Cost to finish a basement
 

What have you guys seen as costs to finish a basement?
It would be on a new build, with a full wet bar, 2 bedroom, fitness room, family room, and theatre room, suspended ceiling. Square footage is 1800

When a builder gives a price per square foot, is it the same cost to finish the main floor and basement?

Or is the cost to finish the basement price less?

Normally if you hire a general contractor you’re probably looking at 30-40$ a square foot depending on extras and upgrades, wet barwould be more as would possibly your theatre room depending on how carried away you get with plans

Are you figuring to do all the work yourself? Hire subcontractors to do the Job? Or hire a contractor to handle all of the work while you do all the other things that make up your daily living? All three ways come with a different price tag.

I don't believe that the price per square foot would include the basement unless it was specified on the plan.

Most of that will depend on your finishings. Fancy sink, lights, flooring? Fancy wiring for theatre? Bathroom? On the cheap DIY you could get away at around 10k

You would have to be an absolute wizard to do what he described for ten thousand dollars!!! Sorry but I am a GC and these numbers kill me. Let me list a few materials the DIY person would need to buy for this. I would be impressed if you could buy all the materials for 20k. But I could be wrong if you REALLY spent time finding best deals on everything.

Lumber, insulation, wiring, drywall, mud, drop ceiling, bathroom vanity, top, sink, toilet, bath/shower. Bar cabinets, sink, fridge, backsplash, probably 4 doors, with handles, casing, baseboards, then flooring in all different areas. Don’t forget permits either. I could keep going forever! A ton of work goes into a nice basement and I just want people to have a bit more realistic view on things.

My bet is your looking between 60 and 120 thousand for the basement your talking. 120 is certainly on the high side and would include high end finishes everywhere! Purpose built gym flooring, stone tops on nice cabinets in bar and bathroom. The money gets spent in the details everywhere! Every item I listed can be purchased for a large range of prices, and installed by a wide range of construction type worker! Forgive me if I am too far off with anything, I work on the management side, not finance side of a gc. However I consider my numbers fairly accurate. I could provide you with companies that would come in near both price points I think. If you ever have a question pm me, more then happy to answer.


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Typically the basement would cost less per foot then upstairs, however with the bar and gym room, depending on how fancy you are probably looking at similar price per foot to main floor


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In 2014, we built and I did the basement minus the bathroom as that was out of my wheel house. Bathroom was $6k alone, one piece tube with surround, toilet, mirror, quartz counter top , vanity, under mount sink. So it still matched the rest of the house. etc. I finished the rest it was only 600 sq.ft they quoted my about $500 over the actual price when I was finally finished. For that price they could have done it and saved myself the trouble. Live and learn.

I am currently getting a house built, Walkout Bungallow and I am getting the basement fully finished. No wet bar but 2 bedrooms, a full bath, 9' ceiling's, rough in for a projector not an actual room, gym area with proper floor for it. I believe it is about 1200 sq ft and it cost about $60K.

Let's put it this way. Currently doing a bathroom. My price is about double of the guy who started the job. No wonder he walked away. :lol:

Grizz

Just finishing my 1200 sq ft basement build, not even close to $10,000 some where in the $6000 to $8000 range so far. Sheetrock, 2x4s, insulation and carpet not very expensive at Home Depot. High end 6 panel knotty pine doors not cheap white cardboard doors and mouldings.

Really, $10000.00?

I am a contractor as well, you nailed it with that statement.

No more ridicules then 120,000, he didn’t even list a bath room

Make sure you thoroughly clean and seal the basement concrete. Reduces concrete dust sloughing and moisture wicking and makes spills or messes easier to clean.

Easy to do.

I do not tell how people to spend their money. They have a wish list and we price out the project accordingly.

Your right now that I reread he didn’t list a bathroom, I am going to go out on a limb, and say he wants a bathroom. Or I could quote his exact words and add a bathroom in later!? Haha


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And once you have worked in construction for a while, you learn no price is ridiculous! As ronji said, everyone has their wish list and we just price accordingly. 100k bathrooms are not unheard of at all, 200k kitchens either. It may be insane but it’s real.


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I’ve worked on showers that cost more than any vehicle I’ve ever owned.

I did the electrical on a waterfront house in Westbank 639000$. 150000$ swarovoski crystal chandelier, with a rotating platform for the lamb in the games room. We won't talk about the multi milion dollar elevator. If you have serious cash nothing is impossible except living forever

I have finished two of my own basements now and two for friends. It comes down to what your expectation of finished quality is and how much work you can and are willing to do yourself. 20-60,000 is reasonable. More you do your self the cheaper it is(or trade friends/family helping) If doing it your self kijiji and hitting the right sales a HD/Louws will save alot. If you are not plumbed for the wet bar and cant locate it somewhere cost effective expect the high end.

The cost for the basement is less. Have your builder do it at the same time it's always a better deal.

Don't ask for square footage pricing, design the space and get a quote on it.

Square foot pricing is not ideal. A 3 piece bathroom for example has fixed costs. Regardless if it's 50 square feet or 200. Your toilet and tub isn't cheaper in the 50 square foot bath.

I know pretty much exactly what it will cost but as I get older I don't give away so much. If you are in southern Alberta pm me and I'll be happy to quote the job and profit on my ability to build stuff wives will throw money at me to have.

Please let me know who is building an entire 1200 sq foot house for 60k. I was quoted 75k just for a basement (concrete walls nothing extra) on that size.

Read the whole post carefully....He is getting his basement done for $60K...

Actually, the cost depends on many factors. I have a long term plan to finish my basement (DIY) and it costs ~$15k in materials alone. Mine would be about 500 sq ft and includes a bathroom. If you consider basement renovation by a pro, the price will be higher I guess.

I just did mine two years ago, most of the work was myself and friends, just hired out things like plumbing and electrical. It was about $20K all in. That's bathroom, 2 bedrooms and family room. About 1150 square feet.