.3.1-B, Type F9c. Why: Fire rating is the code minimum. The resilient channel is the part you feel: it breaks the path footsteps travel on, so the garage below does not hear the suite above. - Roof (R40, 45-minute rating): Asphalt shingles on 3/8 in OSB with H-clips, R22.5 batt at 24 in plus 16 in of loosefill glass fibre, 6 mil poly vapour barrier, 5/8 in Type X drywall, aluminium soffit, fascia and eavestrough. - Exterior walls (2 × 6 at 24 in, R24, 1-hour rated): 5/8 in Type X drywall, 2 × 6 studs with R24 batt, 3/8 in OSB sheathing, then the exterior finish. NBC 2023 Table 9.10.3.1-A, Type EW1a. - Slab (20 MPa over R12 rigid): 3 in slab on 6 mil poly, on 3 in of R12 rigid insulation, on 6 in of compacted gravel. The insulation under a heated garage is what stops the slab pulling heat out of the building. - Foundation (8 in walls on a 20 in footing): 8 in concrete walls at 20 MPa with two rows of 10 mm rebar, on a continuous 20 in × 6 in footing on undisturbed soil, weeping tile as required, parged above grade. Why: A suite is a house with people asleep in it, so it goes on foundation walls below frost depth, not on the floating slab a plain garage sits on. That decision is poured on day one. - Interior walls (2 × 4, with 2 × 6 at the plumbing): Painted 1/2 in gypsum both sides; the plumbing wall is framed 2 × 6 so the stack fits without notching. ## How a garage suite gets built 1. The lot check, first and free: Zoning, lot width, lane access and coverage decide whether a suite is possible at all. We check before anyone pays for a drawing. 2. Drawings and permits: Site plan, floor plans, elevations, sections and the assemblies above, filed for development and building permits. The fees and the drawings are in the contract. 3. Build: Foundation, framing, the rated floor, mechanical, then finishes. The same crew and the same spec as the garages we build. 4. Inspections and occupancy: The City inspects in stages and signs off at the end. You finish with a suite that can be rented, not one that hopes to be. ## Questions - Q: What is a garage suite? A: A self-contained home with its own entrance, kitchen and bathroom, built above or beside a detached garage in the backyard. The City of Calgary calls it a backyard suite. It is a separate building from the house, which is what sets it apart from a basement suite: it always needs a development permit, and it sits on a foundation like a house, with footings below the frost line. Source: [City of Calgary: Building a backyard suite](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/new-backyard-suite.html) - Q: What does a garage suite cost? A: Garage suites start at $250,000. Where yours lands depends on the lot, the size of the suite and the finishes you choose. The format is the same as all our work: a site visit and lot check first, then a written, itemized quote you can compare line by line. - Q: What permits does a garage suite need in Calgary? A: A development permit first, then the building permit and the trade permits. The City requires a development permit for every backyard suite: it is a permitted use only in the R-G district and discretionary everywhere else. The development permit usually takes 10 to 12 weeks, so it sets the start date. The drawings and permit fees are in our contract. Source: [City of Calgary: Building a backyard suite](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/new-backyard-suite.html); [City of Calgary: Repeal of citywide rezoning](https://www.calgary.ca/planning/projects/rezoning.html); [City of Calgary: Secondary suite permit costs and timelines](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/suites-permit-costs-timelines.html) - Q: Can I add a suite on top of my existing garage? A: Usually not. The City requires a backyard suite to stand on a foundation like a house, with footings below the frost line, unless an engineer approves the existing structure. Most