http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/489793.page
This thread listing all of the potential prices for renovating and the comment about diy painting costs vs professional painting costs made me wonder how much we saved by diy-ing our basement reno. We think when all is said and done, our costs will be under or around 10K for our renovation. Approx 800 square feet, full demo to concrete, reframe, rewire to code and add 20+ recessed lights, new floor, some new plumbing (rerouting and replacing some existing pipes), new ductwork for the basement, new exterior sliding door, new drywall, paint, and all tools and supplies. A few custom built in projects. Ductwork and plumbing were subbed and we brought in an electrician to inspect our work and hook things up. Everything else we did on our own with the help of youtube. No bathroom. No additional egress needed. Basic finishes and vinyl plank flooring. Permitted and inspected work. How much would it cost to do all this in this area (NOVA) if we hired everything out? How much did you spend on your basement reno and what was included? We feel like we have spent a lot but reading here I think maybe we actually saved a ton. |
We are doing ours now - part DIY, part paying. We think it will be $15-30,000. Plumbing is $6,000 to $10,000, not including fixtures or tile or other extra's, Ducts $4000-5000 (not including new system we just installed)... good luck with your number. Lumber for framing is $1200 alone. |
Where are you located (DC-ND-NOVA)? Our plumber was $700-ish. No bathroom, just removing some water pipes and rerouting/replacing drain and water lines and capping for us to finish later. Ductwork was around $1000 and included rerouting the coolant line and adding 4 vents, an intake and running the line for a future bathroom fan. Electrical supplies were our biggest cost (need to do returns before totalling) followed by flooring ($1450 for vinyl plank) Our plumber and duct guys were from out past Woodbridge. Maybe those rates are better? Drywall $500-600. Will have to check on our framing receipts but I do not think it was in that range. If you cut out your bathroom would you be in the 10K range too? I know we would be much higher if we did the bathroom now. |
Main line philly burbs. Ours was 55k to finish 1200 SF. Included a full bath and a wet bar. We had bids ranging from 42k to 90k. Sound/av was another 20k (that includes the price of 2 TV's though) |
Can I come live in your basement ![]() |
The point of us doing the basement is to add a second bathroom and man cave/playroom. I would cut out everything else before I cut out the bathroom. I just ordered our wood and 1/2 inch foam board - it was $1200 or so and a few hundred for screws and other supplies. Labor will be about $1400 or so (we don't feel like DIYing it). Plumber is about $6000 for rough in and moving the washer and dryer. Drywall we were told we need about 80 sheets so that alone without tape and mud is $800+ depending on our choices and then labor. Electrical will be a few thousand - we already have recessed lights. Not sure how you are getting drywall for $500-600 when each sheet is about $10. Insulation even DIY is a few thousand. We also pulled our own permit and will get plumbing and electrical permits. We are in MD. |
Sorry...wasn't asking you to cut out the bathroom. Just trying to compare costs since we did not do a bathroom.
56 sheets of drywall = just under $600. We lucked out with our bump outs. Most of them ended up creating a situation where we did not have to cut as much drywall as we would have if we were doing straight walls and having to stagger drywall. That cut a lot of waste for us. It was completely unplanned for that to happen but proved to be very helpful at minimizing what we needed to buy. What is your sq footage? |
Yes! In fact, the house is for sale so you can buy it! ![]() |