View Full Version : Finishing a basement
Stunner
07-14-2008, 06:39 AM
Has anyone here finished a basement before? We're looking into it and want to get a feel for how much it will run. If you have, what did you do down there, how big was the area, and how much did it cost?
I thought this thread was titled fishing in a basement. Thought you were flooded out.........
birdo
07-14-2008, 06:50 AM
I am in the middle of it. Have done the framing, wiring, and drywall, and muddingsofar on one room. Been a little lull thoughbcause ofoutside projects. But plan to get back on it
the log
07-14-2008, 07:39 AM
I finished mine up a couple of months ago. It was about 1200 sq ft. Made an office, 3/4 bath and one large rec room. I did the framing and drywall myself. I hired out the plumbing, carpet and drop ceiling. Total I spent around $9K. I made sure to make plent of power outlets and pre-wired for surround sound and a projecter just in case. I highly recommend taking plenty of time to decide how you want your layout to look before you begin wiring.
birdo
07-14-2008, 08:26 AM
I finished mine up a couple of months ago. It was about 1200 sq ft. Made an office, 3/4 bath and one large rec room. I did the framing and drywall myself. I hired out the plumbing, carpet and drop ceiling. Total I spent around $9K. I made sure to make plent of power outlets and pre-wired for surround sound and a projecter just in case. I highly recommend taking plenty of time to decide how you want your layout to look before you begin wiring.
Agree as well. I have hooked up more outlets then were needed as well as Network jacks and Coax jacks. I took a good month or so researching and drawing out what I wanted. And this is just for one room so far. I wanted to get the kids play room area done first and then move onto the family room and bath as well.
Stunner
07-14-2008, 07:45 PM
I am in the middle of it. Have done the framing, wiring, and drywall, and muddingsofar on one room. Been a little lull thoughbcause ofoutside projects. But plan to get back on it
What did it cost?
Not to get too basic, but basically you should figure out what you will do and what you will pay to be done.
If you will do it, then take some basic measurements and draw a basic floor plan. Look at your water, electric and HVAC and take a brief survey of any work that would need to be done. Figure your raw materials- studs and drywall, then go to home depot, price that portion, price your flooring.
That will give you a starting point. If you do it yourself add $1000 for misc. if you pay, then figure 2 times the amount of materials for your labor.
I've gotten prices for framing, drywall materials, and insulation if we use it. I was looking to see what everyone else had done and how much it cost.
I finished mine up a couple of months ago. It was about 1200 sq ft. Made an office, 3/4 bath and one large rec room. I did the framing and drywall myself. I hired out the plumbing, carpet and drop ceiling. Total I spent around $9K. I made sure to make plent of power outlets and pre-wired for surround sound and a projecter just in case. I highly recommend taking plenty of time to decide how you want your layout to look before you begin wiring.
We're planning on selling the house in a couple of years, so I don't want to go too high tech, but that's one thing I'm really worried about is not giving myself enough outlets and wiring.
Sodbuster
07-14-2008, 08:25 PM
I finished mine last year and it ran around 11K - 12K....That included a rec area big enough for a good size pool table, a TV room, a bedroom, two walk in closets, a full bath and a wet bar. I did most of it myself but hired someone on the side to rough in the electrical and also to do the plastering once I had the drywall up. Ended up finishing around 1700 sq ft.
That number includes our cabinets and countertops for the bar area but not the TV or surround sound.
I can't agree enough with everyone who said to map out exactly what you're doing beforehand...we went through about 5 different floor plans before we settled on the one we went with and it worked out great.
stewy
07-14-2008, 08:31 PM
we ended up doing about 1500sq ft at around 13k.
did a theater room with a bar, extra bedroom, full bath with shower inclosure and prewiring for sound and what not. That cost did not include the Teevee or the surround sound or the seating in the theater room.
KPSumms
07-14-2008, 08:33 PM
Has anyone finsihed their basement using the Ownes Corning Basement Finishing System? (http://franchising.owenscorning.com/bfs) See ads on TV - looks OK. But, I do have a leak here and there every couple of years and thought maybe this method would not be so costly to have to replace if had water damage.