garages were not built that way, which is why we raise suite-ready at every garage consultation even when the suite is a someday. Source: [City of Calgary: Building a backyard suite](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/new-backyard-suite.html) - Q: Does the suite need its own parking? A: Yes. Since the City repealed citywide rezoning on August 4, 2026, a backyard suite needs one parking stall on the property for the tenant, on top of the stalls the house needs. The design on this page carries two stalls, one for the house and one for the suite, and keeps the tenant off the street. Source: [City of Calgary: Repeal of citywide rezoning](https://www.calgary.ca/planning/projects/rezoning.html); [City of Calgary: Secondary suites development permit requirements](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/secondary-suite-permits.html) - Q: How big can the suite be? A: The lot decides. Coverage, setbacks and the height limit set the envelope before anything else; the design here uses 2,434 sq ft of an 8,155 sq ft lot, which is 29.85 per cent coverage. We run those numbers at the lot check. - Q: What does the floor between the garage and the suite need? A: The City requires a 1-hour fire separation between a garage and a suite above it, including the structure that holds the suite up, with 45-minute self-closing doors, and sound separation of at least STC 50. The floor in the design on this page is a 1-hour assembly rated STC 52. Source: [City of Calgary: Building a backyard suite](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/new-backyard-suite.html) - Q: Is there a City incentive for backyard suites? A: The City's Backyard Suite Incentive Program offers up to $15,000 toward construction and 40 per cent of underground servicing costs, up to $20,000. The City warns that funds may not be available for everyone who applied after April 14, 2026, so check the program page before counting on it. Source: [City of Calgary: Backyard Suite Incentive Program](https://www.calgary.ca/development/home-building/backyard-suites-incentive-program.html) --- # Garage interiors URL: https://abls.ca/garage-interiors Cabinets, slatwall, shelving and finished floors, planned while the garage is still being framed, so the blocking, the outlets and the lighting end up exactly where the storage goes. --- # Cabinets by Hayley URL: https://abls.ca/garage-interiors/custom-cabinets Made-to-measure garage cabinets from Cabinets by Hayley, manufactured in Calgary, designed with you run by run and installed by ABLS. This is the premium line: built for your wall, not for a warehouse shelf. --- # NewAge Products URL: https://abls.ca/garage-interiors/modular-systems NewAge Products cabinet sets, shelving, slatwall and flooring, the fast, budget-conscious way to a fitted garage, configured to your space and installed by ABLS. --- # Garage interior design packages URL: https://abls.ca/garage-interiors ## [Blackline](https://abls.ca/garage-interiors/looks/blackline) The workshop that means it. Floor: Epoxy flake · storm grey; Cabinets: Matte black, brushed pulls; Counter: Stainless steel; Slatwall: Charcoal; Walls: Bright white. - Q: Do black cabinets show every fingerprint? A: Matte does not, gloss does. Blackline is specified matte for that reason, and the pulls are recessed into the door so the place you touch is the place that is easiest to wipe. ## [Timber](https://abls.ca/garage-interiors/looks/timber) Warm as the house it belongs to. Floor: Epoxy flake · warm sand; Cabinets: Sandstone, textured finish; Counter: Butcher block; Slatwall: Sandstone / oak tone; Walls: Warm cream. - Q: Will a wood counter survive a Calgary garage? A: In a heated, insulated garage, yes. Butcher block moves with humidity, so it wants a garage that stays above freezing, which is what we build anyway. In an unheated garage we would put you on stainless