I plan to ask Dr. Brizman about this as well. My husband I I have had a dream of finishing out our basement to have a family room and some other extra rooms.
We are all set to pay for our permit (which would expire 6 months after we open it). The area would be completely sealed to the rest of our house. We would not have workers inside our main floors at all. We would not be doing any work ourselves except picking a few light fixtures and paint colors, etc...