If we disregard all the whacky stuff we do around here for a moment (double drywall, GG, etc.) , what is the range of generally accepted "cost per sq. ft." that contractors charge for normal bare-bones basement construction? Does anyone know?

There was an earlier thread about this (maybe 6 months ago or so) and it seemed to me at that time that the consensus "Ballpark Estimate" to get ANYTHING (basement, deck, siding, windows) done by a contractor was 30K. If you bite, they drop everything and run to your house, if not, they just keep working on whatever project they are working on.

It will be interesting to see what it is now with the general housing slowdown.

Good luck,
Tom

Wow. That sounds high. I just had a 300 sq. ft. deck made with an expensive exotic hardwood (IPE) and a vinyl railing, with the deck 10 feet off the ground and a staircase, for 11K. All very high quality construction -- it's as solid as a rock.

I've got a bid to finish a 11.5 x 19 foot area of my basement (including riser, false wall, equipment cabinet, wiring, electrical, the whole bit except for carpet) for less than 8k.

I cannot imagine paying 30k for either of these items (the deck or the room).

Did you notice his location? Northern Virginia? Welcome to our world. I live in suburban MD and he is pretty much right that contractors here won't give you the time of day unless its a big job. Maybe the housing slowdown will make them a little hungrier and easier to deal with. I spent close to a year trying to find someone to come do some simple stuff for me and I finally got time to do it myself and did.

Your figure of $8k for 11.5x19 comes out to $36.70 a square foot. I seem to remember hearing a figure of around $40 a square foot to finish existing space is the general ballpark so that is probably not bad. This, of course, also shows why so many here do so much of the work themselves

I have heard the $40/sq quote before. I have a couple of quotes I culled from the web and put in my files, that I'll add here:

Finishing a basement? $30 to $75. Tru Davis, a Massachusetts contractor specializing in basements, is blunt: "Where else can you spend 12% to 15% of the cost of your house and get one-third more space as a result?"
Source: http://money.cnn.com/best/magazine_archive/2002/08/HOM.html

Basement Remodel Project Description: Finish the lower level of a house to create a 20-by-30-foot entertaining area with wet bar, a 5-by-8-foot full bath, and a 12-by-12-foot auxiliary room. Walls and ceilings are painted drywall throughout; exterior walls are insulated; painted trim throughout. Include five six-panel, primed hardboard doors. Main room shall include 15 recessed ceiling light fixtures and three surface-mounted light fixtures and snap-together laminate flooring system. Bathroom includes standard white toilet, vanity with cultured-marble top, resilient vinyl flooring, two-piece fiberglass shower unit, a light/fan combination, vanity light fixture, and recessed medicine cabinet. Bar area includes 10 linear feet of raised-panel oak cabinets with laminate countertops, stainless steel bar sink, single-lever bar faucet, undercounter refrigerator, and vinyl floor tile. The national average cost of this project is $43,865. Source "Remodeling on-line"

Did you notice his location? Northern Virginia? Welcome to our world.


Man, I DO NOT miss that area. I lived in the Metro DC area for 30 years (1969-1999)....owned a house.....shewy.......it is CRAZY there. The costs are in the top 10 for the nation, for sure. Great place to grow up, terrible for "younger" folks these days. I was lucky to be in the last "generation" to benefit from the market (i.e. bought house for $200k, sold for $700k in 4 years). And, I finished the basement myself with the help of my Pop for about $3k (thank God, the brother-in-law was an electrician, and the father-in-law a plumber).

Wow, now I am thinking I got one hell of a deal. Chicago, IL I finished 1000 square ft of basement for $17K. That included an Oak bar and some extras in the HT

Scott

i live just east of chicago and my builder gave me a price of about $30 per sq. foot to finish our basement...

i'm doing it myself and plan to do it much cheaper with more upgrades and at my own pace...

the problem with alot of contractors is they aren't always patient in dealing with a homeowner that has specific criteria to meet in his theater or with HT designers and installers

just my $.02

i live just east of chicago and my builder gave me a price of about $30 per sq. foot to finish our basement...

i'm doing it myself and plan to do it much cheaper with more upgrades and at my own pace...

the problem with alot of contractors is they aren't always patient in dealing with a homeowner that has specific criteria to meet in his theater or with HT designers and installers

just my $.02

Based on my conversation with a lot of contractors, I'd have to say you're right. But the guy I'm thinking about hiring gives me a very good vibe, like he'll be really easy to explain things to and will attempt to be cooperative. Whether or not he'll drop that act and start acting differently once I've signed the contract is something I won't know until we get started, I guess. But he actually told me that he showed my pictures (printed from other theaters on this forum) to his guys, and he said they actually seemed excited to build something a bit different than the typical finished basement.

Chiming in here fom the North East. My neighbor is having part of his basement finished. Just a basic job;walls, floor and drop ceiling (no bar that I know of). It runs around $32 sq. ft.

I was glad to find out since permits here are based on construction cost. So now I know where to start when I apply for mine for the ht.

Andy

Not counting the HT area, mine was about $25/sq ft for an office, a bathroom and a bedroom.

1200 sq/ft ~ $30K.

Regards,

I haven't built my basement yet since I haven't moved to the new house yet. If you have the time and can wait for a long time like other folks here, then I recommend that you do it yourself. This way, you can think a lot, correct things out, etc. I'm doing it myself too.

