<p>What do you think it would cost in the Northeast to finish a basement in an older home? I’m not sure what it would entail…walls? flooring? ceiling? lighting? Is it a big deal like redoing a kitchen?</p>
<p>I suppose it would depend on the condition of the basement and the degree of refinement desired. But … there’s a reason most basements in the Northeast are left unfinished.</p>
<p>It’s not as big a deal as redoing a kitchen, because there’s no plumbing involved (unless you want to put in a bathroom). We did it back in 1989, and it wasn’t too much money, relatively speaking, but I have no idea what it would cost today. It will depend on the size of the room, the kind of finishes you want, etc. </p>
<p>We divided the basement in half, and built a wall down the middle. Then stud walls were built on the existing exterior walls, with a vapor barrier and insulation behind them. We put down indoor/outdoor carpeting with a special mildew-resistant pad right over the concrete floor. (We don’t have major water problems - if you do, you might need a French drain, sump pump, etc. setup.) We did a simple dropped ceiling with recessed lights. We have a forced air system, so the ductwork was slightly extended and a vent put in to heat/cool the new room.</p>
<p>At first we used it as the kids’ playroom, but over the years it has gradually morphed into my office, with bookcases, a desk, comfy chair, etc. It’s warm and cozy and my favorite room in the house.</p>
<p>I guess that’s why sometimes there are “partial” finished basements because of cost or need for storage, which makes sense. Booklady, sounds like a great space!</p>
<p>Not as big a deal as a kitchen. The biggest issue is the floor - older houses often have only very thin layers of concrete and a lot of damp comes up through the floor even if they aren’t actually wet. Newer houses will usually have a vapor barrier under that concrete. There’s also a paneled floor system called Dricore (google them) that works very well. Walls you generally use metal studs, foamboard insulation, and mildew resistant drywall. Ceilings can be acoustic tile or gypsum board. Head height may be an issue. (Habitable space is supposed to have 7’-6" by most codes.) You probably won’t need a whole lot of extra heat if the basement is comfortable now.</p>
<p>Cost - hard to say. I’d guess it’s around $150 per square foot these days, but we are in a very expensive area.</p>
<p>Our 1970 home had a ¾ finished basement when we bought it. (1/4 is unfinished storage space) Since then, we have installed recessed lighting and carpeting. We boxed in beams/columns/pipes and installed new molding and a new staircase. Spent about 5K, but this is in the inflated greater Boston area. (YMMV) There is no heat or a/c in the basement, and surprisingly, its never too hot or too cold.</p>
<p>Our basement gives us over 800 sq. ft. of much used additional living space. I cant imagine not having it, and I know it will serve us well on resale.</p>
<p>I’m noticing in the listings that the houses without finished basements are selling at a much slower pace. It seems like people care about having one almost (if not more) as much as having an “updated” kitchen.</p>
<p>WOW…by my calculations 800 sq ft of My Sweet’s basement x $150.00 per sq ft of mathmom’s estimate is $120,000.00…eek.</p>
<p>We finished our daylight basement when we bought our house 17 years ago. The downstairs level already had a large family room, paneled office, and laundry room. We finished the remaining area, adding a guest room, bathroom, linen closet, and two storage spaces with shelving. I don’t remember the total cost, but it was several thousand at that time. The floor is concrete with carpet in the main rooms. The additional finished rooms have really helped with raising a family–there was room for everyone as our kids were growing up. (Now it’s too big!) </p>
<p>The best thing about the rooms downstairs is that they are almost always cool in the summer. The guest room at the farthest end of the house is cold in the winter, but we just use a space heater there as needed.</p>
<p>We live in the Northeast and finished half of our basement about 10 years ago. DH did the framing, insulation and electrical. We hired someone to do the drywall & heat (added to our existing hot-water baseboard system). We put in a hard ceiling (as opposed to a drop ceiling) and carpeted the floor. Total cost was about $10,000, it’s about 500 square feet.</p>
<p>It doesn’t add much to the heating bill, as it is mostly below-grade and therefore really naturally well-insulated. And it generally stays cool in the summer, although we do have a dehumidifier that runs a lot during the summer.</p>
