What do you think a contractor would charge to frame out the basement?

[Dubb]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
base4.jpg

That's the window in the planned basement. Outside its bottom is about 22" from the grass. How big an effort/cost is involved in bashing it out to make an egress-worthy window? I know a neighbod did one from scratch and it was quite a chore, but in this case it's already started...

Minimum width of opening: 20 in.
Minimum height of opening: 24 in.
Minimum net clear opening: 5.7 sq. ft. (5.0 sq. ft. for ground floor).
Maximum sill height above floor: 44 in.

Based on that, this is already wide enough. It would need about an extra foot of height. Unfortunately, it's very high from the floor. Is a permanent stool or anything acceptable to reach that maximum sill height above floor? Otherwise we'd have to bore this down deep another 2+ feet into the ground and have that horse-shoe shaped ledge in the ground on the outside with a possible bubble window.

At least here in NC, you are allowed to do a built-in step/bench to get your 44 in. sill.

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Squisher
Egress windows don't come cheap. Mostly because they have to cut through block, frame it, and install a well. $2000?

Didn't you say this was a walkout basement? I'm not sure on the rules, but I don't think the actual bedroom needs egress just the basement area.

Ridiculously I believe that EACH bedroom in NY needs an egress. I will confirm for sure, but I think that's the case. In this situation the bedroom door will open into a room with a walkout door AND an egress window already in existence. Pretty stupid. We're going to think of ways around this, like moving the bedroom around or whatever. Seems crazy to have three legitimate egresses for just one bedroom.

if they follow the IBC, and most areas do these days, Bedrooms need a second means of egress from the bedroom itself. otherwise, bedroom door blocked by fire = no way out. it's annoying, but it does improve the chances of surviving a fire.

Believe it or not, as part of the 2011 IBC, a provision is being debated that would require sprinkler systems in single family homes. People are really going to hate that one if it stays in there.

You may be able to cheat around the egress requirement (add the closet after inspections, etc.) but it potentially causes problems if/when you need to sell your house. I don't recommend it.

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: vi edit

Originally posted by: Safeway

Originally posted by: HomeBrewerDude
your probably looking at $75/sq ft

For a finished basement? No. That is way inflated.

I'm in the process of getting some home bids and basements are running around $35/sq ft to finish depending on what you are doing. That's bare necessities - framing, electrical, and drywall. Add significantly more for finishing a bath or other ammenities. Plus you have to add flooring onto that quote.

Wow that's not a bad price. Mrs just calculated we're doing about 634 square feet. I wonder if I could get it done for $2-2500 minus floors and bathroom.

I'd say that's a little low, depending. There's some overhead that doesn't really change whether it's 600 sf or 2000, so the $/sf will usually be higher for a small space. But if the contractors in your area are hungry...

 

[StageLeft]

OK, still looking into this. Should have a quote from the contractor soon. I'm bracing for a massively high, untenable quote. I am not sure I'll bother with a second if it's too high. The more I read the more I just want to do this myself.

I have a question about bathroom venting. Bottom right of picture 1 you can see a cleanout. There is another one across the basement, and then in base 2 there is simply a hole in the floor. My concern is that to vent my bathroom I apparently have no venting. Now, I can't speak about that one in the floor, which is standalone, but the drains in pic 1 and the other one that follows that (a couple feet off the ground) are definitely exhausts for toilets/sinks upstairs, which I believe means I cannot use them.

So, I think I have three options:

1) Hope that the stub in the floor in pic 2 on the floor is somehow hooked up to some vent stack somewhere
2) Pay a plumber a good bit of money to hook it up to one or build some new vent stack
3) Figure out some way to vent the toilet drains to a separate basement-only stack that probably ejects around the first floor or so

This house is four years old. Is it possible or probable or unlikely that the stub in the floor on pic 2 in fact is venting up somewhere else...?

 

[runzwithsizorz]

That stub in the floor is a sewer line Skoorb. probably put there as a clean-out, or more than likely a future toilet, especially if it is aprox. 18" from the wall. These things are often installed with the foundation lay in spec, or tract housing so the buyers can pick, and choose. Do any of your neighbors with the same model have a basement bath, if so where is it located, Hmmmm ? Soooo, if thats a toilet stub it stands to reason that there's a vent behind that insulation. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

 

[Gothgar]

Originally posted by: geno
*sees pics of weight bench*

OH SHIT SKOORB BE GETTIN HIS FUCKIN SWOLL ON!!!

hahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: runzwithsizorz
That stub in the floor is a sewer line Skoorb. probably put there as a clean-out, or more than likely a future toilet, especially if it is aprox. 18" from the wall. These things are often installed with the foundation lay in spec, or tract housing so the buyers can pick, and choose. Do any of your neighbors with the same model have a basement bath, if so where is it located, Hmmmm ? Soooo, if thats a toilet stub it stands to reason that there's a vent behind that insulation. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

None of my neighbors, to my knowledge, have a finished basement with bathroom. One has one that is close but they haven't finished this far up. Actually, one neighbor does but his house was a couple years older and I know he did not have a sewer line in the basement at all.

