Typical Cost to Finish a Basement???
 

Anybody here know the typical cost to finish a basement?

I'm looking at some new construction houses & got quotes from the developer to finish off the basement.

Developer One:

$16k to finish a 750 sq ft basement with 3 piece bathroom.

Developer Two:

$22k to finish a 820 sq ft basement with 3 piece bathroom & 2 piece laundry room.

Developer Three:

$10k to finish a 800 sq ft basement with 3 piece bathroom.

Having never contracted any work before in Canada, I've no idea if these quotes are reasonable or not although it does seem that Developer Three are finishing off the work at cost price.

Also, this would be a perfect time to beef up the support to the main level for a big tank build :lol:

Any help, opinions & comments greatly appreciated.

.

I am doing my basement right now about 800sqf, my self with a with tiled shower, should end up costing about $4500-5000 with everything said and done.

The ussual rule of thumb is labour = 1 - 1.5 * materials. So according to that rule, Sean's basement through a contractor should be $10000 - $12500. It's a good estimating tool.

just got mine done and @ 1200sq ft it cost just over 15000, i had a tank room designed into the plan though and im pretty sure the cost went up due to the request as the guy thought i was nuts lol

house
 

when i did my basement i had them do the bathroom only.
i did the rest. the only thing someone else did was the tapeing and textureing.
about $5000 to do it all!

Very interesting thanks...

I wish I had the time (& skills!) to do the work myself.

So the quotes I've been given are actually quite fair by the looks of things.

.

frameing
 

the bathroom is what will cost you the most!
have fun in your search.

alot depends on finishes,there are price differences between drywalled ceilings and drop ceilings.you can send 5k or 9k on a bathroom alone,10k sounds about right for a regular basement of that size.the advantage of the builder is you have them for warranty as opposed to a contractor you may never see again.good luck.

For our new place 3 years ago was getting quotes in around $20K.

After seeing a house a buddy had bought where the previous owners had just kicked over in excess of $20k for a crappy build, then all those Holmes on Homes shows, figured I'd do mine myself.

And a comment about the Home Warranty program, what a joke.

It really depends on the extras. Basic framing and drywall won't be too much, but any cabinet work, upgraded fixtures or things like fireplaces will add up fast. You need to get the exact details from each developer on what that quote includes so you can be sure your comparing apples to apples.

3 is very fair,2 wants to put 5k in his pocket for a few phone calls and visits and 1 probably has a Hummer in his garage. If this is in a project you could be your own contractor by talking to some of the trades people.If guys are on site sometimes they will work after hours or weekends to make some extra money at a decent rate.

Prices can very among all contractors, it depnds on what you want, and what the contractor provides.

Without proper drawings, specs, permits, its hard to comment on all the prices.

I am doing my basement myself, and I doubt I will get it all done for under $5000, flooring alone (carpet) is around $2500... it don't take long to add up.

5 years ago we used to budget $40/ft2, but that number is up to $60 or more.

Differences between quotes 1, 2 & 3...

1 - finish will include cheaper trims, moldings & bathroom pieces than main levels. Plumbing & electrics for kitchen suite add $500.

2 - finish will be exactly like that on main levels with crown moldings, wide trims around doors & openings & same quality bathroom furnishings as main levels. Not authorised for a suite so the developer will not plumb or fit electrical to enable a kitchen to be installed.

3 - finish will be include cheaper trims, moldings & bathroom furniture than main levels but will include all plumbing to be ready to fit a full kitchen if I wanted to turn it into a suite suite.

Developer 1 is a well known 'high end' developer. Usually does million dollar houses rather than 'regular' stuff.

Developer 2 is a large scale developer & this would be one of their more prestigious developments so they don't want to finish the basement to 'less than perfect' levels (they want to charge more money for it in other words)

Developer 3 - is a small time developer who mucks in with the building of his properties. I visited the site 3 times & he was there covered in building grime all three times.

No fire place in any of the quotes.

It's hard to get the plans from the developers with full specs.

I'll try & get some basic plans.

But from what I can see from your replies, the quotes all seem in teh right ball park.

.

You will always find a big difference in price between having a homebuilder complete the basement at the time of development and having a renovator complete your basement after possession.