But if you want it A.S.A.P. since you have a huge celebration coming in 3 months, then hire a professional contractor. Remember, you get what you pay for. My friend just finished his 1000 sq.ft. basement and he hired someone to do it. He spent like 12k-13k and I think my friend got ripped off. I don't want to tell him my feedback because I'm sure he will get hurt. So, contact different contractors and ask them to bring you to the single family homes that they have finished the basement previously. My 2cents too.

My Basement cost me about 22K including HT equipment (Low end per this groups standard). 19K construction and 3k in equip. Seating is garage sale stuff and hand me downs()Leather reclining love seat and couches), so add seating cost to that. Don't know exact SQ but that includes Theater (12x32), Full bath, Bedroom(12x14) w/ walk-in-closet, playroom (23x16, Large enough for a full size pool table), storage room/utility room.

They also did things like turned the stairs and put in french doors from the outside to the playroom and moved the old door to the utility area so that I can enter directly from out side rather than going through the house. They also built a custom wall unit in the playroom.It include a furnace/AC form the basement with the thermostat in the HT. They built and carpeted the risers (2 levels for 3 rows of seating).
HT , Bedroom and Playroom all have octagonal trays with ropelight in mouldings on the trays and recessed cans in the soffits. The HT also have recessed lights over the seating area and "cleaning light" in the front area. They did all the wiring as I specified and all I did was pulling the speaker wires and painting the screen wall which they had primed.
I also had to supply the fans/light fixures for the bed room and playroom as per the contractor "A fan can cost anywhere from $18 to $1800 depending on selection" and the tile for the bathroom floor and entry way (Found just what I needed in HD on close out for $.58 per 12x12)

The only issue I had was slow finishing. partly because the painter went to his homeland on vacation and was scheduled to paint when he came back, but neve came back. The new painter got his truck stolen the morning he was supposed to show and his sprayer etc. was all in the truck. When it was finally being done he was behind painting on several jobs and the general contractor gave him helpers to paint...bad idea, as they did a crummy job. All the things the painter painted was good, the helpers not so much. The painter ended up having to redo some of the helpers stuff.

EDIT:A rough calculation of all areas finished gave me a finishing price of $17.21/sqf with all included from above . I belive it was based on $15/sqf with cost added for the french doors and the AC etc. (Original quote was for AC pulled from main floor).

Mikael

Wow! Mikael, that was a helluva good deal. I always thought labor was cheaper down south (used to live in FL) :D

The neighbor I mentioned earlier only had maybe a 30x18 area divided into two rooms with a half wall for $16K. If they wanted a bath included (which was already roughed in by home builder, btw) it was going to be roughly $28K.

Love diy...

Say, do you have any pics of the turn in the stairs you added? I'm toying with that same idea.

Andy

I got quotes from several contractors to put 2 rooms in about a 1000 sq ft basement, one being a HT and the second being a general use room. All 3 quotes came in similiar at about $30 per sq ft.

Although I've got minimal home repair experience, I'm planning on doing the work myself. None of the contractors had any knowledge or interest in doing a quality sound proof/insulation job.

I'll probably spend just as much money but the quality will be better from a technical point of view, with more fun stuff thrown in.

My Basement cost me about 22K including HT equipment (Low end per this groups standard). 19K construction and 3k in equip. Seating is garage sale stuff and hand me downs()Leather reclining love seat and couches), so add seating cost to that. Don't know exact SQ but that includes Theater (12x32), Full bath, Bedroom(12x14) w/ walk-in-closet, playroom (23x16, Large enough for a full size pool table), storage room/utility room.


MikaelO, who did you hire to do your basement? I'm in Suwanee and am currently in the market for a contractor to build my home theater. PM me if you wish.

I got quotes from $70-92,000 to finish my ~1,800 sq ft basement. This was nothing special.... just basic finishing. As it stands right now, I have $44,000 and change invested right now. This includes my HT speakers, screen, projector, chairs, new heat pump, carpet ($6,600 on it's own), cables, game area speakers, HT fabric, DVD player, projector, anamorphic lens, etc. Without all this, I'm around $27-30,000. I hired out the HVAC and drywall. Everything else was done by me and I've put in quite a bit more than the locals quoted me.... for half the price.

If you don't like the costs, I'd strongly suggest finding a contractor that primarily builds homes in your area. Then see if his guys will do work on the side for cash. The contractor shouldn't care and you will save 15-30% on the labor as you become the GC. We added on to our house a year ago and are now looking at the basement. I'd like to add a quasi theatre down there (more like a projections screen with surround sound) and will just pay the carpenters that worked on my house on an hourly basis. I'll do what I can (like pulling all the low voltage wiring) and the overall cost should come out much less.

Definitely DIY if you have the time and ability. My GC quoted me $40/sf to finish 2500 sf in the basement when we built the house 2 years ago. I opted to do it myself. I am now finishing up the painting and will be starting the trim this weekend.

I have a theater, bedroom, bath, family room, 2 rec rooms and a large wet bar. I was also able to a lot more then the GC would have done for that price, including 3 cove ceilings, and a lot of built-ins. When done, the basement will actually be finished off better then the mail level.

I did everything myself except the plumbing and electrical. When completed, I will come in right at $18/sf. (This includes putting in a sub-floor in the entire finished area). This does not include any of the electronics for the theater.

