Basement Development Quote question

[gildo]

We built a brand new home (your typical cookie cutter style) in New Brighton and so we want to get our basement developed just your standard basement that you see in all of these houses we were hoping to get a sitting area, bathroom and bedroom down there, what (roughly) should we expect for cost? It is 590 Square Feet, the best quote we got so far was for $36 per square foot, working out to approximately $23,000 ish is that good? This quote was from a basement development company, not a private person. Thanks so much for any helpful tips!

[zarrell]

That sounds a little high, but without knowing specifics it's hard to say. 2 bedrooms, bath and an open living space?

[gildo]

No actually just one bedroom, one bathroom and open space. We also wanted it to be carpeted and wanted to drywall and finish our furnace room so I can put shelves in there. Thanks.

[Circa89]

i am in the long process of doing it my self on weekends. It has been about a year and a half and I figure I might be done by late summer. Approx the same size basement.

Quick calculations materials and tools not including sweat.

Electrical = $1500 - Pot lights, wiring for outlets, cable, phone etc.
Framing = $1300
Drywall = $2500
Paint = $500
drop Ceiling = Only half, $1000.
Carpet $2200.
Misc $2000.00 = baseboards, doors, screws, this list goes on and on....

I have not even started the bathroom yet but I suspect at least $3000 in parts. ( toilet,sink, flooring, plumbing, mirrors, electrical, fans, paint, tiles...)

Basically you can do it you self for 2/3rd the cost but it takes for ever.
I enjoy doing the work on weekends with a beer in hand and watching a hockey game but if you want it done quick spend the cash. I would say $23000 is fairly reasonable as my estimated costs are probably low if I were to find all my receipts.

[monocle]

Was it a company you heard of from advertising?
Fan960, perhaps?

[Stranger]

I usually quote people around $25-$30/square foot. However I work elsewere in Alberta and our prices are most likely cheaper than in a bigger city.

[ken0042]

Good post by Circa89; I lost track of what I paid to do it myself- and the big thing is it still isn't completely finished.

Make sure you get details about what is being done; especially behind the walls and and places you cannot get to:
- What are they using for subfloor? I used Dri-core and material wise that is $1.75/ foot.
- Have you thought about sound proofing the ceiling? Use Roxul Safe and Sound and you also get a fire break. Especially in the ceiling of the bedroom; you don't think about it normally because the main bedrooms are usually on the top floor of the house.
- Electrical. Have you considered all the places you want a plug instead of their minimum of one every 10 feet? What about other electrical like Cat6, speaker wire, HDMI, etc. Are you considering a ceiling projector at some point? Do you have electrical run there?
- Insulation- minimum code is R8 on the walls; I went R14. Some people even consider spray foam. All of that makes things that much cozier in a basement.
- Heat; what are you doing for heat? Are you adding any extra runs from the furnace, and what is he going to do about air returns? Especially with ceiling forced air heat; you want to make sure something draws heat to the floor. I also supplimented my heat with electric heat in the bedroom. If you are doing tile in the bathroom; look at in floor heating.
- Fixtures and trim. He can put in a bunch of "boob lights" for $10 a piece, and the prices go up from there. Same thing with trim; there is quite a difference between cheap and nicer trim.

Any of those above items are under $1000 each; but they can add up quickly so pick the things you want. Also consider what you want from the space, and what your plans for other parts of your house are. For example I made sure I put a tub in the basement because I think in the next 5-10 years I may convert the main bathroom to have a deluxe shower and I wanted to make sure there is still a tub in the house.

[surferguy]

are you putting in new windows. That seems high to me.

[stampsx2]

Yes good post by Circa89. Quite a bit of savings doing it yourself but also quite a bit of work.

[KTrain]

There's a difference between doing it yourself and being your own general contractor though.

When we were developing our basement we called PlanIt Builders and they quoted us $37,000 for 750 square feet. We ended up hiring our own electrician, plumber, framer, tiler, drywaller and finishing carpenter. I did the floor, painting and other miscellaneous things. It ended up costing us around $17,000.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by KTrain

There's a difference between doing it yourself and being your own general contractor though.

When we were developing our basement we called PlanIt Builders and they quoted us $37,000 for 750 square feet. We ended up hiring our own electrician, plumber, framer, tiler, drywaller and finishing carpenter. I did the floor, painting and other miscellaneous things. It ended up costing us around $17,000.

This is what I would do as well. There are some thing that are easy to do for a person and some things that are hard to do. You might know someone who is willing to come show you how to do something and maybe even help you do it for a case a beer and a BBQ one weekend.

It all boils down to how much time you want to spend and how much it will mess with your space until it is complete.

[JustAnotherGuy]

Originally Posted by ken0042

.....
- Fixtures and trim. He can put in a bunch of "boob lights" for $10 a piece, and the prices go up from there. Same thing with trim; there is quite a difference between cheap and nicer trim.
........

