Do you need a Denver licensed general contractor for a remodel?

[Jennifer Ward]

Hi BP Denver community,

I am trying to sale our house in Denver proper and we are running into a road block because the basement is only partially finished and was done back in the 70s.  It definitely needs a remodel to be comfortable for anyone wanting to use it. It has a bathroom, non confirming bedroom, and a living area.  I am reaching out to contractors about remodeling the basement.  They are saying I would only need an electrical permit and maybe a plumbing permit.  I choose to be on the cautionary side and would like to hire a licensed Residential C contractor in the city of Denver in case an inspector comes along and says, "you need a full permit for this remodel".

I have reached out to a lot of "contractors". So far I received 3 bids and two of them are not licensed in Denver and failed to mention that before they came out for a bid, even though I asked. I guess I wasn't specific enough, need to ask: "are you licensed in DENVER". I have to share... when I asked one contractor for their license information, they sent me their LLC registration....really!!!!

Anyways....I am starting to second guess myself....should I not be so stringent and be more open to hiring a "contractor" that has a license outside of Denver and works with licensed Electricians and Plumbers within Denver??

Thanks!

[Dorothy Ma]

Usually if you have just cosmetic work it doesn’t require a permit and so you can get away with out a licensee contractor. In your case, finishing up a basement - if you’re adding conforming windows- would require a permit. Basement finishes require permits - not just electrical and plumbing - since basement walls usually need to be floated and fire blocked properly, and structural needs to weigh in if you’re creating egress windows.
In my opinion any contractor who isn’t licensed isn’t really a contractor at all and I would be wary of hiring them to do work if this scope. If they are licensed already in one city it’s not that hard to get a license in another. Usually Denver license is the hardest to get som other cities accept that, so I’m curious what city are they licensed in?!