Note that if you hire it out, the cost per sf will typically be higher for a smaller job then a larger job.

Tom

(This includes putting in a sub-floor in the entire finished area).


Tom

Tom,
Can I ask you a question about the sub-floor you mentioned? I'm in the process of planning and contemplating putting down something over the cement prior to the carpet and pad. I've spoken to several GC's and they generally don't do anything other than pad and carpet right to the cement. Did you do subfloor and carpet? If carpet, what was your motivation and can you give me a quick overview of what you did.

Because ceiling height is a concern I was considering epoxy coating the cement (we don't currently have any moisture issues but I thought it was a good prohibitive step)and then laying .5" OSB/plywood over and securing to the cement with adhesive, followed by pad and carpet.

Thanks.
Tony

Tony - A friend of mine just put HW floors in his basement and they put down 2 layers of subfloor overlapping under it. I've also seen products like dri-cor (?) at Home Depot that is designed to form a sub floor on top of the concrete while keeping moisture from the concrete away from the wood. I haven't figured out what I'm going to do in my basement when I get around to finishing it this fall. Let us know what you decide to do.

My neighbors have been quoted around $30/sq. ft. for very bare bones basement finishing here. Some of my neighbors have gotten together where they go from house to house finishing each others basements.

Tony-- I did Dricore in my basement. Very easy, cuts with regular tools. The whole basement took me two nights. Moisture issues in a basement don't always come from the ground-- in the summer (I'm assuming you're in WI), warm humid air can condense on cold concrete. You might never feel it wet normally, but if you put carpeting/pad directly on the concrete, it won't dry as easily and can provide a place for mold to grow. Products like Dricore or Delta-FL provide an airgap between the concrete and floor, allowing the concrete to dry if it becomes moist. It also is a moisture retarder, helping to keep warm, moist room air from reaching cool concrete.

It also makes for a warm floor in the wintertime. :)

Thanks to both.

I had seen dri-core at HD but the cost is going to add roughly $1000 to the rooms. I suppose that is insignificant compared to the cost of water or mold damages (not that I expect any).

Did you put OSB over the dri-cor or put the pad/carpet directly to it? One concern I had was the plastic dimples on the dri-cor deforming under load (walking, furniture legs, etc). Have you noticed any of that? I imagine a layer of OSB would alleviate that issue if it is present.

You mentioned condesation on the exterior walls (by-the-way, yes, I am in Wisconsin). Did you put up any vapor barrier? None of the GC's I spoke with thought it necessary, but I've been giving it some thought.

Tony, I used Platon topped with 3/4" T&G OSB. The Platon I used came in 7' wide roles x 65.5' long. This was a bit difficult to work with, but they now make smaller size rolls. The cost, including the OSB was about $1.25 per sf. I went this route for the same reasons GreySkies noted, plus it a lot softer to stand on vs concrete. I will be putting down carpet on most of it, but around the bar, I will be installing laminate tile. The laminate pad can go right on top of the Platon.

When I installed the OSB, I glued the T&G edges with construction adhesive. I installed biscuits in the ends where pieces butted together. In hindsight, I would not do that again. I have a couple that squeak because the glue didn't hold. Letting the but ends "float" an 1/8 apart would prevent that, and would not be an issue with the carpet. I put a couple tapcons through the OSB in the locations that squeaked.

I also put roofing felt down on the concrete prior to laying down the Platon. That was just to eliminate any noise that the Platon would make against the concrete when walking on it.

I ended up loosing about 1 1/4" of height by doing this, but I have 9' ceilings, so that was not an issue.

You can check out Platon at http://www.systemplaton.com/index.html

As for your thoughts of epoxy then OSB directly on top, I would be hesitant to do that. Even if you don't have moisture problems now, concrete does breath and give off moisture. It may not be noticeable when not covered. I would be concerned about the epoxy breaking down over time and not providing a solid barrier. Also, since the concrete will be cooler, you will get some condensation between the concrete/epoxy and the OSB. Without space for it to breath, it would develop mold over time. (As GreySkies also pointed out)

Tom

I had seen dri-core at HD but the cost is going to add roughly $1000 to the rooms. I suppose that is insignificant compared to the cost of water or mold damages (not that I expect any).
And that's how I justified spending the extra money. I am paranoid about mold; even if it's not the toxic stuff, it smells.

Here's two horror stories--

A college buddy up in Milwaukee has had an issue in the summer with his basement floor getting wet. The house is a post-war bungalow, with a basement rec room that was done in the 60s. He called me a couple of weeks ago saying that the floor tiles felt soggy and squished when he stepped on them. Well, to make the story short, he now has an asbestos abatement problem with his loose floor tiles.

Story two-- our neighborhood is new. The neighborhood was built with separate drainage systems for sewer and storm. Houses were also built with backflow prevention so that storm runoof/sewer can't back up into basements. Our next door neighbors were having a relative (brother-in-law GC) finish their basement. He had unplugged the French drain sump pump (one of two outlets in our basements) and neglected to re-plug it. After a pretty good summer storm, they had six inches of standing water in their freshly drywalled basement.

Of course, Dricore (or similar) isn't going to solve those problems-- I just thought I'd share some basement-water horror stories.

