nurkvinny Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 Soon, hopefully before kid #3 gets here, I would like to finish at least half of my basement. I'll say that at my first house, with a MUCH smaller basement, I did a few things myself, studs, drywall, lame carpet... I don't want to do this one myself. I'd like to hear first-hand experiences you have had with local companies. Prices (if you don't mind sharing), recommendations, good/bad ideas, what you wish you had done differently. I have about 1900-2000sqft to deal with, but I want to keep the furnace/water heater/sump/water softener area unfinished. My basement is basically a large, long rectangle. I am wanting at least a living area/TV area, another 1/2 bath, large storage area, currently have a fullsize pool table that I never use any more, so it can go or stay. http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=529&pictureid=4954 This is about 66' by 29' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 I am also interested in this, as we want to finish ours as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractor Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 I don't have much to say. I'm cheap and am going to finish my myself. I already built a nice man cave/office in one corner thats 12x14'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff1647545513 Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Put the half bath in the room with the utilities and finish that room too. It'll help keep space freed up for everything else and probably be easier with some plumbing already being in there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Oh yeah, if you are already building a 1/2 bath, just do a full bath. It will add more value to the home, especially if you are listing it for sale. Adding another bedroom down there would add a lot to the value as well, and you could use it as an office, workout room, guest bedroom, etc. if you don't need another bedroom right now. This stuff will pay for itself come resale time. Our home had about 1/3 of the basement finished with a 1/2 bath. But the previous POS owners had the sump pump back up, and just pulled the drywall and kept the insurance money. Makes it uber-easy to finish that part of the basement, but we want to finish another 1/3 of it, and convert the 1/2 bath into a full bath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KillJoy Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 My Best Friend does Basements on the side, or at least used to. I helped him on a couple. If you would like to be put in contact with him, I can get you his info. KillJoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted March 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 I don't have any egress windows and adding them isn't part of any plan I am considering, so no bedrooms down there. May turn one of the current upstairs living rooms into a 4th bedroom + 1/2 bath later on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted March 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Hello... oh ... oh ... oooooo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 I'll try and dig up the guy who did ours back in 2003. I should have all the paper work scanned and stored somewhere on my system. We didn't have a bathroom of any type put in, but we did finish 1,200 sq. feet with drywall and carpet for about $13k. Carpet & padding came from Home Depot and is fairly high quality. Got it with their credit card just for the discount and padding was free. They run those installation and padding sales often. I waited 3 months after everything was done to do the carpet as I was just waiting for that sale. Long three months, but it was worth it. I did two coats of dry lock on the walls before hand. I remember the guy and a coworker completed the project in 15 business days working from 7am to 6pm. I ended up laying tile and finishing the work room and lower level laundry myself. Other insight....tighten up / glue where needed any squeaky floor joists and think about any built in speaker outlets for upstairs or down stairs too. We wired in everything for the home theater upstairs and the one downstairs when they were doing the electrical. We also put speakers and a sub outside. Run PVC along the ceiling and walls for snaking wires later. Helped me as I ended up upgrading from S-Video out from my PC upstairs to the TV to HDMI and it was as simple as threading the new cable around the old and pulling it through. Another recommendation is to do a flat ceiling. We have the stipple brush look everywhere, but in the basement a flat ceiling gives the appearance of a higher ceiling. It's actually easier to do too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted March 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Thanks Tim. For ceilings - I just saw a friend's basement that they left the joists exposed and painted everything a matte black. I really like it, and leaves piping/wiring accessible. Not sure of anything yet. Would really like to get some companies out here for free estimates. For what it would cost to sell this place and buy exactly what I want, I think I can just invest that money here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Not sure of anything yet. Would really like to get some companies out here for free estimates. For what it would cost to sell this place and buy exactly what I want, I think I can just invest that money here. We had quotes up to $40k including theAudio and AV system I wanted. Crazy range of prices and shit. Just be sure to get references and talk with the property owners. Lots of them showed us homes and gave us photos but more than half could produce a name and number except for homes with $100k installations. I don't know what the rules of thumb is on investments like this, but I know we can get every bit if not more back out of ours as it's done very nicely. Like anything just keep in mind the rest of the house and the area and then blend in what you're looking for out of it for the time you'll be there. In our case we love it and added quite a bit of living space. I also have a work out area and office down there. Lastly, check too with your HVAC guys/system to insure it can support the added space. I say that as ours only had one vent to begin with. We added three more. Works well, but I'll bump up the size of the furnace when we upgrade it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted March 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 I want an area I can hide from 2 to 3 kids and a wife. Preferably with a huge couch, large tv, and mini-fridge. Everything else is up for debate. We started looking for 4 bedroom homes with kiddo 3 coming, and once you think about realtor fees, moving, yadda yadda, I'd rather just dump $15000 into this house that has the land, garage, and kitchen she and I love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 I want an area I can hide from 2 to 3 kids and a wife. Preferably