# Need advice on drywall pricing.



## bsdstone (Jan 15, 2006)

Let me first say that I am in no way shape or form a contractor and I don't play one on TV, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night....that being said, I have a question.
I am finishing my basement in SE Wisconsin/Northern IL suburb of Chicago and acting as the general contractor (yell at me later for this). We are finishing ~1200 square feet. As of right now, we have the basement framed, the HVAC, plumbing, and electrical all roughed in and awaiting insulation and drywall. We are doing a drywall ceiling with two areas that are trayed. The rest of the space is a guest bedroom and bath, a small wine room (not temp. controlled), and a big open area.
I just had one guy give me a quote for doing the basement. His price included:
-R-13 insulation where needed (ceiling and between the bath and bedroom), and R-11 insulation on the exterior insulation.$1850
-Rock, Tape, Finish, and ready for paint ($10,500).

I can call and get the insulation pricing myself, but the price for the drywall seems high....any feedback would be appreciated. 
If you need more details to give me an idea of cost, just ask and I'll provide them.

Thanks in advance for your help!


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## DaveH (Jun 2, 2006)

How many feet of wall do you have finished, both one side (exterior walls) and 2 sided (interior walls)? How high are they? Also are your whole 1,200 sf of ceiling being drywalled. Basically if we can get an idea of your wall footage and ceiling footage we could help. Also what type of finish for walls and ceilings

Dave


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## bsdstone (Jan 15, 2006)

*Wall Footage*

Dave,
Thanks for the reply.
Ceilings are 8 feet in 75% of the areas and 9 feet in the other 25%.
Exterior or one sided walls total footage is 152.
Interior or two sided walls footage is 67.5.
For estimate purposes, figure the ceiling to be broken into 3 sections:
First is 30 x 25. - 8 feet
Second is 21 x 9. - 9 feet
Third - 12 x 10 - 8 feet.

Hope this helps. 

Am I way off base thinking $12K is outrageous, or do you think this is pretty close to the market?


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## DaveH (Jun 2, 2006)

It does seem a little high. I don't know your situation as far as logistics and how easy the access for materials and such are. I would say you should be closer to 7 - 8,000 for this job, maybe less, maybe a bit more. I figured you are looking at roughly 3,650 Square feet of drywall. 

$10,500.00 Div. by 3,650 = $2.88 per SF 
I charge for your type of project around $1.40 to $1.85 in my area.
I hope this helps
Dave


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## bsdstone (Jan 15, 2006)

*Thanks...want a plane ticket? *

Fly up for the week and do my basement?  JK!
Thanks for the input, that's about what I had figured. Access couldn't be easier, we built this house 4 years ago and have steps going directly from the garage to the basement.
I've since called a few more companies and will post what I get from them.

Thanks again, you were a HUGE help!


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## DaveH (Jun 2, 2006)

It sounds as if you got one of those .."Well if I have to" bids. It happens. I've given a few, but that's a whole other subject...

Good luck, and definately let me know where you end up.

Dave


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## Greg Di (Mar 12, 2005)

I do a lot of basements, and the insulation price seems a little high, but not crazy and the the dryall could be close to accurate. Typically basements have a lot of angles, soffits, corners, etc which take longer to hang, longer to tape and a lot longer to mud those corner beads.

This is why GC's get paid to run jobs...because they know FROM EXPERIENCE what something costs, where to go to get it, and who can do it best. Most importantly, they have the knowledge to OVERSEE all the trades and to make sure everyone is doing their jobs properly.

Enjoy.


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## moko14 (Jul 16, 2006)

That is really high for our area, unless Like it has been said there is alot of cut up. Rock is getting expensive up here but not that bad yet. Im located in central Wi and heck I would come down there and do it for 7 grand.


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## Frankawitz (Jun 17, 2006)

I would say around $8,500 I'm in Michigan and work is slow if any up this way.


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## bsdstone (Jan 15, 2006)

*Thanks for all the advice*

I brought in a few more guys to look at it and got it down as low as $6700 from a pretty reputable company here in town...THEN my golfing buddy who is a general contractor gave me his "guy". He owns a materials distributor that supplies drywall and insulation...he's doing it as a side job for $5,000 even!
I'll let you all know how it goes as he is starting this Friday!


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## dgbldr (Apr 4, 2006)

Keep looking, you can get any price you want 

The guy doing it as a "side job" probably has minimal experience as it's not his day job. Or he's bringing in a few illegals to do it. In eihter case, I bet there is no taxes, no insurance, no workers' comp, no legitimate business. 

Gred Di offered good advice. Nobody does their own root canal, but every schmo thinks he can be a GC.


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## bsdstone (Jan 15, 2006)

*Thanks for the VALUABLE input...*

...to answer your question, they are providing a warranty, and insurance, we discussed this after my post and it did cost a little extra but I thought it was worth it. Also, as you'll notice, his day job is dealing in these materials, and I highly doubt he is using "illegals" as I work for INS....but don't let that get in the way of all your "knowledge" of my situation.
Perhaps you should read Greg's post before quoting him....his points are valid, and I understand his point of view.
Your analogy is just a touch lacking on so many levels it's not even worth addressing....but thanks again for your input, it really brings a lot to the forum!
It's too bad so few post like this when so many of us are trying to learn.


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## Brushslingers (Jul 28, 2006)

Hey if your really with the INS, could you please come and clean up the south.. errr, my town, err... ell i'll show you.


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## bsdstone (Jan 15, 2006)

Brushslingers said:


> Hey if your really with the INS, could you please come and clean up the south.. errr, my town, err... ell i'll show you.


I do really work for the INS, but I'm an accountant! ;-)


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## MikeT (Jan 23, 2006)

bsdstone said:


> I do really work for the INS, but I'm an accountant! ;-)


BDStone
You state you are an accountant for the INS however your profile states plumber as occupation and filter as company name.


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