With Dricore, you can put carpeting/pad right over the top of it-- no additional underlayment needed. The manufacturer claims that the plastic is strong enough that you could even put a piano on the floor-- and they recommend that interior walls be built over the top of the floor. I haven't seen any deflection.

Before I put Dricore down, I painted the floor with Drylock (if you do this, make sure you get the stuff that can be used on floors).

Did you put up any vapor barrier? None of the GC's I spoke with thought it necessary...One of my wife's sisters and her husband live outside of Mukwanago. Their GC told them the same thing about eight years ago. Their basement reeks of mold. With a vapor barrier, don't put it against the concrete; you want the barrier on the side of the insulation facing the room (i.e., inside).

For my exterior walls, I framed standard 2x4 walls ap. 1-2 inches away from the concrete walls, insulating them with vapor barrier-backed insulation, with the vapor barrier facing the inside of the room. Pics are available on my Media Room website (http://bar.marvindog.net).

I also used a mold-resistant drywall for my walls. It has a specially-treated core and uses fiberglass instead of a paper backing. It's also about twice as heavy as regular drywall and it's more difficult to get a good drywall screw dimple in it without popping the hole. It was also a couple of bucks a sheet more expensive than regular drywall. (I also gladly paid extra to have the Menards delivery guys take it down to the basement for me.)

I've heard that the best thing to do in insulating an already-built raw basement is to start by gluing an inch of extruded (not expanded) polystyrene directly to concrete walls and then building insulated 2x4 walls inside the polystyrene. And that the absolute best way to insulate a basement is by insulate it from the outside with extruded polystyrene before the basement is back-filled.

If we disregard all the whacky stuff we do around here for a moment (double drywall, GG, etc.) , what is the range of generally accepted "cost per sq. ft." that contractors charge for normal bare-bones basement construction? Does anyone know?


My new home builder is charging roughly $29.00 /square foot for the finished basement. Here is the plan (the finished portion is roughly 950 square feet):

http://ericbeth.home.comcast.net/basement2.jpg


He "claims" that in order to induce me to purchase this custom option, they removed much of the "profit", since they normally charge $38.00/ sq foot. [This is a new home builder-- not just a contractor for the basement, so they always put major profit in options.]

The calculation of $29/ square foot includes the charge for "waterproofing". Which is normally a separate charge of $4,000.00.

If you remove the waterproofing charge, the calculation of cost per square foot is $25.57.

This finished basement includes the following:

"Permit, electrical per code, wall insulation for the media room, paint and painter, trims and carpenter, framing lumber and the carpenter, doors, fire suppression system. The electronic damper system for the heat and air conditioner is included in the standard specifications for the basement."

Any upgrades to standard carpeting and standard electrical fixtures and sockets are additional.

Note that the powder room in the basement is an entirely separate charge of $6,000.00.

By the way, this is in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Tom,
Thanks! The input is greatly appreciated.

Even if you don't have moisture problems now, concrete does breath and give off moisture. It may not be noticeable when not covered.
Yep-- something else to think about-- I've heard that concrete that's not allowed to breathe while it cures (which can be decades) can weaken and potentially fail (granted, this is probably a fifty-year process, but I'm paranoid). I have a drain tile system underneath my basement floor, so even with the Drylock on top of the concrete, it can still breathe from underneath (theoretically). For my walls, they've been treated with a moisture spray on the outside, so I didn't Drylock the walls so the concrete can still breathe to the inside.

Wow. That sounds high. I just had a 300 sq. ft. deck made with an expensive exotic hardwood (IPE) and a vinyl railing, with the deck 10 feet off the ground and a staircase, for 11K. All very high quality construction -- it's as solid as a rock.

I've got a bid to finish a 11.5 x 19 foot area of my basement (including riser, false wall, equipment cabinet, wiring, electrical, the whole bit except for carpet) for less than 8k.

I cannot imagine paying 30k for either of these items (the deck or the room).

I think you were had. Guess it depends on where you live but IPE shouldn't be considered expensive or exotic.

I just got a bid to finish roughly 500 sq.ft. in my basement for $7500. This did NOT include flooring or painting. This will be an "L" type configuration and included finished stairs, door to unfinished area, framed and drywalled walls and ceiling, insulation, electrical, and 2 closets with hardware. Mind you this is in rural Vermont.
JUC

Does anyone have any HVAC DYI experience? I'm being quoted about $3800 to relocate my furnace about 4', add two trunk lines with 6 feeds and 2 returns. That includes shortening the coil lines, rerouting the gas and electrical lines.

I sure would prefer to do the lion share of the "non technical" (sheetmetal, relocation) stuff myself and save all that money, and call in the pros for the shortening the coil lines.

Definitely don't want to bite off more than I can handle though.

I think HVAC is as much an art as a science. I had no trouble deciding to do my own electrical. I framed my basement. I sheetrocked it. I do my own plumbing. I do everything except HVAC. It's not the sheet metal work that's the problem-- that's easy-- I'm afraid I'll screw things up enough to not heat/cool the house properly/efficiently, burn out my fan, or worst-case, cause a carbon monoxide or gas problem.

But, if you can get a pro to plan/spec it all out for you, go for it.

I agree about the art part. HVAC set up incorrectly can also fry your furnace by starving it of return air.

I had several HVAC guys over to price out the job and they pretty much mapped it all out for me. And I'll hire someone to give it an inspection prior to going back on line.

