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Basement hallway at the drywall stage, dark in the foreground, with light pouring in from a room at the far end across the taped seams and the paper-covered floor, where extension cords snake toward a work light

Basement Finishing

Basement finishing in Harrisburg, permitted through the city

Harrisburg, South Dakota

Get an estimateCall (605) 679-5223

Owner-led basement finishing from a licensed, insured general contractor based in Harrisburg, with a written estimate after a walkthrough.

5.0 across 25 Google reviews · Licensed & insured · BBB Accredited, rated A · TimberTech PRO Gold contractor

Harrisburg is one of the fastest-growing cities in South Dakota, and much of that growth is new subdivision construction where homes are sold with the basement left unfinished. The builder pours the foundation, often roughs in a bathroom, and hands over a concrete box under your living space that you're already paying to heat. If your family has outgrown the main floor, finishing that basement is usually the most cost-effective square footage you can add, because the foundation, the roof, and the mechanicals are already there.

The catch is that everything easy about a basement sits in the middle of the floor and everything hard is around the edges. In Harrisburg the permit goes through the city, which fixes the inspection points the schedule has to hit before anything gets closed up — and those inspections are planned into the sequence rather than discovered at the end of it.

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What finishing an unfinished basement involves

A typical new-construction basement in Harrisburg comes with bare foundation walls, a concrete floor, exposed mechanicals, and often a roughed-in bathroom. Whether you call it a basement finish or a basement remodel, the work is the same: framing and insulating the exterior walls, running electrical, tying the bathroom into the existing rough-in, hanging and finishing drywall, and installing flooring that holds up below grade. Bedrooms need proper egress windows. In a South Dakota climate, insulation and moisture details matter as much as the finishes, so we check how the space drains and dries before anything gets covered up.

Permitted with the City of Harrisburg, run by the owner

The City of Harrisburg handles its own permitting, so a basement with new bedrooms or a bathroom gets permitted and inspected locally rather than through Lincoln County. We take care of that paperwork as part of the job, in town or on a rural county parcel. If your layout needs drawings, we do the drafting and plans as well. Jace Jones quotes the project after an in-person walkthrough and then runs the build himself, and Hols & Co carries a 5.0 rating across 24 Google reviews and an A rating from the BBB. We offer basement finishing across the Sioux Empire, and the work often connects to other projects we handle:

Whole-home renovations · Home additions · Kitchen remodels · Sunrooms · Drafting and plans

A framed lower-level room seen through its stud partition walls: a window in the far wall, foundation walls wrapped in plastic, cut lumber and offcuts on the bare concrete floor, open joists and ductwork overhead.
The window room framed — the partitions define the room before there is a wall to lean on.
  • A crew member in a white Hols & Co. LLC General Construction shirt crouched at a circular saw and a red tool case on the bare concrete floor, plastic-wrapped foundation wall behind.
    Cutting studs to length on the slab. Every partition in the frame was cut in this room.
  • A crew member in a cap, sleeveless shirt and tool belt standing among freshly framed stud partitions in a lower level, a bucket and a level on the concrete floor, plastic-wrapped foundation wall and open joists beyond.
    Walking the framed partitions — doorways, closets and the hallway all set before drywall.
  • The same lower-level room three weeks on: drywall hung and taped on every wall, the window at left, a doorway through to a second room, a dehumidifier on the paper-covered floor.
    Three weeks later: the window room hung and taped. Same room as the framing above.
  • A drywalled lower-level hallway with two cased door openings into the next rooms, seams taped and screw heads mudded, a shop vacuum inside one doorway and the floor still bare.
    Drywall hung and taped, door openings cased — next is texture, paint, doors and trim.
  • A crew member in a gray Hols & Co. LLC General Construction shirt seen from behind, walking through a drywalled lower level with two cased doorways ahead and tools on the floor.
    Walking the finished drywall before texture. Jace runs the job from framing through finish.
  • Unfinished basement with new wood stud walls on a bare concrete floor, electrical boxes and white cable run through the studs, under an open joist ceiling with recessed light cans
    Stud walls up and the electrical roughed in under the open joists.
  • A long view down a framed lower level: a run of stud wall on the left with openings framed into it and storage bins tucked in the open bays, a window in the framing at the far end, foundation walls wrapped in plastic on the right, and buckets, a tool bag and a coiled hose on the bare concrete floor.
    Framing, week one: the full run of the lower level once the partition walls are up — from this end you can read where every room and doorway lands.

5.0

Twenty-four reviews. Every one of them five stars.

Read all 25 on GoogleEvery review, on one page
  • We had a great experience! Jace had great communication throughout and was responded in a timely manner. Jace and his team were trustworthy and we felt comfortable with them working in our house while we were away. Our finished basement turned out better than we had envisioned when we first decided to finish it. I’d highly recommend!
    Stephanie S. · July 2026 · Basement finishing
  • Highly recommend Hols & Co. if you are looking for someone to build your deck. The whole team was excellent to work with. They were professional, respectful and communicative. They were very efficient when they were on site and kept out property clean while they worked. Solid craftmanship and the finished product is exactly what we were envisioning. We would definitely hire this crew again for future projects.
    Carrie Janssen C. · July 2026 · Deck build
  • The team was great. The quality of work is fantastic. I saw their ad on social media and took a chance and contacted them. So glad I did! Wanted my back deck replaced and they did a beautiful job. Even worked Saturday because the wood for the deck didn't show up on time. Looking forward to having them back for my next project!
    Laura · July 2026 · Deck replacement

Fair questions, straight answers.

Do I need a permit to finish a basement in Harrisburg?

Yes. The City of Harrisburg handles its own permitting, so a basement finish inside city limits is permitted and inspected through the city rather than Lincoln County. Adding a bedroom, bathroom, or new electrical circuits triggers permit requirements. Hols & Co manages the application and inspection schedule as part of the job, and for rural properties outside city limits we permit through the county instead.

Why do so many newer Harrisburg homes come with unfinished basements?

Harrisburg's growth has come largely from new subdivision construction, and builders there often keep the base price down by leaving the lower level unfinished. Because footings in this climate have to sit below the frost line, many of these homes come with a full basement whether it's finished or not. That leaves owners with a wide-open lower level and mechanicals already in place, which makes finishing a practical way to add bedrooms and living area later.

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