Should we do a Stapleton Basement Buildout?

[DenverBound41]

We are paying about $34K for 1050 sq ft, which includes bedroom, bathroom, and rec room with 9' ceilings. $30-35/sq ft seems to be the norm for a non-customized basement.

[vanillasky]

Thanks all for the helpful info!

[chicagoCO]

Originally Posted by shikataganai

For my model with New Town Builders it's $38,400 to get a 9' ceiling height 960 sq ft finished basement with a bedroom, full bath, and funny shaped two part additional rec room down there.

Looks like I made a mistake in my number crunching. The sqft build outis 714 sqft for 28.4 k so that's roughly just a hair under $40 a sqft.


I've read that there have been really bad rains/floods/hail in Northfield Stapleton overthe week June 8th 2015. Has anyone in Willow Park East or ConservatoryGreen had basement flooding? We were reading the developer contract (andwe see that they give no assurances to the basement being water tight even ifthey complete the basement build out). There is actually a stipulationwhere they say "Builder advises that basement is not a habitablespace"!!!

[Claire S.]

Originally Posted by chicagoCO

Looks like I made a mistake in my number crunching. The sqft build outis 714 sqft for 28.4 k so that's roughly just a hair under $40 a sqft.


I've read that there have been really bad rains/floods/hail in Northfield Stapleton overthe week June 8th 2015. Has anyone in Willow Park East or ConservatoryGreen had basement flooding? We were reading the developer contract (andwe see that they give no assurances to the basement being water tight even ifthey complete the basement build out). There is actually a stipulationwhere they say "Builder advises that basement is not a habitablespace"!!!

I haven't heard anything specific about the recent rains other than a random basement here or there. I know that the David Weekley homes behind us had a considerable amount of rain-related water intrusion that had to be addressed right after the homes were built in 2013 (during the rains that brought major flooding to the state)...but other than that I haven't heard of another builder-wide issue.

[shikataganai]

Originally Posted by chicagoCO

Looks like I made a mistake in my number crunching. The sqft build outis 714 sqft for 28.4 k so that's roughly just a hair under $40 a sqft.


I've read that there have been really bad rains/floods/hail in Northfield Stapleton overthe week June 8th 2015. Has anyone in Willow Park East or ConservatoryGreen had basement flooding? We were reading the developer contract (andwe see that they give no assurances to the basement being water tight even ifthey complete the basement build out). There is actually a stipulationwhere they say "Builder advises that basement is not a habitablespace"!!!

We have that in our contract, too. They love to cover themselves. I suspect that push come to shove that might not be enforceable given that they're taking our money for the finishing of said basement.

[stevehills]

Originally Posted by chicagoCO

Looks like I made a mistake in my number crunching. The sqft build outis 714 sqft for 28.4 k so that's roughly just a hair under $40 a sqft.


I've read that there have been really bad rains/floods/hail in Northfield Stapleton overthe week June 8th 2015. Has anyone in Willow Park East or ConservatoryGreen had basement flooding? We were reading the developer contract (andwe see that they give no assurances to the basement being water tight even ifthey complete the basement build out). There is actually a stipulationwhere they say "Builder advises that basement is not a habitablespace"!!!

We struck that language from our contract.

[chicagoCO]

Originally Posted by stevehills

We struck that language from our contract.

Any chance that was with New Town Builders?

[emm74]

Originally Posted by shikataganai

I had pretty much free reign with electrical. If I would pay for an outlet or gang of outlets, they'd comply. My builder also had no objections to moving the included in-wall speaker wiring down a floor into the basement.

Each should be able to get you a price list. Prices will vary depending on the model. For my model with New Town Builders it's $38,400 to get a 9' ceiling height 960 sq ft finished basement with a bedroom, full bath, and funny shaped two part additional rec room down there.

I could pay to put in what I wanted. I was talking about control over where outlets and light switches ended up. There is no standardization at all - in some rooms, they are within a couple of inches of the doorway but in others, they are a foot away. And they put in the half hot on the wrong side of the bed in the master, so I have to keep a piece of tape on the light switch so no one turns it off and turns off my bedside outlet- plus that was the side I wanted the USB ports, and they put them in a different location. They never asked where I wanted the outlet that I paid extra for in my island, and of course it's on the wrong side, so I have to add another one myself. Same thing in the garage, they put it in a corner where I barely had room to put my fridge, because of the wiring conduit right next to it.

I think some builders are a bit better at taking customer preferences into account for these types of things, but mine was not. And even if my builder had a finished basement option, I would have had similar issues with the basement and things going where it was easiest for them, not where it was best for me, which was the thing I was referencing in this particular thread. If I did ever decide to finish the basement, I'll have direct contact with the contractor and have more control over details like that.

[stevehills]

Originally Posted by chicagoCO

Any chance that was with New Town Builders?

Yes, it was a New Town ZEN in Conservatory Green.