I am in a dilemma and am looking for some advice, or an estimate so to speak.

I am considering building a new home. In the process I have to decide if I want to finish the basement at time of build, or piece it together later after I move in as a DIY project.

The builder informed me he would finish it for $18 a square foot. That is about $10 a square cheaper then anyone else that I have talked to. I have seen his work over the weekend and it looks good. So craftsmanship is not the issue here. After all, He would be the one building the house to begin with.

Anyone have any ideas what the general price is of a DIY basement project? Going modest on materials and not getting extremely crazy about the best thing I can come up with is $20 per square. Am I close or grossly over calculating?

 

Finish it later. This way you can make sure that it won't have any leaks.

 

I'm finishing the basement as we speak. At around 400 sq. ft, I've dumped close to $1500 in material and all work done by myself. This only includes material up to the point where the drywall will need mudded (my next step). I did score free copper tubing and bathroom fixtures. All said and done, I wouldn't be surprised to be under $12/sq. ft.

It's been rewarding and I've learned a lot, but it's been taking up a lot of my weekends lately.

 

free copper and bathroom fixtures make a difference!

Did you do a sheet-rock ceiling or dropped tile?

 

Sheet rock. I debated dropped ceiling, but I don't like the looks of them (it's my house not my office) and I don't have any utilities above that would cause a major problem anytime. Stuff like HVAC ducting and our gas main. I might regret that later, but it will look 100 times better.

I am having the mudding done by someone else, no way I'm tackling that chore.

 

You and I think alike! How many hours do you have into this project?

 

I'd do the dropped ceiling. You never will know if you have to fish some wiring,cable,plumbing issues, etc. They make nicer ceiling tiles now that don't look to bad. Ceiling tiles make for better sound deadening. Insulate the ceiling too.

 

I never kept track, I knew it would depress me! I've just been doing it in my spare time over the past year and a half. I did have a dry spell when I didn't do anything this past winter (too cold down there). Just in the past month or two I've really picked it up with hanging sheetrock. I couldn't begin to estimate the time put into it.

 

I did plan ahead enough to wire a 7.1 surround system, network cables, audio cables from my computer to the media cabinet. Stuff like that. Nothing is future proof, but I at least have some flexibility in that regard. I also wanted to run a 2" conduit from my media cabinet to the computer, but the HVAC ducting prevented that from happening.

I will probably do a drop tile in the laundry/utility area, there is a lot of stuff going on there.

 

familty room and bedrooms are away form the plumbing. So I was thinking sheetrock, and then dropped or left open in the storage area below the kitchen, bathroom, etc.

So if you come in around 12/square, with an unknown amount of time (I'd be in a similar situation) you saved about 6/square. By the time you pay yourself, do you think it was worth it? Figuring in the time you were unable to use it, the mess and hassle of doing it, and the other things you could have been doing in your spare time.....

 

In our situation I think it's worth it. We've been doing this on a very limited budget (hence how long it's really been taking). And we'll end up with a glorified play room for the kids where we don't have to worry much about putting toys away whenever company is over. Plus we are expecting #2 this August and will need a place for grandparent's to stay.

All that aside, I still would do it again myself. Would probably have taken a week or so off just to dedicate to the basement and make things happen much quicker. I could really only get stuff done on a Saturday, although granted I haven't made the basement #1 priority. If I'm invited to the lake for the weekend, so be it. The basement will be here when I get back.

We haven't missed the space yet, but that changes come August (we don't have the guest bedroom anymore, it's a nursury). And the mess hasn't been a big issue yet. I started off completing a storage closet first thing so we had a place to put our Christmas decorations and all that crap to keep it away from the other work going on, the bathroom, laundry, and family room fell in after that.

In your situation though I'd have a hard time telling the contractor NOT to finish the basement. To me it would be worth the extra $2500-3000 in labor to work into the loan to have the contractor do that while the rest of the house is going up. Instead of two messes to clean up, there is only one big one. And you're no the one cleaning it up. Plus you don't have to worry much about protecting existing work and your personal belongings if it's all done at the same time.

One strong piece of advice I'd give if you are doing it yourself. Get a building permit. I started off not getting one, and just now decided to get one. I'll probably end up paying about three times the permit fee just because I have work started without a permit. Fortunately I'm at the point where I can take down my sheetrock so the electrical and plumbing can be inspected. Here are some reasons why I felt to pursue the permit:

In the event we ever sell, I can have assurance that I can state in the seller's disclosure that my work was completed under permit.
Should something ever happen, as in a total loss, I didn't want the insurance not claiming unpermitted work.
Satisfaction that my work was done right by the city codes. At least if something happens as a result of my work, I can fall back on the permit.

Now someone will probably come on here and argue that a permit is not worth it and will only increases my property taxes. True, but the deciding statement made by someone to me was this, "If two houses just alike are selling next door to each other with DIY finished basements, which one would you rather buy? The one with no issued permit, or the one that was looked over by a city inspector as the work was being done?" Well since you put it that way...

 

Save your time and do something you enjoy with it. Pay the man.

 

Usually my motto! I HATE painting. Despise it to the point of no return. And the house would be done about the heart of goose season. I know things I won't be working on when that comes around.

 

I'm just going to say, do all your homework... (then I would probably get to work on the basement)

I'm in the middle of wiring my entire house... I have chosen to leave the basement unfinished for now, but plan to finish it out later into a game/family room.

I had a builder finish the exterior with the exception of sealing the siding, and painting the doors... My father-in-law will be supplying all HVAC, and helping me install, I've got two buddies that will help me drywall (although the wife has just about talked me into hiring this out). I've got a friend who works for an electrical supply, and is getting me a good deal on all my electrical including a 17.5kw generator... No more cold winters sitting in the dark...

I've just got to figure out if I want to rent a boom truck or try my luck with ladders for spraying sealer on what equates to the third floor...

 

I'd do it myself unless your there to make sure you know everything is going in right. The people who finished my basement did it wrong and used 1x4's glued straight to the concrete walls to secure the drywall to. I Hate that cause my basement walls aren't perfectly straight and you can see a wavy wall. The rooms that I have remodeled so far down there now have a heavy coat of killz with standard 2x4 walls made with pressure treated timber, good insulation, and moisture resisitant drywall. Looks 1000x better and a lot warmer in there too.

Some other things I hate is having drywall on the ceiling that covers water pipes and drains. Very important to make sure you can easily get to the outside faucets in case you need to change them out or shut them off futher up the line. I had a freeze proof faucet burst last winter and flooded my basement when I turned it on in the spring. So then I had to cut access holes to change that faucet out.

Also it would be a good ideal to have access holes for the furnace ducts if you have floor vents. My kids flooded my bathroom upstairs and all that water went right into the vents and I had to cut holes to drain the water out.

Sounds like I got lots of problems eh?