Sodbuster
07-14-2008, 08:36 PM
Has anyone finsihed their basement using the Ownes Corning Basement Finishing System? (http://franchising.owenscorning.com/bfs) See ads on TV - looks OK. But, I do have a leak here and there every couple of years and thought maybe this method would not be so costly to have to replace if had water damage.
The seams on the wall would drive me crazy...
lefty
07-14-2008, 09:56 PM
What kind of flooring and how much are going to need? I can let you know if your getting a good deal. I sell, install for a living.
stewy
07-14-2008, 10:00 PM
What kind of flooring and how much are going to need? I can let you know if your getting a good deal. I sell, install for a living.
I am intrigued by this post.
lefty
07-14-2008, 10:03 PM
I am intrigued by this post.
Why?
stewy
07-14-2008, 10:05 PM
Why?
considering redoing the flooring on our first level... not sure what we want to do yet. Have some ideas and are just kicking it around right now, but will keep your screen name in mind.
lefty
07-14-2008, 10:07 PM
considering redoing the flooring on our first level... not sure what we want to do yet. Have some ideas and are just kicking it around right now, but will keep your screen name in mind.
Sounds good. I do ceramic, carpet, wood, pretty much anything.
What kind of flooring and how much are going to need? I can let you know if your getting a good deal. I sell, install for a living.
Utah says use hardwood floors. It's the tops!
birdo
07-14-2008, 11:12 PM
Has anyone finsihed their basement using the Ownes Corning Basement Finishing System? (http://franchising.owenscorning.com/bfs) See ads on TV - looks OK. But, I do have a leak here and there every couple of years and thought maybe this method would not be so costly to have to replace if had water damage.
The problem that they start by quoting you a price Which is about as much as having it down the drywall way and then it just builds up higher with more electrical outlets/lights/colors/etc/ or anything other than a basic four walls. Do a google search. People do not have nice things to say about this at all.
Stunner
07-15-2008, 06:30 AM
What kind of flooring and how much are going to need? I can let you know if your getting a good deal. I sell, install for a living.
It will be two rooms, about 1200 sq ft when it's all said and done. We're going with carpet, and are even considering the indoor/outdoor stuff. We haven't started looking too hard at the flooring situation yet. We wanted to get our floorplan and walls figured out before we moved on to that.
What kind of flooring and how much are going to need? I can let you know if your getting a good deal. I sell, install for a living.
When I was looking for a house, I noticed a lot more people are going with hardwood floors in the basement. I always thought it was a bad idea to put hardwood flooring in a basement, due to the moisture level and the uncertanties in the foundation. Any truth to this?
Captain Chris
07-15-2008, 07:05 AM
When I was looking for a house, I noticed a lot more people are going with hardwood floors in the basement. I always thought it was a bad idea to put hardwood flooring in a basement, due to the moisture level and the uncertanties in the foundation. Any truth to this?
We have berber carpeting in our basement - its awesome!
effdup
07-15-2008, 07:11 AM
When I was looking for a house, I noticed a lot more people are going with hardwood floors in the basement. I always thought it was a bad idea to put hardwood flooring in a basement, due to the moisture level and the uncertanties in the foundation. Any truth to this?
Some, if you are going to put a hardwood in the basement or below grade at all you have to use an engineered hardwood or a laminate. Engineered hardwood is real wood, but it is made to restrict its own movement so you won't get the gaps or cupping from the moisture.
the log
07-15-2008, 07:39 AM
When I was looking for a house, I noticed a lot more people are going with hardwood floors in the basement. I always thought it was a bad idea to put hardwood flooring in a basement, due to the moisture level and the uncertanties in the foundation. Any truth to this?
A good test to make sure your basement doesn't get moisture is to take a square piece of pastic wrap and duct tape it to the floor for 48 hours and see if any moisture collects underneath. If it does, don't do hardwood
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