It's only speculation at this point but I'm leaning towards a DIY approach.

I think you were had. Guess it depends on where you live but IPE shouldn't be considered expensive or exotic.


I researched this stuff for six months before I bought. No way was I "had". I researched national, regional, and local average costs. I got several bids, and ended up getting an excellent price.

Using national averages, the cost for IPE is similar to the cost for vinyl. It's about twice the cost of cedar, with an even higher multiple compared to pressure treated pine.

When you say it shouldn't be considered expensive, I'm not really sure what your basis for comparison is. Everyone around here gets their decks built from PTP or Cedar, so that is mine.

Ipe is an exotic in the sense that it is a South American hardwood, and many suppliers classify it in the same category with the other non-domestic exotics, like teak, although teak is quite a bit more expensive.

I know of what I speak here. If you want me to post links confirming its status as an exotic or its average price compared to other decking materials, I can.

When you say I was "had," it might be helpful for you to know that the information I am laying out here did not come from some contractor trying to sell me a bill of goods. I knew what I was doing regarding this wood long before I ever starting calling around.

I researched this stuff for six months before I bought. No way was I "had". I researched national, regional, and local average costs. I got several bids, and ended up getting an excellent price.

Using national averages, the cost for IPE is similar to the cost for vinyl. It's about twice the cost of cedar, with an even higher multiple compared to pressure treated pine.

When you say it shouldn't be considered expensive, I'm not really sure what your basis for comparison is. Everyone around here gets their decks built from PTP or Cedar, so that is mine.

Ipe is an exotic in the sense that it is a South American hardwood, and many suppliers classify it in the same category with the other non-domestic exotics, like teak, although teak is quite a bit more expensive.

I know of what I speak here. If you want me to post links confirming its status as an exotic or its average price compared to other decking materials, I can.

When you say I was "had," it might be helpful for you to know that the information I am laying out here did not come from some contractor trying to sell me a bill of goods. I knew what I was doing regarding this wood long before I ever starting calling around.

Like I said, depends on where you live. IPE is the cheaper alternative in California since it is suppose to be a renewable hardwood from Brazil :rolleyes: . It does look nice. I'm a DIY'er and $11k for a small 300sq ft. deck is expensive to me. Personally, I'll stick with PTP (since I'm a white pine tree farmer :) ) I don't think much of composites, making decking out of bio-degradable material just doesn't sound right to me.

I've been on that deck. The guys who did it did an excellent job. Very good craftsmanship. Also, I think one of the things you're forgetting is the footings and the 10' height off the ground (support timbers, cross bracing, railings, longer than standard stairs, etc.).

Bryan

Like I said, depends on where you live. IPE is the cheaper alternative in California since it is suppose to be a renewable hardwood from Brazil :rolleyes: . It does look nice. I'm a DIY'er and $11k for a small 300sq ft. deck is expensive to me. Personally, I'll stick with PTP (since I'm a white pine tree farmer :) ) I don't think much of composites, making decking out of bio-degradable material just doesn't sound right to me.

Understood. But your original point was that it was neither expensive nor exotic. And my point is that it is generally classified as an exotic (like teak), and that it is indeed expensive compared to budget-level decking materials (PTP being the most common).

Here are some links where IPE is referred to as an exotic. Please understand, I'm not saying I think it's exotic, whatever that would imply. I'm saying that many suppliers classify it as an exotic, along with other tropical hardwoods.

http://www.eastteak.com/selectnews.php?news=EXOTIC+HARDWOODS+AND+ARCHITECTURAL+DECKI NG

http://www.ipedepot.com/compare.htm

And since you said you're a DIY guy, here's a reference to IPE being an exotic on the DIY Website:
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:dGJatmRPkqkJ:www.diynetwork.com/diy/gf_design/article/0,2029,DIY_13832_4573835,00.html+exotic+deck+ipe&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=27

That 11K price-tag includes the thicker 5/4 planks (because the thinner planks sometimes cup), the hidden fastening system, the 10 foot elevation support on 6x6 piers, stairs, Azek vinyl wrap, vinyl railing, vinyl wrap around every post, etc. The deck is built stronger than it has to be. For example, the thicker IPE planks are cleared to span 32 inches, but I have 16 inch joist spacing. That's just one example. I also have an extra support post under the stair case and extra tie-ins between the stairs and the deck because the contractor is just as retentive as I am, and that's saying something.

IPE requires special tools and is generally very labor intensive. It's very heavy (sinks in water) and every hole has to be countersunk. On my deck, I paid a bit extra for the Eb-Ty hidden fastening system, so the deck looks like a hardwood floor. By the way, this guy that I ended up hiring actually charged quite a bit less for labor than the other guys I took bids from, despite the fact that his work was the best of those I previewed. So I got a good deal on the labor too.

The only reason that I mentioned the terms "exotic" and "expensive" was so people wouldn't think I was paying 11K for a deck made out of PTP, which would have been counter to my point that contracting seems to be less expensive here in the Midwest than in the Northeast. Using the same dimensions as my existing deck, I can get a deck professionally made out of PTP for 3 to 4 K, cedar for 7K. I can get vinyl, redwood, or IPE for 11K, although my understanding is that redwood is cheaper in California.