We got our basement developed many years ago. It worked out pretty good. Nice professional looking result. (Which is why I would never attempt to do any of the work myself.)

Out biggest problem was the fixture budget. As part of the estimate he allocated x amount for fixtures. Which seems like a pretty good amount until you consider how many fixtures are involved.

We would have had to buy those cheap looking $10 lights if we didn't add hundreds of dollars more.

Also, if you have having some custom shelving being built be very clear what you want. Very very clear. Even just simple shelving. We have a small closet with some shelving that is just plain stupid. I should never have accepted what they did. But stupid me did.

[DuffMan]

consider also the egress requirements for windows in a basement bedroom. They must be a certain size, and depending on your house you may have to put in a window well, to meet the requirements.

[Scoopdogg]

I just had my basement finished last week, funny enough I live in New Brighton as well. We got 5 quotes from Kijiji and settled on this father - son team. We were able to do the whole thing, bedroom, bathroom, sitting area and we even did a salon (my wife does hair in the basement). We were able to do that for $19,000. We got a smoking deal. total sq. ft is over 700. Let me know if you out guys name.

[GGG]

If you are going the do it yourself route contract someone else to do your drywall. I consider myself pretty handy for plumbing, electrical, and most carpentry but I refuse to do drywall because the quality level between the DIY'er and a pro is significant and highly visable.

Even hang it yourself and get a mud guy but paying someone to mud and sand is money well spent. The amount of aggravation you save and the improve quality is significant.

[Circa89]

Originally Posted by GGG

If you are going the do it yourself route contract someone else to do your drywall. I consider myself pretty handy for plumbing, electrical, and most carpentry but I refuse to do drywall because the quality level between the DIY'er and a pro is significant and highly visable.

Even hang it yourself and get a mud guy but paying someone to mud and sand is money well spent. The amount of aggravation you save and the improve quality is significant.

Agreed. The mudding process is a major, major pain in the rear end. However I was taught a trick where you can sponge the mud in lieu of sanding and the process is 1000% easier due to lack of dust alone.

- Just sponge ( they sell drywall sponges at Rona etc) the first 3 coats and then lightly sand the last coat. It saves so much energy and time and DUST!


The one thing I recommend getting help with is electrical. That is the one thing where I did the prep work, bought the materials but had a pro come in and finish up for me ( A Certified Electrician - Friend). I wouldn't sleep at night knowing I was the one who wired my basement. I would be in constant fear of electrical fire.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Circa89

Agreed. The mudding process is a major, major pain in the rear end. However I was taught a trick where you can sponge the mud in lieu of sanding and the process is 1000% easier due to lack of dust alone.

- Just sponge ( they sell drywall sponges at Rona etc) the first 3 coats and then lightly sand the last coat. It saves so much energy and time and DUST!


The one thing I recommend getting help with is electrical. That is the one thing where I did the prep work, bought the materials but had a pro come in and finish up for me ( A Certified Electrician - Friend). I wouldn't sleep at night knowing I was the one who wired my basement. I would be in constant fear of electrical fire.

Get the electrical code, and read and understand it. If there is anything that is unclear ask a friend, on CP or even the guy at Rona. If you are getting inspected they will notice anything that is wrong (or should), so the only risk is needing to redo some stuff until you get it right.

As for drywall, my experience tells me that no matter who you have hang the drywall, mud or sand it, it won't matter at all if it wasn't framed right, so if you plan on going this route make sure you consult with your drywaller (or someone who does drywall at the least) to make sure the framing is done so the drywall won't suck.

[Mike Oxlong]

Originally Posted by Scoopdogg

I just had my basement finished last week, funny enough I live in New Brighton as well. We got 5 quotes from Kijiji and settled on this father - son team. We were able to do the whole thing, bedroom, bathroom, sitting area and we even did a salon (my wife does hair in the basement). We were able to do that for $19,000. We got a smoking deal. total sq. ft is over 700. Let me know if you out guys name.

Yes please. I would love to get a quote from those guys.

We live in Auburn Bay and have been looking to get our basement done as well. I would say we are in the 700-800 sq feet range of space we want developed. I had a guy come over and give us a quote for about $45,000. I couldn't believe how much it was.

It is a pretty basic development as well. One bedroom, one bathroom, and the rest is all an open area. Really they are just developing the outer walls of that room, nothing is being added.

Some friends of ours also live in Auburn Bay and have a similar house. They were quoted almost the same price by a different company.

$20k is reasonable and I might go ahead at that price. $45k is just out of the question.

If anyone has reccomendations on who to use that are reliable, do good work and are reasonably priced please forward their contact info.

[stampsx2]

$45,000 is outrageous. Did you check the fine print? Maybe they meant fully furnished.

[Mike Oxlong]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

$45,000 is outrageous. Did you check the fine print? Maybe they meant fully furnished.

I know, that's what I thought. Then when my buddy said he got quoted the same amount from someone different I thought maybe that was standard.

We must have just picked the 2 most expensive guys in town.