Behind that insulation is pure concrete block. Now, this does run under that block to the street and when I opened it up tonight it appears in use with some fresh fluids in it (didn't smell, surprisingly), but the vent is still in question. In the ceiling there is what I thought was maybe a stub to the main stack, but it's completely glued shut. This one in the floor was not glued shut (none of the floor ones were).

hahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I know, I laughed, too!

 

[runzwithsizorz]

BINGO !! Glued shut you mean with a cap right? Main line vents can be 2", but usually at baths, and kitchens they are 1" and a half.

 

[Rubycon]

Make sure they are jumbo frames.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: runzwithsizorz
That stub in the floor is a sewer line Skoorb. probably put there as a clean-out, or more than likely a future toilet, especially if it is aprox. 18" from the wall. These things are often installed with the foundation lay in spec, or tract housing so the buyers can pick, and choose. Do any of your neighbors with the same model have a basement bath, if so where is it located, Hmmmm ? Soooo, if thats a toilet stub it stands to reason that there's a vent behind that insulation. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

None of my neighbors, to my knowledge, have a finished basement with bathroom. One has one that is close but they haven't finished this far up. Actually, one neighbor does but his house was a couple years older and I know he did not have a sewer line in the basement at all.

Behind that insulation is pure concrete block. Now, this does run under that block to the street and when *I opened it up tonight it appears in use with some fresh fluids in it (didn't smell, surprisingly),* but the vent is still in question. In the ceiling there is what I thought was maybe a stub to the main stack, but it's completely glued shut. This one in the floor was not glued shut (none of the floor ones were).

hahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I know, I laughed, too!

Great, another ATOT member who's sheet don't stink.
You said none of the floor ones were glued,(they never are). I only see 2, one is a clean-out, and the other, by the model plane is for a toilet. Where is this glued vent pipe in relation to the toilet stub?

 

[lykaon78]

To answer your question... my 40x40 basement with a bathroom was $8500 for everything but paint and carpet.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: runzwithsizorz
BINGO !! Glued shut you mean with a cap right? Main line vents can be 2", but usually at baths, and kitchens they are 1" and a half.

Yep, it has a cap that has been glued. Perhaps that is to keep the gasses in and it is a vent afterall

Where is this glued vent pipe in relation to the toilet stub?

If you are standing right over that toilet drain with the wall to your back it's in front of you about 8 feet right up on the ceiling.

To answer your question... my 40x40 basement with a bathroom was $8500 for everything but paint and carpet.

Seems a good price!

 

[skace]

Contractor for the drywall putty/sanding aspect. Framing is easier than that.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: runzwithsizorz
BINGO !! Glued shut you mean with a cap right? Main line vents can be 2", but usually at baths, and kitchens they are 1" and a half.

Yep, it has a cap that has been glued. Perhaps that is to keep the gasses in and it is a vent afterall

Where is this glued vent pipe in relation to the toilet stub?

If you are standing right over that toilet drain with the wall to your back it's in front of you about 8 feet right up on the ceiling.

To answer your question... my 40x40 basement with a bathroom was $8500 for everything but paint and carpet.

Seems a good price!

Good price indeed! in fact I COULD NOT buy the materials for that price. 5 years ago, I payed the builder nearly that for a full bath in my basement, he offered a discount price of $28000 to finish it entirely, but I chose to finish the rest myself, (2000sq.ft.), and I can assure you the cost of lumber, doorways, insulation, carpets/pads, baseboards, electrical, drywall, window treatments, and paint exceeded $8500 by far! Heck, I bet I spent over $300 on just glue, anchors, nails, screws, and chalk. In all fairness to "lykaon78", carpet, and padding was a biggie.

 

[StageLeft]

Holy crap your basement is frickin HUGE.

 

[DrPizza]

Damn you! Now you've got me thinking about what I could do in my basement.

FWIW, there are mechanical vents that do not require outside venting. I only briefly looked at code & instead relied on my bro-in-law who is a contractor. When I did my kitchen, it was far easier to install a mechanical vent than to vent it to the outside. And, iirc, code states that you only need one exterior vent on the house. I'm amazed at how much cheaper & simpler it made the installation. As my bathroom sink and tub aren't vented properly, I'll probably retrofit in another mechanical vent when I replace the drain lines to my bathroom. (Actually, when I replace 90% of the waste plumbing in the house - it's all pieced together with 4 different materials. That'll happen when I put down the new floor in the bathroom.

 

[StageLeft]

Damn you! Now you've got me thinking about what I could do in my basement.

Winter project!

 

[Jittles]

Like others said your main consideration should be your time commitment. If you can put in the hours you can do it yourself but be prepared to put in many more hours than a pro would.

Take your time to do it RIGHT, it makes a difference every step of the way. If you frame it right, rocking it will go much easier. If you rock it right, mudding it will go much easier and so on and so forth. If you have to backtrack and spend an hour to fix something it might save you many hours later.

Splurge and buy the right tools for the job. Don't try to get by with something that sort of works.

