# Cost per square foot in basements



## warrantygirl (Sep 5, 2007)

I was just wondering what the rough prices are per square foot to finish a basement.... just a rough idea???


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## Celtic (May 23, 2007)

warrantygirl said:


> I was just wondering what the rough prices are per square foot to finish a basement.... just a rough idea???


How rough do you want the finish to be?


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## warrantygirl (Sep 5, 2007)

*defining*

Without getting into how far the furance vents are ran, what grade carpet.... just figure midgrade basic and with a bathroom. What would you guess is a price per square foot? Thats what I mean by a rough ... guess I should of said rough idea...


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## Celtic (May 23, 2007)

What's the ceiling - sheetrocked or acoustic tile?
Number of doors/windows?
Anythings need to moved? For example, relocate the W/D closer to the heat/hot water, central vac. relocate, etc?
Is the basement prone to flooding? 
Do the walls need to be "dry-loc'ed"?
Sump pump?
french drain, etc?

etc etc etc


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## finehomes (Feb 4, 2007)

$25-45 a foot for a decent finish. Higher end assumes maybe a kitchen down there.


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## nywoodwizard (Sep 10, 2005)

warrantygirl said:


> I was just wondering what the rough prices are per square foot to finish a basement.... just a rough idea???


There are just too many variables, the choices of materials are quite long,the size of the area,electric involved,plumbing involved.Jobs like that need to be looked at.You may find prices on here for specifics,that may help in determining some labor cost,but they won't always be very accurate.Get a phone book and call a few carpenters over,get some prices,they'll be allot more accurate then you will find on here.:whistling


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## Celtic (May 23, 2007)

nywoodwizard said:


> Get a phone book and call a few carpenters over,get some prices,they'll be allot more accurate then you will find on here.:whistling


:laughing::laughing::laughing:

Call a few plumbers to give estimates on the entire job.


How does a carpenter know what the electric, plumbing, HVAC, etc will entail?

Call a few *General Contractors *...that specialize in basement finishing.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

I knew a guy who's boyfriends father in eastern Kentucky was doing them for $238.00 a square foot.


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## nywoodwizard (Sep 10, 2005)

Celtic said:


> :laughing::laughing::laughing:
> 
> Call a few plumbers to give estimates on the entire job.
> 
> ...


Don't be a wise guy,you know what i mean


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## Celtic (May 23, 2007)

nywoodwizard said:


> Don't be a wise guy,you know what i mean



Settle down now NY ...we Jersey guys don't get intimidated :thumbsup:


The OP on the other hand, may not have a clue what you meant.


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## Celtic (May 23, 2007)

Mike Finley said:


> *I knew a guy who's boyfriends father* in eastern Kentucky was doing them for $238.00 a square foot.



Was that Rainbow Erectors? :laughing:


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

I think they were a joint venture of the Dick Lovett Group & Cox Holdings.


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## Celtic (May 23, 2007)

Mike Finley said:


> I think they were a joint venture of the Dick Lovett Group & Cox Holdings.



I think I heard of them....aren't they subs of Ben Dover?


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

No, they got bent over one too many times by him so they now sub exclusively for Neal & Bob.


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## Celtic (May 23, 2007)

...from Bohica?


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

I think they were from Fort Dick California.


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## warrantygirl (Sep 5, 2007)

*Thanks*

I am just trying to get an idea, interior designer by trade, I am looking into starting to explore this ave. with new homes/lending market falling apart.


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## jamesimprove (Dec 12, 2006)

I do about 5-8 per year. 400 up to 1500 sq. ft have been my range. If homeowner helps (painting, gets own carpet) I can do larger units around 15-20 per. Sq.Ft. For smaller units about 20-25 per sq. ft. I have done some pretty basic units with limited corners and doors for about 12.00 per sq. ft. with this price homeowner primes and paints when I am done (not during the project) so I don't have to come back later to finish trim and drop ceiling. They also handle there own flooring. These prices are with licensed electrician and permits for building. I'm in Ohio near Akron


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## MrBigWar (Oct 1, 2005)

*The Carpenter's Son*

Around Baltimore I get around $30 a square foot. Excludes carpet/flooring.