instead. ## [North](https://abls.ca/garage-interiors/looks/north) Light, calm, nothing extra. Floor: Interlocking tile · pale grey; Cabinets: Flat white; Counter: Birch; Slatwall: White; Walls: Soft white. - Q: Are white cabinets a mistake in a garage? A: Not on steel. These are powder coated, so a mark wipes off rather than soaking in the way it does on a melamine or painted MDF cabinet. The floor is where a white garage goes wrong, and North puts grey tile there for exactly that reason. ## [Paddock](https://abls.ca/garage-interiors/looks/paddock) A floor worth parking on. Floor: Epoxy flake · silver, high build; Cabinets: Black, low profile; Counter: Stainless; Slatwall: Pebble grey; Walls: Gallery white. - Q: Is a flake floor slippery when the car comes in wet? A: A gloss coat on its own is. We add a fine polymer grit to the top coat in the parking bays and leave it out of the walking bays, which keeps the reflection where you see it and the traction where you need it. ## Cabinets by Hayley: the catalogue ABLS can spec Calgary-made 16-gauge steel garage cabinets (HC Series), powder coated in 24 standard colours, designed to the client's wall and installed by ABLS. - Upper cabinets: Single door (19 in wide · 18, 24 or 30 in tall · 14 or 24.5 in deep) · Standard (24, 28 or 34 in wide · 18, 24 or 30 in tall · 14 or 24.5 in deep) · Double door (48 in wide · 18, 24 or 30 in tall) · Triple door (51 in wide · 18, 24 or 30 in tall) · Quad door (54 or 66 in wide · 18, 24 or 30 in tall) - Lower cabinets: Door only (19, 24, 28 or 34 in wide) · Single drawer over door (19, 28 or 34 in wide) · Double drawer over door (19, 28 or 34 in wide) · Knee-space drawer (6 in tall · 28 or 34 in wide · one or two drawers) - Tool chests: 19 in chest (6 drawers: two 2 in, three 4 in, one 10 in) · 28 in and 34 in chests (7 drawers: two 2 in, four 4 in, one 6 in) · 51 in chests (6, 10, 12 or 16 drawers · 30 or 36 in tall) · Tall chests (51 in tall · 28 or 34 in wide · 10 drawers) · 54 in chest (45 in tall · 16 drawers, from 2 in to 12 in deep) - Closets: Single door (75 in tall · 19 or 24 in wide · 14 or 24.5 in deep) · Double door (75 in tall · 28, 34, 48, 54 or 66 in wide · 14 or 24.5 in deep) · Stackable closet (45 in tall · 19, 28 or 34 in wide) · Free-standing closet (81 in tall · 28 or 34 in wide · with or without doors) · Free-standing cabinet (36 in tall · 28 or 34 in wide · with or without doors) - Corner cabinets: Upper corner (37.25 in each way · 18, 24 or 30 in tall · single or double door) · Lower corner (37.25 in each way · 30 in tall) · Blind corner lower (52.5 or 58.5 in wide · left or right) · Blind corner closet (75 in tall · 52.5 or 58.5 in wide · left or right) · Blind corner upper (18 in tall · 52.5 or 58.5 in wide · left or right) · Open corner (36 in tall · 28 in wide, with the bracket kit) - Specialty cabinets: Garbage bin drawer (19 in · two bins inside) · Parts bin drawer (19 in · 20 small and 20 large poly bins) · Utility cabinet (19 in · six outlets built in) · Drill storage and charging (19 in · three outlets, USB-A and USB-C · six poly bins) · Hose reel (19 in · standard or heavy duty) · Power reel (19 in · heavy duty) · Hose and power reel (28 in · both reels in one cabinet) · False-front sink cabinet (28 or 34 in) · Motorized TV cabinet (68 in wide · 10 in deep) · Motorized bar cabinet (68 in wide · 10 in deep) - Rolling: Tool cart (22 in or 34 in wide · one or two drawers) · Caster kit (Two swivel and two rigid casters, 300 lb each, with chrome pull handles) - Counters, backsplash and power: Counters (Galvanized 12-gauge steel, powder-coated 12-gauge steel, or 16-gauge stainless · on plywood · 2⅝ in lip) · Free-standing backsplash (21 or 27 in tall · up to 56 in wide · powder coat, checker plate, powder-coated checker plate, slatwall or stainless) · Aluminum checker plate backsplash (Behind a built-in run, up to 10 ft) · Base channel and legs (6 in base channel, or free-standing legs in 