Basement Suite Painting
We can paint Secondary suites, rental suites, In-Law suites and Garden Suites from Victoria to Nanaimo and everywhere in between.The Pride Promise Guarantee — Backed on Every Job
Every Job, 100% Guaranteed — That’s the Pride Promise.
Got a Rental Suite That Needs Painted?
Maybe you are Between Tenants? Tell Us Your Dates
The old tenant is out on the 30th. The new one is in on the 1st.
That’s the constraint on most suite painting, and it’s why this is a different job from painting the rest of your house. The space is usually small and the scope is usually straightforward. The difficulty is almost never the painting — it’s whether it can be finished by the date on the calendar.
Tell us your move-out and move-in dates in your first message. We’ll give you a straight yes or no rather than a hopeful maybe, and if the window is genuinely tight we’ll say so and help you prioritise.
The suites we’re asked about most:
“Basement suite, two bed one bath. Looking to book for the second week of June, after my tenants vacate.”
“Setting up an in-law suite, some drywall fixes already done. Need the walls and ceiling painted.”
Basement suites first and foremost, but the same job by any of its names: legal secondary suites, in-law suites, rental suites, garden suites, carriage houses and laneway homes. We also paint basements that aren’t suites at all — rec rooms, family rooms, home offices, stairwells and unfinished storage.
Most are between 200 and 3,500 square feet, with the typical one around 900. Whichever yours is, the job is usually days rather than weeks.
Getting a Basement Suite Rent-Ready
Between tenants is the only window where the unit is properly empty, and it’s worth using well. A turnover repaint typically covers:
- Filling nail holes, anchor holes and picture hangers
- Repairing minor drywall damage from furniture and moving
- Sanding, spot priming and blocking any staining
- Walls, and usually ceilings
- Trim, doors and closets where they’ve taken a beating
Sheen matters more than colour in a rental. Flat paint looks lovely and is nearly impossible to clean. A washable eggshell or satin means the next set of scuffs gets wiped off instead of repainted — which is the single decision that most affects how many tenancies you get out of one paint job.
Trim and doors carry the wear. Door edges, casings, baseboards and the corner of the hallway are where a suite actually looks tired, even when the walls are fine. Including them often makes more visible difference than another coat on the walls.
Landlords and property managers: if you’re coordinating touch-ups across several units, or you turn suites over regularly, get in touch and we’ll work out something that fits how you actually operate.
Why Choose Pride Painting
When there’s a lease start date attached, a realistic plan is worth more than an optimistic one. We’ll tell you honestly whether your dates work before you book, coordinate around cleaners, flooring or other trades where needed, and hand the unit back ready rather than nearly ready. Written estimate, clear scope, and a straight answer about the schedule.
Local Experience
We understand the style, materials and needs of coastal cottages to modern builds.
Flawless Results
Crisp lines, even coverage and premium paints like Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore.
Clean & Respectful
We protect your furniture, floors and belongings, leaving your home spotless.
Clear Pricing
Free, detailed quotes with no hidden fees.
Trusted by Homeowners from Nanaimo to Victoria
Voted BEST House Painters in The City, 7 Years in a Row.
Homes Painted
Don't just take our word for it, here is what your neighbours are saying on our Google Reviews page.
Our Work
Recent Painting Projects
Reviews from Basement Suite Projects
OLYMPUS
“I recently purchased a home that needed a fair bit of work and met with 3 painting companies. I hired Pride based on the assurance that they could meet my budget, expectations and strict timeline. I have no regrets. With a lot of moving parts, they were able to communicate with my carpenters and handyman and work with initiative and coordination with other trades without my involvement. As a rental suite, I received a lot of compliments from potential tenants.”
ASHLEE JOHN
“We had Pride paint our basement suite and they did such an amazing job for a great price. So happy with the professionalism and quickness of the work that needed to be done.”
SEAN OYE
“I used them back in 2018 to paint my exterior and interior of my house and used them again this past month to redo my basement after I had some restoration work done. Jack sent out Leon and his team and they did an excellent job and kept my place nice and tidy.”
What Does It Cost to Paint a Basement Suite?
Suites are compact, which means proportionally more cutting than open wall — a 600 square foot suite has more edges, doorways and corners per square foot than the same area of living room. But it’s still one of the shorter projects we do, which is exactly what makes it fit a turnover window.
What moves the price: the number of separate rooms, whether ceilings and trim are included, wall condition and repairs, any stain blocking, how many colours, and whether the unit is empty. A single colour throughout is the quickest and most economical option, and it’s what most landlords choose.
