Basement Development & Associated Costs

[Boblobla]

Originally Posted by Peanut

I'm so not clicking that link at work.

It is safe for work.

[Peanut]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

It is safe for work.

Ohhh... yeah google is my friend.

I thought it was maybe going to have to do with the T-Bar reference.

[Tower]

Originally Posted by Peanut

I had trouble getting home insurance on my previous house due to their wariness of the electrical upgrades that had been done. And the upgrades and new box that was installed had even been permitted. So regardless of the bank and City influence, in my experience you could run into trouble getting insurance somewhere down the line if your work isn't permitted.

Or just have it inspected. If it passes inspection you don't need the city.

Also a cool thing happening is a one time payment for ins. Right now it's being organized for travel only, but housing and stuff shouldn't be far behind.

Pay 1000 one time only. Travel all around. If your not prone to accidents (I have not caused one since I was 16.) it's pretty sweet. Cars are way cheaper to replace than a house though. Unless you live in the states.

[Antithesis]

I'm not sure that the benefit (looks nicer) of a drywalled ceiling outweighs the associated costs either monetarily or frustration-wise. Taping and mudding a wall isn't 'hard' (more frustrating and time-consuming), but everyone I've ever spoken to about doing the same to a ceiling, even down to the actual drywalling immediately shudders when it's mentioned.

That being said, a lot of the suspended ceilings made now look not too bad - they don't have to look like the roof of your old classroom or anything. Also, keep in mind that a suspended ceiling will be far easier to work with if any of the plumbing up there bursts.

By the way - relating to costs - I think I'm in for less than $2000 at this point and I've bought all the drywall and am installing it now. Electrical's done. I figure maybe another $2000-$3000 to get the basement fully done, and I knew very very little about this stuff before I began.

[Potty]

Originally Posted by Peanut

Sorry for my ignorance... what's a T-Bar ceiling??

A metal grid that is filled with various types of panels, which are easy to remove to access the ceiling.

T-Bar ceiling w/ panels:

http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto...-main_Full.jpg

http://static.ceilume.com/galleryima...Tile_1031m.jpg

http://www.fifthwalldesigns.com/images/Basement.jpg

http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto...-main_Full.jpg

T-Bar ceiling w/o panels:

http://www.shafter.com/images/pages/...Bar%20Prep.jpg

T-Bar ceilings are very common in commercial buildings. I've put it in two residential basements before and it is sooooo convenient for any future work that might have to be done. I have no idea why it isn't more popular in basement renovations. I think most residential guys just aren't as familiar with it. There are a ton of different options as far as look goes, so I'm sure anyone could find a suitable looking system for their place.

[Peanut]

Originally Posted by Tower

Or just have it inspected. If it passes inspection you don't need the city.

Also a cool thing happening is a one time payment for ins. Right now it's being organized for travel only, but housing and stuff shouldn't be far behind.

Pay 1000 one time only. Travel all around. If your not prone to accidents (I have not caused one since I was 16.) it's pretty sweet. Cars are way cheaper to replace than a house though. Unless you live in the states.

I'm sorry... how do I have it inspected when the work was completed in 1993 and it's currently 2009? I googled this question and found no quick answer. They can't see behind the walls and I'd prefer not to rip out all my drywall "just to have it inspected".

Anyways, my point is you have to be careful with the insurance companies. You may have difficulty getting coverage in the first place, or receiving a claim successfully if you don't follow their rules.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by fotze

I've put up a tbar ceiling, a pain in the arse too. I think they look like crap personally but they do allow a lot more flexibility and are cheaper.

I dunno about the cheaper part anymore. Those panels cost a fortune now.

[psicodude]

Originally Posted by Shazam

I dunno about the cheaper part anymore. Those panels cost a fortune now.

We did a suspended ceiling in our basement just a few months ago, and it was just under $1000 for 850-ish sq. feet. We have some plans for future development and figured it would be easier.

I did the mudding and taping with my wife and brother, and I have to tell you it sucked. I was quoted $4200 for the job and was appalled at first, but 3 weeks later I thought it was actually fair, lol. Like others have said here though, the mudding/taping isn't really that hard, just tedious.

For the electrical, I ran all of the wire and installed the boxes myself. I then hooked everything up, but got an electrician buddy of my brother to double check the fuse box additions before turning it all on. Everything was fine, but it was nice to have the peace of mind. On a side note - I had no idea how freaked out I would be when I saw him stick his hand inside of a live fuse box!

As far as the permit debate....seriously people, this is the most expensive thing you are likely to own in your life. Are you honestly going to risk losing it to save a few hundred bucks? I am as against giving the city money as anyone, but this seems like a pretty stupid place to be "sticking it to the man".

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

Originally Posted by psicodude

As far as the permit debate....seriously people, this is the most expensive thing you are likely to own in your life. Are you honestly going to risk losing it to save a few hundred bucks? I am as against giving the city money as anyone, but this seems like a pretty stupid place to be "sticking it to the man".