The builder will ALWAYS maintain a certain margin on a home.... and it is cheaper for them to have the same trades people who are already there work on the basement.

A renovator will always charge more. More often than not this amount will be close to 1.5 - 2x what the builder charges. As you can imagine the builder is buying the materials cheaper, the labour will be cheaper (guys and tools are already there). Additional permits must also be pulled (electrical, plumbing, and development).

If you can swing it I would always have the builder complete this for you. As stated above not only will it save you money but it will also be covered under thier warranty.

As for people developing thier basements for $5K themselves... Not sure what is being used or where they are getting thier materials but speaking as someone who owns a renovation company I really can not see this being realistic. I completed 7 basements last year and the average cost for a modest basement development is just over $16/sqft. including a bthroom. This figure does not account for wages, insurances, permits, workers comp, profit, overhead..... etc.... etc... etc... Most of the time the flooring ( tille and carpet and install) will just pop that $5k buget alone.

Cheers and I hope this helps,

Lawrence

Being designer by profession, and have been a builder as well, I would finish the basement to the same level as the main floor. Trust me, this is something you will notice, and future owners will notice.

I have been in many new houses with poorly done basements, and they look like, remember the basements of the 70's??

You can save some $ in the bathroom fixtures & flooring, but keep trims & door styles the same, which is what people notice.

If you have some specific questions, shoot me a pm...

number 2 is your best one, he won't do anything ileagal, which means he is probably getting proper permits and is worried about his reputation, if it isn't zoned for a suite and thew others will put one in, you have to wonder about there integerity.

Steve

+1 very nice house mark has too:)

Thanks for the replies everyone & thanks for the offer toxic. Are you an Interior Designer?

Pazil - your $16/SqFt amount. That's just for materials I take it?

I think it's all coming down to options 1 or 2.

Still working on getting some plans.

.

Material costs ONLY...


Cheers
Lawrence

So total costs would be roughly $16 + ($16*1.5) = $40/SqFt ?

Roughly $4000/ 100 Sq Ft?

Approx. $32,000 for a 800 Sq Ft basement?

I guess getting the developer to do it is definitely way cheaper.

.

No I am not an interior designer, but a Building Technologist, and have been designing Residential & commercial buildings for over 12 years. I have experience with colours and finishes. I also work with 2 interior design techs in my office (very good ones I may add)

I did not read the entire thread but I run the office of a builder/real estate developer and we do a lot of basement suites (while we are building homes), we are usually in the mid range of your quotes. As far as the size of business we are; we build about 10 - 15 homes a year. Our staff is about 10 people and no one on our staff drives Hummers :smile:

One thing to remember though, is that a contractor that is fully insured (liablility & WCB), has staff on payroll (not subcontractors), and is up to date with a warranty company will have a higher overhead and will need to charge more to have any kind of profit margin. I think that most developers are looking to make about 10 - 15% profit, but also add a 10% contingency to esitmates as well, in case anything goes wrong.

Lately we have been working with homeowners on a cost plus basis and are saving them money (usually at least the 10% contingency). This might be something for you to look into, just make sure that if you go that route, you agree upon the wages you will be paying the developer and his staff (ask for the developer to supply their timesheets when they invoice you), and that they supply you with copies of all invoices pertaining to the basement suite. Full disclosure is really important in a cost plus contract to make sure bills are not being padded before being passed on to you.

If you cannot legally install a kitchen in your suite, and your contractor does, it most likely will not be covered by your contractor's warranty company and you would be dependent on your contractor's good will if anything goes wrong down the road.

HTH R

I paid a $56k for about 920 liveable space...

I can't recall exactly what size my basement is but I believe it's 1000 sq ft. It wasn't anything fancy. Small bathroom with toilet and pedestal sink, (3) 4-bulb t12 fixtures, Dricore floor, drywall, paint, cheap baseboards, t-bar ceiling and cheapest vinyl stick-on tiles I could find. It's all dayhome space so repairability and cleanup were factors.

Cost me maybe $4500 for the materials. I worked for free and extremely quickly. Wife cracked a hella mean whip for a few weeks there.