Clearing the space first is the biggest thing you can do to keep the cost down. A basement full of stored belongings takes considerably longer than an empty one, and moving it is time you’d be paying us for.
Walkouts, Garden Suites and New Builds
Not every basement is a dark box. Plenty of Island homes have a walkout or daylight suite with a ground-level entrance and proper windows, and those take colour much like the rest of the house. Fully below-grade rooms get less natural light, so warmer light tones and a finish with a bit of sheen do more work than a cool grey would. Low ceilings are common and nothing unusual — a light ceiling makes a 6’6″ space feel noticeably taller.
New or newly finished suites are a different job from a repaint. Fresh drywall is absorbent and takes finish paint unevenly, so it needs priming first. If your secondary suite has just been drywalled, say so and we’ll scope it accordingly.
Unfinished areas — bare concrete foundation walls, exposed joists, utility and storage space — can be painted with appropriate products. It won’t turn storage into a rec room, but white on concrete and joists makes a basement dramatically brighter and easier to use.
Detached suites — garden suites, carriage houses and laneway homes — work the same way inside. They sometimes have exterior surfaces worth considering too, which we’d quote separately.
Most suites have a compact kitchen and one bathroom doing all the work. Refinishing tired cabinetry is covered on our kitchen and cabinet painting page, and bathroom painting covers the moisture-resistant finishes a hard-worked suite bathroom needs. Selling the property rather than re-letting it? See pre-sale painting.
How a Basement Suite Turnover Works
- Send us your dates — when the unit becomes available and when it needs to be ready
- We confirm honestly whether it fits — a straight yes or no, not a hopeful maybe
- We review the unit — surfaces, repairs, staining and anything that affects the timeline
- We recommend products — washable finishes suited to how hard the unit gets used
- We prep and paint — filling, repairs, stain blocking, walls, ceilings, trim and doors
- We hand it back ready — clean and ready for cleaners, furniture or a tenant
PRIDE PROMISE GUARANTEE - 100% GUARANTEED
Whether you’re refreshing a single room or updating your entire home, the interior painting experts at Pride Painting is ready to help.
Before the Next Tenant Moves Into the Last One’s Walls…
There’s a version of this where you don’t paint. The old tenant moves out, the walls aren’t that bad, you patch the worst two spots and list it.
It rents. It always rents. But it rents slightly slower, to a slightly narrower pool, at a slightly lower number — and every one of those compounds across the tenancy.
A suite is small. That’s the whole advantage. It’s a short project with a disproportionate effect on how the space shows.
Send us the dates and the unit. We’ll tell you what fits and what it costs.
Ready by the Date. Not Nearly Ready.
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Every Job 100% guaranteed!
We have the experience. We have the tools. We have the expertise. We even have the reputation, by word of mouth & popular vote. Experience professional painting and get a quote with Pride.
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly can you paint a basement suite between tenants?
A straightforward walls-only repaint of an empty suite is often a short project, but it depends on scope and our schedule at the time. Send your move-out and move-in dates with your first message — the earlier we know, the better the chance of fitting the window, and we’ll give you a straight answer either way.
What paint finish is best for a rental suite?
A washable finish — eggshell or satin rather than flat — in high-traffic areas, kitchens and hallways. It costs marginally more and means marks get cleaned instead of repainted, which usually means more tenancies between repaints.
Will mould-resistant paint stop the mildew coming back?
It helps resist new growth, but it isn’t a fix for a moisture problem. If a suite has had mildew because it wasn’t ventilated properly, the paint will buy you time and better cleanability — it won’t change the underlying cause. Existing growth needs cleaning and treating before painting, not covering. We’ll tell you what we’re actually looking at.
Can you paint a suite while a tenant is still living in it?
It’s possible but rarely ideal, and it needs the tenant’s cooperation on access and furniture. In BC, entry to an occupied rental unit has notice requirements that are the landlord’s responsibility to meet. Between tenancies is almost always the better window.
Can you paint over water stains in a basement?
Old, dry staining can be blocked with an appropriate primer so it doesn’t bleed through. Active moisture is different — paint won’t stop it, and covering it delays the real repair. If we see signs of something ongoing at the estimate, we’ll say so rather than paint over it.
Whatever your need, we always Paint with Pride!
Pride Painting is a recognised, highly reviewed painting company serving Nanaimo to Victoria, offering reliable interior and exterior house painting services to homeowners and businesses.
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