14, 22 or 24.5 in depths) · Toe-kick covers (6 in · 16 gauge) · LED strip (Under the uppers, up to 18 linear ft per transformer) · Free-standing pillar (21 or 27 in tall · 8 × 8 in) · Free-standing back cabinet (8 in deep · 28 or 34 in wide · optional six outlets) - The details: Latches (Chrome or black · locking or non-locking) · Pull-out shelves (19 to 34 in wide · full or half) · Extra shelves (19 to 66 in wide · 14 or 24 in deep · galvanized or powder-coated) · Hanging bar and shelf hangers · Drawer trim and stripe decals (Powder-coated to any colour, for a garage with a team colour) - Slatwall and storage: PVC slatwall · Hooks and holders · Baskets, bins and shelves · Bikes, tires and overhead --- # Finished builds URL: https://abls.ca/builds Completed ABLS builds with photos, measured floor plans and 3D tours. Community only, never an address. ## [A one-bedroom legal suite, scanned the week it was finished](https://abls.ca/builds/legal-basement-suite-nw-calgary) Legal basement suite, Northwest Calgary, September 2026. A finished legal basement suite in northwest Calgary, scanned in 3D the week it was handed over. Walk it, measure it, and see what the standard ABLS suite spec looks like once it is built. - Interior area: 520 sq ft (48.3 m²) - Layout: Living, kitchen and dining, bedroom with walk-in closet - Bathroom: 4-piece, tub with tiled surround - Laundry: In the suite, stacked - Ceiling height: 7 ft 8 in in the living room, up to 8 ft 10 in - Scanned: iGUIDE 3D tour, 14 camera positions - Kitchen and dining (59 sq ft kitchen, open to the dining space): Quartz countertops, standard on every ABLS suite kitchen; Cabinets to the ceiling, flat-panel, chosen at the design selection; 12 by 24 inch tile backsplash, full height behind the counter; Spaces for a full-size range, fridge and dishwasher, with the range hood vented; Undermount sink under the window line, pot lights over the work surface Why: A suite kitchen is a real kitchen, not a kitchenette. Tenants stay longer in a place they can actually cook in, and the City's requirements for a secondary suite assume a full kitchen anyway. - Living room (143 sq ft): LVP flooring through the living space, chosen from a range of styles; Pot lights on a switch, no ceiling fixture in the way; Resilient channel and insulation in the ceiling above, so upstairs footsteps stay upstairs; Knockdown ceiling, Sherwin-Williams or Cloverdale paint in the owner's colour - Bedroom and walk-in closet (127 sq ft bedroom plus the closet): Egress window sized so an adult can climb out, which is what makes the room a legal bedroom; Walk-in closet behind its own door; Solid-core bedroom door, chrome hardware, MDF jamb extension and casing on the window Why: Egress is the item that most often decides whether a basement can become a suite at all. The window well, the sill height and the clear opening are all set by code, and they are designed in before the first wall goes up. - Bathroom (44 sq ft, 4-piece): 60 by 30 inch alcove tub with 12 by 24 inch tile to the ceiling, standard, not an upgrade; Custom vanity with a quartz top, rectangular undermount sink and chrome faucet; Delta shower head and faucet in chrome; Mirror, vanity light, and an exhaust fan ducted outside Why: The bathroom gets the same finish standard as an ABLS basement development. A tenant should not be able to tell from the bathroom which floor of the house they are on. - Laundry: Stacked washer and dryer inside the suite, behind a door; Its own water, drain and dryer vent, so nothing is shared with upstairs - Entry and hall: Separate entrance, so the tenant never walks through the main home; Its own stairs, LVP with metal nosings; Storage room off the hall; The mechanical room stays accessible for the suite's furnace and the water heater - Fire separation: A rated ceiling and walls between the suite and the main home, so each is protected from the other. - Interconnected