My new home builder is charging roughly $29.00 /square foot for the finished basement. Here is the plan (the finished portion is roughly 950 square feet):

http://ericbeth.home.comcast.net/basement2.jpg


He "claims" that in order to induce me to purchase this custom option, they removed much of the "profit", since they normally charge $38.00/ sq foot. [This is a new home builder-- not just a contractor for the basement, so they always put major profit in options.]

The calculation of $29/ square foot includes the charge for "waterproofing". Which is normally a separate charge of $4,000.00.

If you remove the waterproofing charge, the calculation of cost per square foot is $25.57.

This finished basement includes the following:

"Permit, electrical per code, wall insulation for the media room, paint and painter, trims and carpenter, framing lumber and the carpenter, doors, fire suppression system. The electronic damper system for the heat and air conditioner is included in the standard specifications for the basement."

Any upgrades to standard carpeting and standard electrical fixtures and sockets are additional.

Note that the powder room in the basement is an entirely separate charge of $6,000.00.

By the way, this is in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Thanks for scanning the plan. That is very helpful for giving me a visual of your project and calculating costs.

So far the bids I'm getting for my theater are in a pretty narrow range between 27 and 32 dollars per square foot.

I think HVAC is as much an art as a science. I had no trouble deciding to do my own electrical. I framed my basement. I sheetrocked it. I do my own plumbing. I do everything except HVAC. It's not the sheet metal work that's the problem-- that's easy-- I'm afraid I'll screw things up enough to not heat/cool the house properly/efficiently, burn out my fan, or worst-case, cause a carbon monoxide or gas problem.

But, if you can get a pro to plan/spec it all out for you, go for it.

I'll do my own HVAC and electrical. It's plumbing I look at as an "art". I've sweated a few joints, but there's no duct tape equivalent to fix a half-assed job. :D

... but there's no duct tape equivalent to fix a half-assed job. :D
You've just never seen my dad's truck. :D

CPanther,
Since you're a DIY'er in the HVAC arena, can I bounce a couple of questions off of you. As I mentioned in an earlier post (#31) I've got a quote of about $3800 to move my furnace about 4 feet and run some additonal trunk lines, feed and return lines and misc stuff (no second zone, if that's included the quote jumps to $5500. So here are my questions:
1. Can the trunk lines be purchased pre-fabricated or is that an onsite task? If onsite, how difficult is the bending, cutting, joining, etc?
2. Based on your DIY experience, would you put take on the task yourself?
3. I think I'll need a couple of pieces of custom shaped trunk bends, what do you recommend?
4. I haven't even read up on shortening the coil lines, I was planning on saving that task for the pros...any experience with that?

Thanks for the info.

Thanks for scanning the plan. That is very helpful for giving me a visual of your project and calculating costs.

So far the bids I'm getting for my theater are in a pretty narrow range between 27 and 32 dollars per square foot.


By the way, the media room is 16 x 20 -- the riser starts at 11' 3" back from the opposite wall and goes all the way to the back of the room. So the riser is almost 9 feet in depth.

It starts 3 feet from the side wall, so it is 13 feet wide.

There was no additional charge for the riser.

We just had the HVAC work completed in our 1700 sq ft basement as we are about to start framing. We had a new compressor and heat pump installed for the basement with one thermostat, all the existing ducts were changed to the flexible, compressible type, and where possible moved up into the joists, or along the walls, and the new ducts installed were the same flexible type. 5 supply ducts, and 2 returns, plus when we have finished the basement, they will come back, attach all the register covers, complete the HVAC wiring, and fire it up. We paid a total of $7016.

Since we are talking HVAC (which I have no personal knowledge of) - I recomend that you run a few searches. Its a biggie for sound isolation (or more to the point potential sound flanking problems) and for the comfort of your room. Comes up as a source of regret in DIY blunder threads.

I think, the cures for isolation seem to include flex ducts with 2-3 or more 90 degree turns, lined ducts if you have trunk lines in your HT, and larger ducts to minimize the sound of the airflow. For comfort, I think it is tied to the adequacy of the feeds, and/or separate controllers/zones.

As some one who needs to move his furnance 4 feet, and the water heater 20 feet, I am disapointed, but not surprised by your quoted price.

Good luck in the project.

Dave,
It sounds like we're in very similiar circumstances. My waterheaters also need to be moved about 20 feet. Again the quote was ridiculous. If I actually manage to do this work myself without screwing anything up, I'll be ahead of the game by quite a few thousand dollars that can be reinvested into the HT. My wife is really starting to flipout because of all the projects I've convinced her that I can handle.

I was looking at Sandmans thread (see below) and he used something called duct board for his HVAC. Read his post (#96) on page 4 of his thread...it's pretty interesting. It's actually a great thread.

Home Entertainment & Theater Builder > Dedicated Theater Design & Construction Sandmans Home Theater Construction Begins!

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm going to do most of the labor in relocating the furnace and the water heater(s). I'll be sure to document it all and get a thread rolling.

Good luck Tony. Sounds like you are more skilled than me (not a high standard). Look forward to seeing it come together.

I agree with you about Sandman's thread. A great read.

