The Cold Hard Numbers- The Cost to Finish the Basement

If you curious what we spent to finish our basement, today is the day where I spill. Last week I shared all of the DIY details on how we finished our basement. Talking about money is somewhat of a faux pax, but it’s something everyone is curious about. Today I’m sharing the cost to finish the basement.

For a quick refresher, this is what the basement looked like when we bought the house, and this is how it looks today:

 

We finished our staircase, landing, 660 square foot rec room, and 180 square foot bedroom, adding about 900 finished square feet to our home.

Cost of City Permit:

Before we did any work down here we spent $330.84 on a city permit for this space. Depending on where you live this cost could vary greatly. In our city it’s required to get a permit for finishing a basement.

City Permit

$330.84

Costs we Hired Out to Finish the Basement:

• Plumbing (Well Abandonment) $2,500

When our well pump died and we had to eliminate our well, that meant we could also eliminate the ugly well tank in the back corner along with some pipes that hung below the joists. This was an expensive project that we hired out because we didn’t know the first thing about abandoning a well.

• Egress Windows $10,000

Another project that we hired out has having two nice egress windows installed. The same company that installed the windows also added drain tile in the corner where the tank had been, eliminating the place that water had been getting into the basement. These guys also jackhammered and hauled away the massive fireplace hearth that was protruding into the room. I wrote all about installing egress windows in this post if this is something you’d like to DIY.

• New Furnace $6,000

We had to have a new furnace installed. Our existing furnace was from 1974 and was inefficient and also poorly placed. When we replaced it with a high efficiency furnace we had them move it a few feet towards our utility room, making it possible to enclose the furnace in the utility room.

• Electrical $600

We feel really comfortable wiring lights and outlets, but we didn’t feel comfortable hooking into the circuit breaker. Thankfully my husband’s cousin is an electrician and he came up for day to help up with the connections out of the breaker. He ran a few lines for us, and then we did all the rest of the electrical which I’ll share below.

• Carpet Installation $900

We purchased our Carpet from Menards, and found a contractor to install it. To glue down the tack strip, do the 12 stairs, and the rest of the basement was $900. This was with us picking up and hauling the carpet and pad downstairs.

We spent a LOT of money to get those things done, $20,000 to be exact! If your basement doesn’t have a well pump to abandon, or already has egress windows, or a new furnace you’re going to be able to do yours MUCH cheaper…. possibly only spending around $1500 for carpet install and an electrician!

Electrican	$600.00
Carpet Installation	$900.00
Furnace	$6,000.00
Well Abandon	$2,500.00
Egress Windows	$10,000.00
CONTRACTOR TOTAL	$20,000.00

Tools we Purchased to Finish the Basement:

Thankfully we already owned most of the tools we needed for this project. We were able to borrow a drywall lift from my dad, saving us about $200. Here’s a list of the tools that we already owned and used: Electric Drill, Battery Drill, Miter Saw, Air Compressor, Trim Nailer, Framing Nailer, Staple Gun, Drill Bit Set, Drywall T, Cutting Blade, Basic Screwdrivers, Electricians Wire Tool, Needle Nose Pliers, Hammer, Tape Measure, Drywall Tools, Caulk Gun, Paint Brushes, Paint Rollers, Paint Trays, Roller Extension. Even if you need to purchase some tools for this project, then you’ll own them for future projects, and come out far ahead of hiring someone to do the work.

Rotosaw	$59.00
Pole Sander	$21.97
Drill Bits	$4.98
Concrete Drill Bit	$10.00
Drywall Knife	$9.96
TOOL TOTAL	$105.91

Supplies we Purchased to Finish the Basement:

Many of our supplies were purchased from Menards during their 11% rebate periods. We also used up some supplies from odds and ends that we had at home. My guess is that the stuff we already had on hand couldn’t have exceeded $200. I included our $84 delivery fee here because that is how we got the drywall and studs. Because we used 12′ sheets this was WELL worth it for us.