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## RizzoMaryland (Feb 12, 2007)

MrBigWar said:


> Around Baltimore I get around $30 a square foot. Excludes carpet/flooring.


That seems high here in Maryland. You must not have many illegals up there in the Baltimore area driving the price down. Here in Mont. Co. I only get on average $20/sq.ft.

These are high end basements with wet bars.


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## quix07 (Jan 9, 2007)

I'm outside of Philly, we can get anywhere fron $28 to $48 sq ft. No flooring or painting.


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## Bob Kovacs (May 4, 2005)

RizzoMaryland said:


> That seems high here in Maryland. You must not have many illegals up there in the Baltimore area driving the price down. Here in Mont. Co. I only get on average $20/sq.ft.
> 
> These are high end basements with wet bars.


$20/SF?????? It costs $2/SF just to get drywall hung and painted on the ceiling or a drop ceiling hung. Good carpet costs $3/SF. I've already spent 25% of your number, and I haven't framed any walls, hung any doors and trim, done any electrical or plumbing work, and haven't touched the wet bar- the bar alone could run $5k, which is $5/SF even on a fairly large basement at 1,000 SF. Are you even including any money for profit, or are you happy working for Home Depot wages?????

I really don't get how you guys stay in business- I've got a 500 SF area of my basement that I'm going to finish, and if anyone came in and told me that they'd provide me with a "high-end" basement with a wetbar for only $10k, I'd toss them out the door because I wouldn't wan't them working in my house so cheaply- there'd have to be something wrong at that number.


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## neolitic (Apr 20, 2006)

I wouldn't even have the slightest _clue_ about a square foot price on _any _basement finish we've done.
I do know that I haven't had any under 10K since the early 80's.


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## KillerToiletSpider (May 27, 2007)

Four months ago we did a laundry room, bathroom, and office in a basement, approx. 400 square feet, the plumbing alone was $45,000.


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## mahlere (Aug 6, 2006)

KillerToiletSpi said:


> Four months ago we did a laundry room, bathroom, and office in a basement, approx. 400 square feet, the plumbing alone was $45,000.


was that the special "Rose Smelling Waste Pipe"


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## woodmagman (Feb 17, 2007)

Mike Finley said:


> I think they were a joint venture of the Dick Lovett Group & Cox Holdings.


:laughing: The cost was a bit _inflated _by the amount of latex that the _firm_ used....


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## KillerToiletSpider (May 27, 2007)

mahlere said:


> was that the special "Rose Smelling Waste Pipe"


Nah, they couldn't afford that.


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## mahlere (Aug 6, 2006)

would've brought the total up to $45,500...over budget:laughing:


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## RizzoMaryland (Feb 12, 2007)

Bob Kovacs said:


> $20/SF?????? It costs $2/SF just to get drywall hung and painted on the ceiling or a drop ceiling hung. Good carpet costs $3/SF. I've already spent 25% of your number, and I haven't framed any walls, hung any doors and trim, done any electrical or plumbing work, and haven't touched the wet bar- the bar alone could run $5k, which is $5/SF even on a fairly large basement at 1,000 SF. Are you even including any money for profit, or are you happy working for Home Depot wages?????
> 
> I really don't get how you guys stay in business- I've got a 500 SF area of my basement that I'm going to finish, and if anyone came in and told me that they'd provide me with a "high-end" basement with a wetbar for only $10k, I'd toss them out the door because I wouldn't wan't them working in my house so cheaply- there'd have to be something wrong at that number.


Most basement Ive done are 1500+ sq.ft. with basic kraftmaid cabinets for the wet bar..(nothing elaborate for $20/sq.ft.)

1500 with full bath x $20 = $30,000

Rough #s
Materials = $6500
Contract Labor (plumbing & electric) = $4500
Done in 7 weeks by myself
My labor, profit, overhead =$19,000 in 7 weeks 

Keep your overhead down is key


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## RizzoMaryland (Feb 12, 2007)

$20/sq.ft. doesnt hold true for such a small area...like 500 sq.ft.


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## RizzoMaryland (Feb 12, 2007)

....also flooring not included....


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## a2zhandi (Nov 2, 2007)

This poor gal didn't get much help from most clowns in here.
Where do you live dear, I'll be right over after coffe and have a look


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