smoke and CO alarms: Alarms in the suite and upstairs wired together. One sounds, they all sound. - Dedicated electrical panel: The suite runs on its own panel, so the tenant's breakers are the tenant's. - Its own furnace: A second furnace for the suite, the cold-air return dropped to floor level, and the bathroom fan ducted outside. Heat that serves the suite, not borrowed from upstairs. - Ceiling height: Code asks for a minimum of 1.95 m through the living space. This suite measures 2.34 m in the living room. - Permits and registration: Development and building permits, trade permits, inspections at each stage, and the City registration that makes the suite legal to rent. - 3D tour: https://youriguide.com/abls_construction_legal_basement_esker_park ## [A heated double garage, drywalled and stuccoed](https://abls.ca/builds/detached-garage-braeside-sw-calgary) Detached double garage, Braeside, southwest Calgary, July 2026. A 24 by 24 detached garage in Braeside, southwest Calgary: 9 ft 6 in to the ceiling, insulated and drywalled inside, a gas heater and its own electrical subpanel, and a stucco exterior. The 3D scan lets you stand in it and measure the walls before you decide on your own. - Footprint: 24 ft × 24 ft (576 sq ft) - Ceiling height: 9 ft 6 in - Overhead door: 16 ft × 8 ft, insulated, flush panel - Opener: Side-mount, off the wall beside the door - Inside: Insulated, drywalled, taped and sealed - Heat: Mr Heater Big Maxx gas unit heater - Power: Its own electrical subpanel - Exterior: Stucco, with aluminium soffit, fascia and eavestrough - Roof: Engineered trusses at 24 in on centre - Insulated and drywalled, then taped: The drawings call for the garage walls to be insulated and the drywall taped and sealed. That is what makes a heater worth running out there in January. - Fire-rated board where the City asks for it: The set specifies 5/8 in fire-rated drywall. Calgary requires it on a garage wall that sits within 0.6 m of a property line. - Heat and power carry their own permits: A gas heater needs a gas permit and a subpanel needs an electrical permit, both on top of the building permit for the garage. We pull all three. - 3D tour: https://iguideradix.com/7a929c2e-18dc-438c-afbb-3e51c1e9c909 ## [A heated garage under the power lines, once the lines were raised](https://abls.ca/builds/detached-garage-maple-ridge-se-calgary) Detached double garage, Maple Ridge, southeast Calgary, July 2026. A detached double garage in Maple Ridge, southeast Calgary, on a lot where the overhead power lines crossed the spot the roof had to go. Our electrician raised them, with ENMAX cutting the power for the work and restoring it after, and then we built it: 9 ft ceiling, a 16 by 8 door on a side-mount opener, insulated and drywalled, with a 50,000 BTU gas heater. - Ceiling height: 9 ft - Overhead door: 16 ft × 8 ft, insulated, flush panel - Opener: Side-mount, on the wall beside the door - Inside: Insulated, 6 mil vapour barrier, 1/2 in drywall, taped ready for paint - Heat: 50,000 BTU natural gas unit heater, gas line run from the house - Power: Overhead lines raised by our electrician, ENMAX disconnect and reconnect · three exterior lights, two interior, three receptacles - Exterior: Vinyl lap siding, trimmed doors and window, aluminium soffit and fascia, 5 in continuous eavestrough - Roof: Reverse gable, engineered trusses at 4/12, shingles matched to the house - Concrete: 4 in pad, 5 ft sloped apron, retaining walls both sides - The power lines came first: Overhead lines crossed the back of the lot, over the spot the roof had to go, so nothing could be framed until they were raised. Our electrician did that work. ENMAX's part is to cut the power off beforehand and restore it after, and we booked that too, along with the electrical permit and the final inspection. The homeowner did not have to chase a utility. - Three permits, not one: The building