<p>Last year the kids re-did the basement - got rid of 5 boxes and 4 garbage bags full of old toys, etc. Moved the sofas into a corner with the TV/Playstation, bought a small/cheap foosball table and an inexpensive pool table (Sears = $600). Now they have their friends over more often, and we enjoy the pool table as a family.</p>
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I assume mathmom’s estimate is based on cost per sq ft of an addition. Finishing a basement should be a fraction of this since there’s generally no structure to add - no exterior walls, floor, roof. Just adding a few non-supporting walls, electrical, ceiling, etc. shouldn’t be that expensive. Before embarking on it make sure there won’t be a moisture problem which could lead to mold and lots of other issues.</p>
<p>Depends on the size. We finished our 1000 sq ft walkout into two rooms. Carpeting alone cost $4000. We added a window, put in cabinets, a wired for surround sound, cable, internet and phone. Total cost was over $15,000 and DH did all of the work.</p>
<p>It depends on how you do it. I have done ours bit by bit like Booklayd and some others. The thing that I hate is the smoothing of the drywall. Dust everywhere. YUcch.</p>
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<p>I should clarify that when I said ‘we’, I meant ‘we paid a contractor’. DH and I consider it a great success if we hang a picture correctly. :)</p>
<p>“We” did all of the work in our 1000 sq ft basement ourselves except the laying of the carpet. DH did the wiring, stud work, insulation, cabinet and closet building, ceiling, dry wall, window installation, trim work and some of the painting (that’s where the rest of us chipped in). Of course there are bits and pieces that are still not quite done (four years later)…but I’m sure we saved a ton doing the work ourselves over hiring a contractor.</p>
<p>We did a combination of expert contractors (vents, wiring), cheap handimen, and do it yourself.</p>
<p>I did our full, walk out basement 5-7 years ago. It’s about 1500 sq feet. It was framed, but unfinished. We ended up having a bedroom (private entrance), a full size bathroom, exercise room, and a large room. The basement was up to code for AC and heat. I didn’t go top of the line, but use good quality material and contracted the whole thing out. I think it cost me around 60-70,000. I project managed the whole thing. It came in on time and on budget. I had to call the contractor and his guys every morning at 6:30 to make sure they were coming to my house instead to a different job. I also had a contract that paid based on milestone, not amount of work done.</p>
<p>My husband uses it as his office now. The bedroom is used by out of town guests (many of them don’t want to leave). Our kids like to have their sleepovers in the great room. The only problem we have is it’s humid down there in the summer. We put a de-humidifier down there in the summer.</p>
<p>If you are doing it with the idea that it will not only add space you will enjoy, but will also increase your value at resale… you would be wise to check with a trusted realtor in your area before going ahead.</p>
<p>In some areas, and for some house styles, finished basements do not add much to the resale value. In some areas, appraisers will not count finished basement square footage… which could affect how much you or a potential buyer can borrow on the house, another factor in resale value.</p>
<p>Ours is a full walkout basement complete with full size windows and a full size door to a patio. Finishing that basement was like finishing any other above grade part of the house…except that part of it is below grade. Where we are, the finished basements that have lesser values are the ones that are fully underground with no exterior doors or window. We did ours with a great room and a home office (which could be a bedroom). The great room is a L shaped affair that has a living area with couch/tables etc, and a pool table (with a ping pong cover), as well as a sitting area with built in cabinetry. The home office could easily be a bedroom. There are three large closets. </p>
<p>In addition to the finished area, we also have an unfinished portion that is about 20x20 that is a utility room with our furnace, storage shelves, central vac, freezer, etc. </p>
<p>It’s a great place for the home office, and a great place for the kids to have friends over…and a great place for overnight guests.</p>
<p>Finishing a basement (one that is all under grade) will only yield a return on investment of 50%, at best.</p>