Basement Remodel Cost Estimate Based on Square Footage??

[Branden Wilson]

Hi everyone! I'm in Maryland and trying to refine the spreadsheet I use for estimating rehab costs. Any input on a number you use to create a high level estimate to finish a basement based on square footage? (ball park that would include framing/drywall, electrical/recessed lights, flooring, etc.) Again, just trying to get a ball park rehab number.

For example:

Cost for a completely unfinished basement (older home, stone foundation, worse case scenario)  = Square Footage * $XX = Estimated Cost

Cost for a partially finished basement or one that has been finished but needs rehabbed = Square Footage * XX = Estimated Cost

Thank you!

[JD Martin]

Quote from @Branden Wilson:

Hi everyone! I'm in Maryland and trying to refine the spreadsheet I use for estimating rehab costs. Any input on a number you use to create a high level estimate to finish a basement based on square footage? (ball park that would include framing/drywall, electrical/recessed lights, flooring, etc.) Again, just trying to get a ball park rehab number.

For example:

Cost for a completely unfinished basement (older home, stone foundation, worse case scenario)  = Square Footage * $XX = Estimated Cost

Cost for a partially finished basement or one that has been finished but needs rehabbed = Square Footage * XX = Estimated Cost

Thank you!

 IMO you really can't generically ballpark a basement remodel because there's just so many moving parts you need to put eyes on first. Does it have moisture problems? Is it a full depth basement? Are systems run between the joists, through the joists, under the joists? Is there egress access? Are you in the flatlands or the hills? ETC. 

In general, a house built say before the 1950's or 1960s a basement remodel is going to be a lot more expensive than a newer built home, but that is a big generality. Homes before the war, basements were virtually never meant to be habitable spaces, so there's a lot of work to be done to make it that way. Homes after the war basements tended to have more flexibility.

If you're trying to figure out your costs, your most expensive parts of finishing a basement aren't going to be finishes at all. Assuming the foundation is solid, #1 is controlling moisture completely. Virtually all basements are going to have water concerns, whether from high water table, moisture attempting to move from soil to concrete/concrete block to air, actual infiltration from walls, etc. Controlling this moisture is 100% best done when the house is being built, so if the builder or homeowner never intended or cared that it be finished, and didn't seal the basement and provide for toe drainage, everything you do is going to be combatting that issue. Beyond controlling moisture, relocating utilities, opening up egress and ensuring you have proper heights are going to be your other big costs. Putting up drywall, recessed lights, etc are the easy parts to figure out.