2×4’s (Treated and Studs)	$294.57
Baseboard	$255.48
Cabinets	$451.00
Carpet and Pad	$1,681.41
Caulk	$17.88
Ceiling Insulation	$300.00
Chalkpaint	$17.00
Closet Door Jamb	$20.94
Closet Door Parts	$10.00
Closet Doors	$168.00
Closet Pole	$14.80
Concrete Anchors	$24.00
Doors (3)	$270.00
Drywall	$615.70
Drywall Sandpaper	$7.97
Drywall Screws	$48.00
Drywall Tape	$75.00
Duct Registers	$27.26
Electrical Supplies	$243.09
Foam Board Adhesive	$40.00
Furring Strips	$31.92
Joint Compound	$135.00
Light Baffles	$73.27
Light Bulbs	$30.00
Menards Delivery	$84.00
Paint (Walls and Ceiling)	$473.00
Paint Supplies	$34.00
Plywood for Window Surround	$75.57
Polystyrene Insulation	$391.32
Recessed Lights	$93.48
Sanded Caulk	$6.67
Sanded Paint Primer	$100.00
Self Leveling Concrete	$275.00
Shims	$4.44
Spackling	$3.86
Stair Treads	$40.00
Staples	$10.76
Wainscoting	$11.28
SUPPLY TOTAL	$6,455.67

GRAND TOTAL to Finish Basement:

It’s hard to say exactly what our grand total is, because it depends on whether you include the new furnace, and the well abandonment. If we lived in a new house we wouldn’t even have to include the cost of the egress windows because they’d already be installed. Because our house was built in the 1950’s, I’m including EVERYTHING that we spent. Our grand total is… $26,892. It’s a LOT of money. I don’t want to discourage you from DIY’ing a basement though, because without the expensive furnace and windows, the cost would have been around $10,000. If you’re in an old house like ours… well be prepared to spend a good amount of money!

CITY PERMIT	$330.84
TOOL TOTAL	$105.91
CONTRACTOR TOTAL	$20,000.00
SUPPLY TOTAL	$6,455.67
GRAND TOTAL	$26,892.42

Is it Worth it to Finish a Basement??

For us finishing the basement wasn’t about building equity, but instead for creating a space for guests, and more space for our kids. We host a weekly small group and having this space for the kids makes this possible! If we’re talking about equity, I do believe that this at least paid for itself and our house could sell for $27,000 more than before this space was complete. If nothing else it would help our house stand above the others on the market.

What about the Basement Bathroom?!?

We still have plans to finish a bathroom down here. Don’t worry, I’ll share all the details on that as well. Because we did the wiring already, and the walls are already built, the cost will be mostly in plumbing and fixtures. We don’t plan to build anything extravagant and believe we can do it for under $3,000, keeping the entire basement project under $30,000.

How to Save for a Basement Renovation:

Honestly, we’re terrible at saving for projects, but here’s how we did it… First we took it one step at a time. The windows, furnace, and well were completed long before the rest. We did take the 0% financing offered for two years on our furnace. By paying $250 per month it will be paid off in two years. We also took a low interest HELOC loan to do the windows. I DO NOT recommend using a HELOC for anything that won’t add equity to your home, but if you’re POSITIVE that the money will be used to add equity I don’t think it’s a terrible idea.

Then we asked for Menards gift cards for Christmas! Thanks to a few generous family members we were able to purchase the framing wood, and drywall with our Christmas money. We NEVER buy anything without shopping for the best price, and never when they aren’t running an 11% rebate. We even saved almost $500 by purchasing our ceiling Insulation on Black Friday! Then the Covid Stimulus happened to come just as we were getting close to finishing the basement. This was just lucky timing for us. So there it is…. I’m no Dave Ramsey role model, but this is how we did it without having to come up with it all out of pocket.

I hope that answers all of your questions about the cost to finish the basement! I hope it also motivates you to consider DIY’ing a project like this, rather than hiring the entire project out.