permit covers the garage. The wiring carries an electrical permit and the heater carries a gas permit. All three were ours to pull and close. - A sloped lane and a utility right of way: The pad sits between 2.5 ft retaining walls, and the apron was lengthened from 2 ft to 5 ft and sloped to meet the lane. The dig beside the walls was widened to stay clear of a utility right of way. ## [A double garage with the door off centre and its own sub panel](https://abls.ca/builds/detached-garage-evergreen-sw-calgary) Detached double garage, Evergreen, southwest Calgary, June 2026. A detached double garage off the lane in Evergreen, southwest Calgary, 26 ft wide by 22 ft deep. The 16 ft overhead door sits off centre in the 26 ft front wall, so one side has a long clear run of wall and the other does not. Inside it is framed, sheathed and wired to its own sub panel, with the walls left open for the owner to finish. - Footprint: 26 ft wide × 22 ft deep (572 sq ft) - Wall height: 9 ft 6 in to the top plate - Overhead door: 16 ft × 8 ft, set off centre in the 26 ft front wall - Opener: LiftMaster ceiling mount, on a chain rail - Power: Its own sub panel on a plywood backer, fed in flexible conduit · exterior lantern and receptacle - Inside: Framed and sheathed, walls and trusses left open - Doors and window: 36 in man door, 36 × 40 in window - Exterior: Blue vinyl lap siding, white trimmed door and window, aluminium soffit, fascia and eavestrough - Roof: Engineered trusses at 24 in on centre, 4/12 pitch, asphalt shingles - Structure: 2 × 4 studs at 24 in on centre, 3/8 in OSB sheathing, 2-2 × 10 header over the door - Concrete: 4 in slab, 32 MPa - The slab and the header: The pad is a 4 in slab at 32 MPa. Over the 16 ft opening sits a built-up 2-2 × 10 header, and the roof is engineered trusses at 24 in on centre. None of it shows once the door is hung, and all of it is what the building inspection looks at. - A sub panel, not an extension cord: The garage has its own panel on a plywood backer inside the wall, fed from the house in flexible conduit. That is what lets a garage run a door opener, lights, receptacles and later a heater or a welder without borrowing a circuit from the house. The wiring carries its own electrical permit. - Left open on purpose: The walls and trusses are bare sheathing, not drywall. The building, the slab and the wiring are all inspected and closed; insulating and boarding it is a separate job the owner can do later, or we can come back and do. ## [A 20 × 22 garage close to the property line, with the fire-rated wall that takes](https://abls.ca/builds/detached-garage-legacy-se-calgary) Detached double garage, Legacy, southeast Calgary, July 2026. A 20 by 22 detached garage off the lane in Legacy, southeast Calgary, sided and trimmed to match the house. One wall sits close enough to the property line that the City wants it fire rated, so that wall is boarded in fire-rated drywall and taped while the rest is left open. 9 ft ceiling, a 16 by 8 insulated door and an opener you can run from your phone. - Footprint: 20 ft × 22 ft (440 sq ft) - Ceiling height: 9 ft - Overhead door: 16 ft × 8 ft, insulated, flush panel - Opener: Chain drive on a ceiling rail, two remotes, Wi-Fi app control - Inside: Fire-rated drywall, taped, on the wall nearest the property line · the other walls and the trusses left open - Doors and window: Man door, 36 × 40 in sliding window with a screen - Power: Two lanterns at the door, a motion light by the man door, two interior lights, three receptacles - Exterior: Vinyl siding matched to the house, trimmed doors and window, aluminium soffit and fascia, 5 in continuous eavestrough - Roof: Engineered trusses at 4/12, asphalt shingles matched to the house, two roof vents - Structure: 2 × 4 studs at 24 in on centre, pressure-treated bottom plate, 3/8 in OSB sheathing - Concrete: 4 in pad, 2 ft apron, 6 in curb walls on three sides - One wall fire rated, because of where it sits: The City requires fire-rated board on a garage wall that sits close to a property line. This garage has one such wall, so that wall is boarded in fire-rated drywall and taped. The others did not need it and were left open, which is why the inside looks half finished on purpose. - The frame the inspector signed off: 2 × 4 studs at 24 in on centre on a pressure-treated bottom plate, 3/8 in OSB on the walls and roof, and an engineered truss system at a 4/12 slope with two roof vents. All of it is covered by siding and shingles now, and all of it is what the framing inspection looks at. - Two permits, both ours: The building permit covers the garage and the electrical permit covers the wiring. Both were included in the job, pulled by us and closed before we handed it over. --- # How a project runs URL: https://abls.ca The order is the same on every job. What changes is how long each step takes and how many trades are involved. 1. Site visit: We measure, look at access and grade, and tell you what your lot actually allows. 2. Design consultation: An hour on the choices that shape the build: size, layout, doors, heat, finishes. 3. Drawings and permit: We draw it, submit to the City, and answer whatever comes back. 4. Site preparation: Demolition, excavation or framing out, depending on what is already there. 5. Build: Trades come in the order the inspections need them, not the order that suits us. 6. Inspection and handover: Final inspections, a deficiency walk with you, and the paperwork for insurance or a tenant. --- # 关注 ABLS Construction 官方微信公众号 URL: https://abls.ca/learn/abls-construction-wechat 卡尔加里装修首选 ABLS Construction，专精合法地下室（Legal Secondary Suite）设计与建造，提供从政府审批到最终验收的一站式中文服务。 ## 卡尔加里装修首选：ABLS Construction 助您打造高回报合法地下室 ABLS Construction 是卡尔加里领先的全方位总承包商（General Contractor）。我们的使命是将您的愿景变为现实，无论是商业项目还是住宅翻新，我们都以精湛的工艺和全权负责的态度，为您打造无忧的建筑体验。 我们在合法地下室第二套房（Legal Secondary Suites）的设计与建造领域拥有卓越的专长。无论您是希望增加租金收入的房主，还是寻求房产增值的投资者，我们都深知您的需求。我们提供从政府审批（Permits）到最终验收的一站式服务，并专注于耐用选材与智能家居集成（Smart Home Integrations），如智能防洪和耗电监控，让您的投资安全且高枕无忧。 拒绝“装修噩梦”！ABLS Construction 因责任感而生。我们提供 24/7 专属项目经理对接，杜绝工期拖延与沟通断层。所有技工均经过严格背景审查，确保施工质量与其专业度。我们承诺不仅在预算内交付最优质的工程，更将复杂的施工流程转化为您轻松愉悦的体验。 关注 ABLS Construction 官方公众号，获取卡尔加里最新的装修规范、房产投资干货及独家优惠。我们还设有中文专线，语言不再是障碍！ 微信公众号：wxabls ABLS Construction. 筑您所想，安您所居。 --- # About ABLS Construction URL: https://abls.ca ## Who ABLS Construction is ABLS Construction is the operating name of 2684521 Alberta Inc., a residential construction company in Calgary, Alberta. It builds detached garages, legal basement suites, basement developments and garage suites for homeowners in Calgary, Airdrie, Okotoks and Chestermere, and fits out garage interiors with cabinets from Cabinets by Hayley and NewAge Products. ## How pricing works - Each build type has a published starting price, listed under Key facts at the top of this file. A starting price is not a quote. - The price of a specific build is a written quote, itemized line by line, after a site visit. Size, what exists on site today, the foundation and the finish level move the number most. - Drawings and City permit fees are included in the contract price. - The design consultation is free and takes about an hour, at the kitchen table or on site. ## What ABLS handles on every project - Measuring the lot and checking what it allows before anything is drawn. - Drawings, permit applications to the City of Calgary, and answers when the City comes back with questions. - Booking the City's inspections and meeting the inspector. - For a legal suite, carrying it through inspections to the City's Secondary Suite Registry. - A written spec: every standard item and upgrade has a page on abls.ca, and the options a client picks become the spec sheet on the contract. ## Language Service is available in English, and in Chinese on WeChat (wxabls), with Chinese-language articles on the Learn page.