Ditto. Did everything myself. I found a suspended ceiling about the same price but looked like more work.

Everything including the electrical was pretty straightforward, just a pain in the ass. But if I can do it, anyone can.

I got a permit precisely to have someone double check my stuff though. Best $70 or whatever I spent.

[Shazam]

If you are willing to hate yourself, yeah, doing a drywall ceiling is pretty cheap. Certainly won't be $1K; I think that's what I spent for all the drywall in the basement. Just don't buy drywall at HD or Rona.

Nice thing with the suspended ceiling though is that they are very sound absorbent.

[lucky1]

In my first house I developed my own basement, took awhile, looked not to bad...I was generally happy with it. Second and third house, I hired a drywalling crew and a taper/sander.....The drywall was literally delivered one day, and installed the next. There was also 2 archways that would have taken me forever.
If/when I do another basement, I will do everything myself with the exception of the drywall/taping/sanding. Plumbing, electrical, flooring, hanging doors, finishing work is all pretty easy.....If you mess up with the drywall/taping, you will see that forever.
Also, things have slowed down dramatically for the trades, you could get a smoking deal if you wanted to hire a drywall crew.....
I could hook you up with a taper who could hook you up with a drywall crew if you like...just pm me....

Please, do yourself a favour, get the proper permits...its easy, cheap, the city doesnt ding you to hard on the property taxes. If you have something go wrong, an electrical fire, a flood caused by a plumbing leak etc etc.....the insurance company will deny your claim as soon as they see there was no permit pulled....thats a guarantee for sure!

[Rathji]

Make sure you use mud with a high glue content for the taping. We did my brother's place a couple years back and the tape was peeling because he just bought a bucket of whatever they were selling at Rona.

His neighbour who was a professional mudder came over to figure out what was causing the peeling and he pointed out the mud was not good for taping.

[psicodude]

I just wanted to add that the suspended ceiling is really easy if it's flat and perfectly square. Here on Earth, however, it was a real pain dealing with the fresh air returns and support beams. Hindsight being 20/20, I probably should have framed and drywalled around them.

[Micvanlen]

I'm not a fan of floating ceilings because they just look like she ite. The only reason for them is if you think you might need to access some of your infrastructure, but if you do a good design then you shouldn't need to worry about that. Besides, patching drywall is no big deal if you do have to access it. Check out this article on basement renovations. I think it's the right attitude. http://www.renolink.ca/learn/view/list:%208/id:4/

[Scoopdogg]

Bump...

I'm looking at getting my basement done in the spring. I want to get a contractor in to do everything, framing, drywall, electrical, flooring, and paint. My basement is approximately 1000 sq ft and I just want a bedroom, bathroom, and rec room.

Does anyone know of a good contractor to use?

What would be my total costs for the basement?

Thanks,

Scoop

[Dome_Gnome]

On another note, does anyone have any opinions on subfloors? Are they worth the extra expense? Do they make your basement more comfortable on your feet in the cold Calgary winters?

[MacDaddy77]

Originally Posted by Peanut

I'm sorry... how do I have it inspected when the work was completed in 1993 and it's currently 2009? I googled this question and found no quick answer. They can't see behind the walls and I'd prefer not to rip out all my drywall "just to have it inspected".

Anyways, my point is you have to be careful with the insurance companies. You may have difficulty getting coverage in the first place, or receiving a claim successfully if you don't follow their rules.

All you have to do is have an electrician come out an "inspect" your electrical (Also a plumber if you have plumbing). once they give the ok for the work that was done you can have it insured. You won't have to rip anything apart unless they find a problem with the work that was done.

[Shin Pad]

I just bought a house that was built by the previous owner in 2006. I would not have bought it if he didn't give me all the permits he got to build the house and to finish off the basement. He was a carpenter by trade, so he did a great job on building the house, but I was worried about making sure everything complied with the Alberta Building Code.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Scoopdogg

Bump...

I'm looking at getting my basement done in the spring. I want to get a contractor in to do everything, framing, drywall, electrical, flooring, and paint. My basement is approximately 1000 sq ft and I just want a bedroom, bathroom, and rec room.

Does anyone know of a good contractor to use?

What would be my total costs for the basement?

Thanks,

Scoop

I think it's around $25 sq/ft these days.

Originally Posted by Dome_Gnome

On another note, does anyone have any opinions on subfloors? Are they worth the extra expense? Do they make your basement more comfortable on your feet in the cold Calgary winters?

I installed Delta-FL at my old place. I wouldn't do it again. I don't think it made a substantial difference.

[psicodude]

Originally Posted by Dome_Gnome

On another note, does anyone have any opinions on subfloors? Are they worth the extra expense? Do they make your basement more comfortable on your feet in the cold Calgary winters?

We used the Dri-Core system you get at Home Depot. I am not sure I would do it again, to be honest. It was pretty expensive and time consuming to install. It was really easy to install on the 30 sqaure feet of level concrete in my basement, but the other 900 of it blew.

The floor is actually quite warm, but I am not sold that it is any better than traditional sub-floors.