I am a professional and can do everything top to bottom but I'll be damned if my mom can't patch up a hole in sheetrock so well I can't even find where it was. All it takes is a little practice.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

I believe Skoorb might just get enough rise/elevation from the wall over to the vent stub, (8" up x 8' run), to satisfy the code keeper. If he wants a shower/tub, looks like he'll need to be cutting cement, he'd have to anyway for the sink. And do my eyes deceive me?, for it looks like the exhaust vents from his water heater, and furnace come together as one, that's a definite no-no in my neck of the woods. He could reroute the copper, and romax, to inside the joists to make the ceiling install easier, (the condenser lines could pose a problem here). Use the existing breaker for the overhead lighting, and pull a new 20amp 12 gauge line for the rest. build a closet with louvered doors around the HVAC, and W/H. Now, as for that sheet metal duct work, Hmmmmm.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: Exterous


I can tell you from personal experiance that framing and installing the drywall isn't that hard. 3 of us who had - combined - 0 hours of experience were able to accomplish this. I was not available to help with the mudding so I cannot offer anything there.

mudding isnt that hard, it just takes a bit of practice. you can get that with some spare/ broken drywall from the install, just mix up some slightly dry mud and mess with it until you have the technique down. the framing isnt terribly difficult, just need to make sure you follow basic code rules for your area. drywall is simple, im sure there is many different DIY sites to get tips on it. ive done both many times as a job and as a friend helping out.

Originally posted by: ExterousAs for electrical - you could probably run all the wires and place the outlets (If you do the framing yourself) and then just have an electrician connect them to the breaker

please check your code requirements for your area before attempting this. there may be lots of little BS things you need to do to ensure this goes well.

also, make sure when you get it framed, you leave room to get the shower stall thru the halls to the bathroom. i helped a buddy of mine drywall his spare addon and he didnt think of that until after it was all up. ended up having to move a wall to get the stall in hehe.

 

[hanoverphist]

oh and probably should start with a few of these...

http://www.homedepot.com/webap...=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[StageLeft]

Hot water heater and furnace do go to the same vent. I'm sure it's legal here, fwiw.

I was told by everyone to go for a raised-floor bathroom to avoid cutting into cement.

I thought of moving those copper lines into the joists. I'd have to replace them with plastic ones so that I could properly move them into joist holes. Most likely I'll just build the ceiling an inch lower, though, so as not to have to bother...

 

[oiprocs]

I'll charge you $300 to get it to half unfinished.

 

[skace]

Originally posted by: hanoverphist
mudding isnt that hard, it just takes a bit of practice. you can get that with some spare/ broken drywall from the install, just mix up some slightly dry mud and mess with it until you have the technique down. the framing isnt terribly difficult, just need to make sure you follow basic code rules for your area. drywall is simple, im sure there is many different DIY sites to get tips on it. ive done both many times as a job and as a friend helping out.

Meh, mudding is where you want a pro. He can account for all the fuckups in framing and drywall damage, etc and still make the room look gorgeous at the end.

I lived next to a french canadian drywaller growing up.

 

[lykaon78]

Originally posted by: runzwithsizorz

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: runzwithsizorz
BINGO !! Glued shut you mean with a cap right? Main line vents can be 2", but usually at baths, and kitchens they are 1" and a half.

Yep, it has a cap that has been glued. Perhaps that is to keep the gasses in and it is a vent afterall

Where is this glued vent pipe in relation to the toilet stub?

If you are standing right over that toilet drain with the wall to your back it's in front of you about 8 feet right up on the ceiling.

To answer your question... my 40x40 basement with a bathroom was $8500 for everything but paint and carpet.

Seems a good price!

Good price indeed! in fact I COULD NOT buy the materials for that price. 5 years ago, I payed the builder nearly that for a full bath in my basement, he offered a discount price of $28000 to finish it entirely, but I chose to finish the rest myself, (2000sq.ft.), and I can assure you the cost of lumber, doorways, insulation, carpets/pads, baseboards, electrical, drywall, window treatments, and paint exceeded $8500 by far! Heck, I bet I spent over $300 on just glue, anchors, nails, screws, and chalk. In all fairness to "lykaon78", carpet, and padding was a biggie.

First need to restate the size. It was 40 x 25. My first floor is roughly 40x40 and we left storage in the basement.

Second we probably got a pretty good deal for a couple of reasons. We had ours done by a guy who did basements as his side gig and he was looking for work in the winter. It took 6 weeks because he only worked 4 days a week from 4-7pm after his full time job. He was $4,000 better than our next best offer.

 

[StageLeft]

I lived next to a french canadian drywaller growing up.

You poor bastard!

He was $4,000 better than our next best offer.

It's amazing how much prices can vary between people. I found huge discrepancies when getting quotes on our deck. We went with a guy who was literally close to half what another offered. A friend who's decided to do his own basement had two quotes for work, one for 15k and another for 7k (and that guy's work apparently is good).

 

[Gand1]

I can believe no one mention the fun you would have nailing the studs into the concrete with one of these...

http://nailgundepot.com/shop/c...page=1&productid=27256