What's The Average Cost To Add A Bedroom In A Basement?
I'm thinking of purchasing a 2 bedroom house w/ a basement. The basement is unfinished and I would add a 3rd bedroom to increase the value. From your past experiences what would be a ballpark figure for material and labor?
over here in philly, with me doing the work myself, i'd say about $250 in materials (drywall, tape, compound, 2x3s, carpet, 12gauge wire), depending on size. i'd estimate about 6 days of labor. if i hired another handyman to help out, i'd expect to pay him about $100/day since it's no real big work. the wiring should be easy since there are no walls yet and you're likely close to the panel box, so nothing tricky there. framing out walls and drywalling them may take time but isn't hard. $1000 ought to cover you well. however keep in mind that a bedroom in the basement with no bath (partial is fine) will bug whoever sleeps there. after the bath goes in, plumbing included you could be closer to $2500. just my estimate, not knowing what size and quality of materials you want.
I would offer some comments, not on the cost of finishing the basement, but rather on whether it would really enhance the value of the property. If this is below-grade space you're talking about, I believe that the space would have to be finished to the same degree as the space above it in order for an appraiser to add that square footage to that of the house. Appraisers may not consider the space a bona fide bedroom. In addition, I would check with the municipality to ascertain its permit requirements and restrictions on below-grade bedrooms. Finally, I would research your market to see if properties with finished basements (and particularly, basements finished into bedroom space) have any appeal.
fgh
I believe Jackman may have left out a few things when he estimated the cost of adding a bedroom in the basement. Things like lighting fixtures, closet doors and shelves, heating ducts and registers, baseboards, casings, outlets, switches, insulation and paint and if it's below grade, an egress window, outside well and possibly an escape ladder. I think you get the picture. And I can't imagine where he gets 2x3's drywall, tape, mud, screws, wire AND carpeting for only $250. I just finished up a rehab which included a basement bedroom and with myself doing the work I had about $2000 into the room start to finish. One of the biggest pitfalls in this business is underestimating the cost and overestimating the resale value.
Hope this helps
that's your estimate and i have mine. i know upper st. clair and i realize you guys pay a bit too much over there but that's not your fault - i guess.
my estimate was a quick estimate for what i do. some people just want walls to separate a room from the rest of the basement and that's all it costs. the wire costs about $12 for a 100ft roll of 12ga. the carpet about $20 for an indoor/outdoor variety (fine for basement rooms) and baseboard heat is $40 per unit, plenty for one room. compound, $10 for a 5 gallon container, paint is $17/gal - 2 gallons max for a new room. light fixture about $8. light switch, $.39, few outlets, $.39, box of drywall nails, $4 and tape $5. interior door $30, hinges $3. then wood (probably only 1 wall needs to be framed out, using 3 basement walls - about $50) do the math. as to where i get all this for $250 - don't tell anyone my secret, but it's Home Depot. shhhhh ...
this is barebones but the question didn't mention finishing an entire basement - it was to build a bedroom down there.
1 thing i will admit is that most (row)homes here have the basement below grade and the square footage won't be added anyway, so permit work is a waste of time. may not be the best policy, but i'm a handyman, not a contractor - i charge handyman rates, get in and get out.
i know what i do here, if you do different where you are, congrats - but don't discount what i say, just offer your own opinion.
[ Edited by jackman on Date 05/03/2004 ]
I guess this is a case of "you get what you pay for".
I do agree it's likely not a cost effective way of adding value. I love finished basements, and for a personal house a basement I can finish is a must for me. But typically the finished space doesn't count, or is drastically discounted. In Kansas an unfinished basement would be from $5 to $9 per foot, finishing adds $1 to $14 so max possible value for a basement is $23 per foot of which $9 was there to begin with. From my experience, I can about break even on cost to value added doing the work myself, so if I live there, I do it, if it's an investment I won't since I would be working for free.
Thoughts on pricing for something I would do, cutting corners on prices but still a decent usable (in my opinion) room. Assuming a 12 x 12 room with 4 framed walls and a closet.
2x4s ...$230
electrical...$30
doors...$80
carpet... $140 for typical cheap prestretched prepadded stuff , might be able to find an end of roll discount for $80ish
trim...$75
drywall finishing materials...$15
paint and accessories...$30
drywall (inside room only)...$125
screws...$10
drylock...$20
carpet glue or tape...$5
carpet dividers...$7
insulation...$50
I'm sure I'm leaving some things out, and these are obviously rough numbers. But, I would be considerably above the $250 low price and considerably under the $2000 high price mentioned in the thread.
