Finished Basement – What To Expect?
If you crave for the finished basement but don’t know what to expect – we’ll help you through it!
What are the benefits of a finished basement?
Usually, a finished basement doesn’t add to your home’s square footage. Nevertheless, home buyers are eager to pay more for houses with a finished basement. Thus, your investment in the finished basement will get a return when you sell your house. According to studies, the national average for the finished basement ROI is approximate 79%, then, each dollar spent on finishing the basement returned $0.79.
As for the functional features, the finished basement can serve as entertainment, media, additional family room, home office, home theater, artistic workshop, modern gym with sauna, you name it.
How much does it cost to finish the basement?
Considering the nationwide average, a project to finish the basement costs about $25-$50 per square foot. Considering the square footage of your basement and selection of the materials, the estimated cost of the project may easily reach $30,000 for complete basement remodeling from scratch.
How Long Does it take to finish the basement?
Be prepared to allocate 4-8 weeks for the basement finishing and remodeling project.
Basement Remodeling Stages
Preparation
Taking into consideration the impressive cost and all the variety of opportunities granted, you’d better consult a professional architect or engineer. There are certain requirements to be followed to convert your basement into a livable space. You may collect the ideas on an interior design before the meeting. When the architect confirms the feasibility of the project, you may start requesting quotes from the contractors.
Permit
To make your basement compliant and legit, getting a permit is essential. Of course, you can finish your basement without a permit. However, a finished basement without a building permit can result in hassle and extra costs. For example, when you try to sell your home or in case of casualty when you can’t document the work that was completed. Before meeting contractors make research on the requirements to apply for a permit. Get familiar with the extent of works that require permits. You can find this at your local government website, for example for Philadelphia or New Castle County, DE.
Moisture Test in the Basement
It’s a well-known fact that basements are vulnerable to moisture. Before making the first steps toward remodeling you need to check if your basement is waterproof. If not, you have to waterproof it beforehand. Otherwise, your basement remodeling is risky.
Basement Finishing
Before actual finishing works, you need to arrange electrical wiring, plumbing, and HVAC. Don’t forget that basement space is perfect for utility / mechanical room, extra bathroom or powder room, and laundry room. It’s quite frustrating to finish the walls and then realize that you’d like the high efficient HVAC system. Our advice is: to plan the basement space thoroughly with a 20-years service perspective.
Basement finishing project usually includes the following works:
insulation of basement exterior walls;
framing of interior basement space – walls, ceiling;
finishing walls: install drywall, spackle, and sand;
finishing ceiling: drywall or drop ceiling on the rails;
finish floor: vinyl, tile, or carpet with waterproof and durable qualities.
If you planned an extra bathroom/powder room, you’ll need to include the bathroom addition works in your workflow. Make sure to plan the work in the most efficient way.
Basement Remodeling
After you transformed your concrete basement into a livable lower level, you can make decisions about the functionality and interior design of your new additional space. Once you’ve finished transforming your concrete basement into a fully formed lower level, you simply need to decide how you’re going to use and decorate all your extra space.
To conclude…
You deserve fully functional habitual instead of storage for the boxes and out-of-service appliances. Trust the professionals when it comes to your lifestyle transformation.
We’ll walk you through the process step-by-step to give you a space that can be used for more than storage containers. Just call us for a free estimate visit!
