cost to finish basement (high end-ish)

[Anonymous]

Hi - we have an unfinished basement that we'd like to finish. It's about 700 square feet and ceilings are over 7' so we don't need to dig down. There are moisture issues tho so we'd put in an interior French drain and sump pump. We may need to move some pipes and ducts and enlarge at least one window for egress (but preferably 2 so that we can bring more light down there). There's already a toilet (very basic tho - and no sink or shower). We are looking to create a family room, a guest room, bathroom with shower and laundry room. our washer/dryer are already down there, as well as a massive utility sink. We plan to keep them in the same area but upgrade to better appliances. The new laundry room would also function as a kitchenette so we'd also add a small fridge, microwave, cabinetry and countertops.

I'm wondering if anyone who's gone through this process could provide some ballparks on what they spent, and whether you used a contractor, a design build firm or acted as your own GC. We're not handy at all so would not really be looking to go the latter route or do any diy. So we know we'll have to spend more but I'd like to get a sense of how much more.... I think if we went with a design build firm, it would end up being like $100k. Does that sound about right for all the work I've described? What I mean by high end-ish in the subject line is: we're fine with mid-range materials and fixtures but we do want some built ins and for the finish work to be really well executed and to incorporate a fair amount of style. Would love to hear from anyone who's gone through a similar process!

[Anonymous]

I'm about to do the same thing minus addressing water issues.

Met with some GCs and decided that i really needed to get an architect to do plans which we'd then get contractors to bid on. Just too many variables and options to think through. The price ranges I got back were really all over the place.

[Anonymous]

My very basic basement was 40K, so I'd say maybe 70K for what you are looking to do?

7 feet is very low, even the drywall would cost more because you can't just use full sheets.

[Anonymous]

That's a really small basement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My very basic basement was 40K, so I'd say maybe 70K for what you are looking to do?

7 feet is very low, even the drywall would cost more because you can't just use full sheets.

Thanks - did your work include adding a bathroom? I'd love to have higher ceilings down there but it's adequate for code and we don't want to blow the budget by digging down since we don't have to. The house is over 100 years old so we're actually lucky that the ceiling is as high as it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's a really small basement.

You do know that 700 square feet is a reasonable sized one bedroom apartment? Perhaps you live in the suburbs...

[Anonymous]

A high end basement would have at least 9 foot ceiling mulitple full egress windows and the foundation walls would be dug up and sealed with rubber membrane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A high end basement would have at least 9 foot ceiling mulitple full egress windows and the foundation walls would be dug up and sealed with rubber membrane.

Hence the "high end-ish". OP even explained what she meant by that in the original post. Your definition is totally different and no one would argue that those things all describe a "high end" basement, but that's not what was asked about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A high end basement would have at least 9 foot ceiling mulitple full egress windows and the foundation walls would be dug up and sealed with rubber membrane.

OP says this is a 100 year old house which probably means a brick foundation and old mortar. Rubber membrane is a bad idea, it just hastens the degradation of the foundation mortar if water is still getting into the wall. Need to keep the water away or a good french drain to remove it so it doesn't saturate the wall.

[Anonymous]

We finished 1290 SF (leaving about 700 SF for storage) and it came in right around 75K. no bedroom, but a full size bath and living space and playroom and wet bar. We worked with a GC.

[Anonymous]

Consider that you are adding a certain percentage to your living space. What did you pay for your house? Are you adding another 1/4 of your living space? How much would that cost? For example, if you paid $200k for a 2000 sq ft. house, and you are adding another 500 sq ft of living space, what would you expect to pay for that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We finished 1290 SF (leaving about 700 SF for storage) and it came in right around 75K. no bedroom, but a full size bath and living space and playroom and wet bar. We worked with a GC.

Thanks! Very helpful. Would you mind letting me know what area you're in? We're in close-in MoCo.

[Anonymous]

Builder here.

What you describe sounds like 75k-100k +/- not including soft costs (architect fees, building permits, etc).

Not sure it would be a 100k but big variable would be site access.

[Anonymous]

For close in mo co and all the components you describe (ducts, drains, kitchenette) I would think 100k. The more moving pieces you have the more you will need help of an architect. If you need plumbing below grade, want high end appliances, flooring, lighting, it adds up quickly even for a 700 sf space.

[Anonymous]

You are going to struggle toget that permitted with seven foot ceilings, particularly if there is any duct work to do. And there's nothing about seven feet that says "high end". We did 750 square feet, with serious water abatement, relaxed systems and the bathroom, brought it up to code. Eight foot ceilings, so we were lucky. Simple finishings. Not high end but nice enough. $70k.