Egress...adding that cost in could put you at the $2000 mark in a hurry. I have never gone that route so can't speak from experience. Check your local codes of course, sometimes there are loopholes to conformity, IE a platform permanantly attached below a window makes an otherwise too high window acceptable, a nice old cedar trunk can make a good looking platform, or if the room is a certain distance from an exterior door, such as within 15 feet of the door in a walkout basement. From my experience just saying it's non-conforming isn't viewed too negitively.
[ Edited by mykle on Date 05/03/2004 ]
First of all, if you are going to add a "3rd bedroom" in the basement to increase the value you better check out some important facts.
Like...
If the added sq. footage will increase the value and if so, how much will it increase compared to the cost of the upfit.
What code requirements come into play, such as egress, electrical, hvac, permits etc.......yes, people do this stuff all the time without permitting jobs......but there is are liability issue involved.
If you want realistic estimates then get bids from professionals that so such.
There is a difference between a handyman doing minor repair work and a LICENSED contractor (be it electrical, hvac, plumbing...etc) coming in and standing behind his work knowing there are ramifications if he does it wrong......such as losing his license among other things.
Who ever does the work should provide you proof of insurance before they do the job.
People ask for estimate all the time on this site.......some of the answers are close, other are ridiculous.......again check around in your local area................anyone giving you a number is purely a guestimate.......to get accurate numbers a person needs to look at the job and talk to you about what your goal is................
NC_Yank
Thanks for all of your input. I want to add the 3rd bedroom in the basement because a 3 bdr is more desireable than a 2bdr. I'm paying no more than 20k for the house and will need no more than $2k in repairs. It's bank owned.
Jackman
It wasn't my intention to denegrate your estimate. I am hardpressed to believe (after 34 years in the construction business) that you could complete even a 12 x 12 bedroom in a basement, that met both code and most anyones taste (whether they intended to buy it or rent it. You still need 4 walls a floor and a ceiling. Along with certain amenities, IE: some doors, lights and heat. I will agree that the range is wide open as far as cost goes. Since most basements tend to have concrete floors (or dirt) then the cheapest run of the mill outdoor carpet doesn't offer much in terms of cushioning for comfort or thickness to stave off the cold. And you didnt mention anything about closets, rods, shelves etc. I also realize that Upper St Clair is generally higher priced than many other areas, however, since I do my own work (and yes...I also have access to the HDepot-we have one newly built in USC) That doesn't come into play here. I may have upped the cost because the bedroom was in a 350K house, but the fact remains, I do not believe it possible to build a 3rd bedroom in a basement that meets code, for $250.00, no matter how cheaply you do it or how many corners you cut.
Hi Davezora,
I am going to rehab a house that has a partially finished basement but they didn't finish the work. I want to rip up the carpet and am not sure what I will find under it. what makes a good subfloor under carpet in a finished basement. Do you put the carpet directly over the concrete?
understood. the house you priced is $350k and the homes i generally work on are rows - which rarely get over $70k. they could care less about code and permit work, they just want a place for thier son to be able to go with his loud music and weed-smoking friends - so they want a basic basement retreat. my scope is on that level unless the job requires a "finished" room/basement. the indoor/outdoor carpet isn't very comfy, true, but it covers the cement and that's usually fine. also, true, no closets built in.
i hate to sound like i do cheesy work, but unless everyone on this site lives in a great neighborhood and have money to throw around for a certain quality of materials and the licensed work factor, they must understand how inner city work gets done. we use serious creativity to keep costs down and use every bit of what's there that can be used to complete a job. if i misinterpreted the question, then i apologize for even answering it.[ Edited by jackman on Date 05/04/2004 ]
Pushcart
The bedroom I just added in the basement had a concrete floor. We nailed (yes you can do this sometimes-sometimes you must glue them) down tack strips and installed the padding and carpet right over the concrete. Obviously, you want to make sure there is no water leaking into the area through the foundation, but yes, you can put the carpet right over the concrete.
Hope this helps
Dave
I completely agree with Nancy. I don't think finishing one bedroom in basement will enhance the value of prop much. You will certainly not recover the cost that you put in.
Okay...so the standard is to place the carpet right over the cement when finishing the basement? I thought this was true but wanted to verify. Thanks!