with a huge couch, large tv, and mini-fridge. I hear ya. We only have two, but man are they high maintenance! Our home is a larger 3 bedroom too. Wish we had a fourth. Not sure about your wife, but what I did was turned her loose on the master bedroom. She did it up very nicely and that's her space. In my office on the lower level I put a very nice futon that has a real mattress not the typical cheap ones that you see....and thus it's also a bedroom for my mother in law when she comes over We started looking for 4 bedroom homes with kiddo 3 coming, and once you think about realtor fees, moving, yadda yadda, I'd rather just dump $15000 into this house that has the land, garage, and kitchen she and I love. I hear ya there too. Our lot is the best on the block with trees behind us and a retired doctor on one side who's never lived in his house during the 14years we've been here. With less than 4 years left on the note, I'm not moving. I want deed in hand and am going to frame it with the titles of my cars that I own and have owned Much rather retire early than own a bigger home I vowed never to be house rich and cash poor. Especially important in this economy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bam Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Not sure what your budget is....but I know someone who had their basement completely done by Owens Corning...and it is NICE. Wasn't cheap, but the plus side is everything won't mold etc if it ever gets wet. It's a breathable/removable material for the walls w/ metal studs so if any issues ever happen worst case is you have to unhook the panels (cake) and let them air outside. Makes it really nice if you ever want to run new cables as well, as its all easily accessible. If I had the money...They'd probably get mine. Check their website for all the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Not sure what your budget is....but I know someone who had their basement completely done by Owens Corning...and it is NICE. Wasn't cheap, but the plus side is everything won't mold etc if it ever gets wet. OC was the most expensive quote we had. Also had to sit through the entire presentation / in home sale. Now that was 8 years ago, but I do remember that they would not do the ceiling as they did no dry wall work. You'll still have to get that done. I liked the product, but didn't love it. I suppose if you had a wet/damp basement. However, in our case before and even now, our humidistat down there never goes above 50% and the basement is tight/dry. In fact I'm thinking about selling our dehumidifier that is never used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted March 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 OC is out of the question. I have talked to 4 or 5 people who decided to go with them and every one of them felt ripped off in the end. Way over priced was the typical reply. My basement - knock on wood - is nice and dry. Good ol' stud walls and drywall is good enough for me. I'll run a dehumidifier in the couple autumn months if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bam Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 OC was the most expensive quote we had. Also had to sit through the entire presentation / in home sale. Now that was 8 years ago, but I do remember that they would not do the ceiling as they did no dry wall work. You'll still have to get that done. I liked the product, but didn't love it. I suppose if you had a wet/damp basement. However, in our case before and even now, our humidistat down there never goes above 50% and the basement is tight/dry. In fact I'm thinking about selling our dehumidifier that is never used. Oh it wasn't cheap, and AFAIK they never had problems with water either, but hey, it does look nice. They do ceilings now, essentially drop ceilings just nicer and they tuck the ceiling real tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractor Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Oh it wasn't cheap, and AFAIK they never had problems with water either, but hey, it does look nice. They do ceilings now, essentially drop ceilings just nicer and they tuck the ceiling real tight. I did a drop ceiling like that in my office. Very nice I lost maybe 5/8th's of an inch of ceiling height and it looks nice for a drop ceiling and it was very easy to install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sully Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 Bringing this thread back as I'm wanting to get quotes to have my basement finished. Did any of you guys ever get yours finished? Recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWW$HEEET Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 id suggest drawing more schematics in paint. in for the lulz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrblunt Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 http://floorplanner.com/ Owens Corning is a flippin rip off. It was also the highest quote I received, i think it was in the 35-40k range for our 1400sq ft. Do things yourself and get material from Menards - the same material was 500-600 cheaper than my quote from Lowes . I HIGHLY recommend steel studs for several reasons - they never rot, they are very light weight so moving your material wont break your back, they are perfectly straight, they are crazy easy to work with and bc your screwing them into a track your cuts can be well over a 1/4 inch off without it being an issue - with a crimping tool you can knock out a wall in NO TIME - they already have the holes punched for running electric, you can work on them at night bc your using tin snips instead of running a miter saw. I'm 90% finished with 1/2 of my project which was to finish a toy room for the girls before my theatre room. I simply need to finish up the trim work and paint 1 wall. I'll post some pictures later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted March 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Bump, any company recommendations???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Bump, any company recommendations???? Call AJ. He seems to be the CR Bob Vila and it appears he does great work :gabe: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stallion Motorsports1647545491 Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Thanks Tim. For ceilings - I just saw a friend's basement that they left the joists exposed and painted everything a matte black. I really like it, and leaves piping/wiring accessible. Not sure of anything yet. Would really like to get some companies out here for free estimates. For what it would cost to sell this place and buy exactly what I want, I think I can just invest that money here. we just did this last year, turned out great imo tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sully Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Do not use Basement Authorities. Overpriced and they lack attention to detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.