Hello Forum,

most important on pricing are we talking having the job done by licensed sub contractors like : licensed electrical contractor,plumber for bath buildouts,hvac contractor for the supply and returns,needed if you will be pulling a permit and doing the basement build out per city codes and permit issued. Or there are companies out there who are handymen and claim to do it all and not use professional tradesmen.
Professional contractors would understand where I am coming from and home owners might not. I am based of Huntley il. and are a professional contractor performing basement remodeling,room additions,decks,stamped concrete and more and saw the thread and wanted to participate so make the right choices and you will be good to go with enjoyable space for your family !

Curb Appeal Construction Co. Huntley il. 1-815-923-0707

ha

I started this thread a long-arse time ago. Why is this back on the first page again? :D

Since I first asked the question about how much I should expect the contracting to cost, I've managed to live through one very unsavory remodel, taken away many entertaining stories and tales of what not to do when working with a contractor, and have now been enjoying my completed space for over a year.

One year from now, I hope someone will revive this thread with an equally ponderous picture of Garfield or something.

Framers and builders in general have really dropped pricing around here. I'm finishing the rest of my basement and quotes have been very reasonable. 62 feet by 40 feet I'm adding walls all the way around as well as a hallway partitioning off a bedroom, closet, and bathroom as well as framing around the furnaces and we're talking only $2500 for framing including all wood and nails. Drywall walls and ceiling is about $3000 and then we have tile and carpet to contend with but overall not bad. Hope to have it all done minus the pimp bar I plan to put in for around $10,000. Electrician for the place quoted me $1500-$2000 or so. He is a friend.

I want a room addition and one of the guys I like a lot that bid on it last summer has just called me back and lowered his bid by 1/3rd stating their down turn in business lately.

So.. May not be the owrst time to try to have something done after all.

I recently bought a townhouse that has not been constructed yet. When i chose all the options I opted for having the lower level/basement already finished by the builder. There was a price on that of $8700. I also opted to get the morning room which expands the place on all levels. Today however i get a call telling me that a mistake was make and that the 8700 was just to finish the standard size basement/lower level and does not cover the extra space the morning room adds. This would be an added $4000. My contract had me signed up for the $8700. They then tell me that you can't finish 1 part of the basement and leave another part not done. I can't add more to the loan since i have already gone through the loan process.
So my options are to:
1. throw a fit and demand that since it was clearly their mistake, that they do the entire basement for the $8700. Plus they clearly could not give me the option of adding the extra $4000 to the loan so they should have to eat this.
2. The sales rep was trying to tell me to get rid of the finished basement option entirely and have it done on my own afterwards.

Not sure if this situation could be good for me or cause more hastle. The only think to 'finish' on the basement is to add a wall around the washer/dryer and water heater area, add dry wall, minor duct work, add electrical outlets, and then of course the carpeting.

Does anyone know whether i could get all this done for less than $8700? I would also not be doing the work myself and would have to hire ppl to do the work.

1. throw a fit and demand that since it was clearly their mistake, that they do the entire basement for the $8700. Plus they clearly could not give me the option of adding the extra $4000 to the loan so they should have to eat this.
2. The sales rep was trying to tell me to get rid of the finished basement option entirely and have it done on my own afterwards.

Not sure if this situation could be good for me or cause more hastle. The only think to 'finish' on the basement is to add a wall around the washer/dryer and water heater area, add dry wall, minor duct work, add electrical outlets, and then of course the carpeting.

Does anyone know whether i could get all this done for less than $8700? I would also not be doing the work myself and would have to hire ppl to do the work.

Throw a fit. If it were the other way around, they wouldn't allow YOU to make changes. I'd require them to finish what you want and leave the other portion unfinished. Now you've got some leverage since it sounds as though they messed up.

You don't say how large the space is, so it'll be extremely difficult to determine whether it will take more than $8700 to get it done.

CJ

I'm building a new house and negotiated with the contractor to also finish the walkout basement at cost plus 10%. So mine will have about 1700 sq ft with a wet bar, family room, exercise room, bedroom, full bath, and theater room. It includes $5/sq ft flooring budget and about $10k in trim (crown, paneling etc) throughout the basement. It also includes a separate furnace/ac for the basement. It doesn't include the theater components though. I think for basic finishes he said he could do like $27/sq ft, but it would 'look like a basement' at that price. And at the current price of $72k it comes out to be about $42 a sq ft. It's expensive, but to me it's worth it.

Throw a fit. If it were the other way around, they wouldn't allow YOU to make changes. I'd require them to finish what you want and leave the other portion unfinished. Now you've got some leverage since it sounds as though they messed up.

You don't say how large the space is, so it'll be extremely difficult to determine whether it will take more than $8700 to get it done.

CJ

+1 (on the new post from the dead thread :))

Assuming they actually contracted with you to finish the entire basement (not just the portion BEFORE the morning room addition), I would throw a fit. A contract is a contract. CJ is right - there is no way they would let you out if you "accidentally" signed a contract for $4000 more than you thought.

They screwed up and someone told the sales guy to fix it. Beat your chest, escalate to management, threaten to go to the local "troubleshooter" (http://troubleshooter.com/) for publicity, etc. New Construction Builders these days don't want to lose business. I would make them finish the entire basement. This is just because I've had VERY bad experiences with new home salesmen saying one thing and then being screwed in the end - finding out that they lied or were clueless, etc.

I can't believe these high prices. I'm doing my build entirely DIY and paying for materials in cash as they are needed.

Thread from the dead!

I finished my approximately 1500sq ft basement for around $12k.

Totally gutted - new studs, electrical, drywall, mudding, paint; added another bathroom with sump; enclosed boiler room to code, etc.

The only thing I didn't do myself was the mudding -- I couldn't bring myself to do it. I originally got quotes of $30k-$40k which was ridiculous NY pricing.

I'm glad I don't live there anymore. :D

Here is my $.02
I am working on finishing my third basement in in as many new houses within the last 15 years. I guess I am a glutton for punishment. The last basement I finished cost me about 25k and I did the framing myself but contracted out everything up through the trim work. This did not include the additional 10k I spent on cabinets, counter tops, and carpet/flooring. Approx. sqft. 1500; in Naperville, outside Chicago.

Here and now I am at it again after moving into a new home in Northwest Indiana, I have a 2000 sqft basement that I was quoted 50k for finishing which included framing through trim work and drywalled ceilings. Basement walls are 10ft. high with floor trusses instead of rafters (so much better) because you can have a true ceiling without obstructions. To make a long story short, I balked at the estimate and contracted it out little by little and as of today I am ready for drywall, having done most of the electrical, insulation and plumbing myself.
The bids I received for HVAc ranged from $400 bucks to $2500 for a few supply lines and 3 cold air returns. Ridiculous!

And that's how I justified spending the extra money. I am paranoid about mold; even if it's not the toxic stuff, it smells.

Here's two horror stories--

A college buddy up in Milwaukee has had an issue in the summer with his basement floor getting wet. The house is a post-war bungalow, with a basement rec room that was done in the 60s. He called me a couple of weeks ago saying that the floor tiles felt soggy and squished when he stepped on them. Well, to make the story short, he now has an asbestos abatement problem with his loose floor tiles.

Story two-- our neighborhood is new. The neighborhood was built with separate drainage systems for sewer and storm. Houses were also built with backflow prevention so that storm runoof/sewer can't back up into basements. Our next door neighbors were having a relative (brother-in-law GC) finish their basement. He had unplugged the French drain sump pump (one of two outlets in our basements) and neglected to re-plug it. After a pretty good summer storm, they had six inches of standing water in their freshly drywalled basement.

Of course, Dricore (or similar) isn't going to solve those problems-- I just thought I'd share some basement-water horror stories.

With Dricore, you can put carpeting/pad right over the top of it-- no additional underlayment needed. The manufacturer claims that the plastic is strong enough that you could even put a piano on the floor-- and they recommend that interior walls be built over the top of the floor. I haven't seen any deflection.

Before I put Dricore down, I painted the floor with Drylock (if you do this, make sure you get the stuff that can be used on floors).

One of my wife's sisters and her husband live outside of Mukwanago. Their GC told them the same thing about eight years ago. Their basement reeks of mold. With a vapor barrier, don't put it against the concrete; you want the barrier on the side of the insulation facing the room (i.e., inside).

For my exterior walls, I framed standard 2x4 walls ap. 1-2 inches away from the concrete walls, insulating them with vapor barrier-backed insulation, with the vapor barrier facing the inside of the room. Pics are available on my Media Room website (http://bar.marvindog.net).

I also used a mold-resistant drywall for my walls. It has a specially-treated core and uses fiberglass instead of a paper backing. It's also about twice as heavy as regular drywall and it's more difficult to get a good drywall screw dimple in it without popping the hole. It was also a couple of bucks a sheet more expensive than regular drywall. (I also gladly paid extra to have the Menards delivery guys take it down to the basement for me.)

I've heard that the best thing to do in insulating an already-built raw basement is to start by gluing an inch of extruded (not expanded) polystyrene directly to concrete walls and then building insulated 2x4 walls inside the polystyrene. And that the absolute best way to insulate a basement is by insulate it from the outside with extruded polystyrene before the basement is back-filled.

just got done taking a look at your bar setup. Dude, that is incredible. Props to you

I am in the process of finishing my basement now. I'm basically using friends recommendations for people they have used to do side jobs and I'm doing a bit of it myself (I planned to do most of it myself, but I'm finding my time being taken up with a 1yr old and my job). The area of the basement that will be finished is roughly 600sq/ft and so far, I've only had the framing done. I paid $675 (I received one quote for almost $3k) for a 'den', theater space, a closet, and storage in metal studs. Today, I'm supposed to have someone come out for electrical... Don't know the price yet.

I'm planning on about $10k when all is said and done. I already have all the theater equipment aside from the projector This will probably take a 2-4 months as we're spreading it out. We're still filling a new house with furniture (we went from a 700 sq/ft apartment to a 2,200 sq/ft house before the basment) and I'm about to trade in my 2-door car for something easier to get my daughter in and out.

I live in the Philadelphia suburbs and my basement is coming in at $9800. This includes framing, electrical, drywall, custom book shelves and dvd shelves, and molding. Price does not include carpet, paint, or av equipment. Total time for construction is about 3 weeks.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p273/rguyer/Basementfloorplans.jpg

Basement waterproofing is a must for every home that has a basement. Your major objective is to prevent leaks from creating puddles or completely flooding your basement floor. Flooding though is not the real danger in basements without a waterproofing system. In most cases, water can seep into the basement in small amounts without you even noticing.Last 3months ago i have experienced of basement remodeling through Value Dry Expert.