Cost to frame/drywall/mid grade carpet 400 sq ft in basement (floor, vinyl)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We're in the Chicagoland area (past 2 house in Chicago suburbs). We just finished our basement. 800 sq ft with 8ft ceilings. Drywalled, carpeted stairs and 3/4 of the space and wood laminate flooring in a quarter of the space. All walls painted and drywalled. Cost us $5,000 and took my DH 3 month (mainly only weekends). And the carpeting is nicer than my upstairs! We used Luna, HOWEVER, my husband did all of the work, except installing the carpet. If you are having someone else do it I'd say add another $4k (at least) for labor! Our last basement was 1,600 sq ft and we finished it for $22k. That included some help just because of time and size.
BTW..…………we have finished 3 basements and never got a permit. Sold both homes no problem. As a matter of fact, the appraiser commented on what a good job our basement was done! If you get a permit in Illinois you'll be screwed on taxes!!!!!!!!!
Now, if you do it yourself and have no idea what you're doing or if you have some contractor that does a poor job it could come back to bite you when you go to sell! My DH is a Mechanical Engineer by trade and knows how to do electrical, etc. If you have NO background in this field don't try it!
This. This. THIS!!!
Yes IL is HELLINOIS. These SOBs aren’t getting another red cent out of me
It's not saving a few $$$ on just a permit. Illinois (and especially depending on the county) will raise the OP's property taxes THOUSANDS!! Illinois is terrible and I think the worst in the country right now for property taxes! The OP can't give the state not one more cent! Trust me, I used to live there!
I used to live in Chicago (Glen Ellyn - DuPage County, next door to the west of C"r"ook county). I can't fault you for wanting to avoid triggering a tax reassessment. Our house had a tax-assessed value of less than $200,000, yet an annual tax bill north of $16,000, for maybe a 1,700 SF house! Insanity at it's finest! We rented, thank goodness, from 2009-2012 before fleeing "Ill&annoyed" for the "swamp", and have been happy ever since.
I can't speak to process here. But will add a few tidbits to keep in mind when doing this.
1) Doesn't matter what kind of seller you find later on. If the house doesn't pass inspection, your buyer's lender is likely to not approve their loan, meaning you don't have a buyer. Home loans come with inspections to verify the lender's collateral is ok.
2) Outlets / electricity - understand placement height in those basements. Understand code requirements, and make sure whomever you get understands this too. There is a waterline requirement that you need to be aware of. Place those outlets too low where you would normally place them, and you're not going to pass an inspection.
3) HVAC - there is a balance you need to keep in mind if you want to keep your system from premature failure. Closing off a section could mean throwing off that air delivery/return balance for your system. Just be mindful of where that vent is located. Might be impactful, might not, but something to be aware of.
4) If you're framing up against your foundation wall, understand code there for putting wood to concrete. There can be mold issues quickly if you don't understand the need to let things breath when you start closing them up. This also speaks to placement of the wood framing to the concrete floor.
5) Insurance - remember, sumps fail. If you're not permitted for this and you have to file a claim because your sump failed while you're taking a break from those horrible winters and warming your buns in Vegas in February, good luck having insurance pay for the repairs. No permit = a possible (likely) easy way out for a claim request.
5a) Anyone gets hurt because of this non-permitted improvement, and you're likely flying solo to pay for it. Insurance will definitely leave you in the dust if it's found that, say, an electrical fire started because of an overloaded circuit in the basement movie room that wasn't given the county inspector's blessing prior to usage.
Just some food for thought here. I feel your pain with the taxes there amigo, I truly do!
There are HUGE range of options when it comes to finishing basements. The fact that around the Chicago suburbs LOTS AND LOTS of people do the mostly minor "interior redecorating" like this by themselves OR with the help of maybe a moonlighting firefighter or union tradespeople is really a function of not wanting to trigger reassessment of already high property taxes -- there are no structural issues and even the questions about electrical outlets / lighting are mostly minor.
Any given weekend or evening the majoring of folks shopping at a Menards or similar home center / lumber yard are also certainly doing these kinds of projects. Odds are the end result is more for making a fairly basic "rec room" that supplements above grade living areas and poses no special threats to the home owner or subsequent buyers.
Following outdated / old-fashioned advice may significantly compromise the ability to improve comfort, indoor air quality, and overall energy use. Having a realistic budget for the needed materials and fair labor for their proper instillation is critical for any such effort; getting something done "on the cheap" that ultimately is wasted / needs to be redone is not a prudent use of one's budget. When considering the potential for any remodeling effort to have a positive effect on future buyers there are some rules of thumb that mostly should be followed -- http://time.com/money/3543371/home-r...ttic-basement/ Realistically whether you are going to be in your home indefinitely / more that a decade / less than a decade the actual "spend" probably matters less than at least having an eye toward how "trend specific" some parts of the project might be -- in terms of a basement that might mean that you are should consider areas / items know for being "classic" / timeless for things that are harder to change and maybe be a little more creative for things that are easier to alter-- tile for a bathroom vs paint colors.
Last edited by chet everett; 08-20-2018 at 11:11 AM..
You’ll need an electrician, a framer, a drywaller and a carpet installer. I think $5K is pretty low but obviously you won’t know until you start getting estimates. There’s really no way anyone here will be able to give you an estimate with such limited info.
I was thinking along the same lines. I'm a cockeyed optimist but feel like if you connect with skilled, licensed tradesmen who are moonlighting/looking for side work, you can get everything done for a good price. Maybe you can split up the jobs like electric, drywall/framing, and carpet. I know nothing about permits, especially not in Illinois, but I would think you don't need any if the work you do doesn't change the essential structure or footprint of the house. Maybe someone else here would know more about that; maybe the craftspeople you speak with locally will know more. Probably the latter is best! Good luck.
Wanting a legit company, then asking them to break the law, is somewhat contradictory.
Indeed.
Aside from making sure everything is up to code, when you go to sell, nonpermitted work can present problems.
Neighbor had an contractor remodel kitchen without permits. Saved several thousand dollars.
However, the breakers popped whenever his wife used the microwave and any other kitchen appliance and the pipes froze every winter as the contractor ran them along an outside wall.
Aside from making sure everything is up to code, when you go to sell, nonpermitted work can present problems.
Neighbor had an contractor remodel kitchen without permits. Saved several thousand dollars.
However, the breakers popped whenever his wife used the microwave and any other kitchen appliance and the pipes froze every winter as the contractor ran them along an outside wall.
How will they know it is nonpermitted work? Maybe the basement was originally finished, or renovated before current permitting requirements?
We had about 300 sf of our basement finished. It included installing a larger window, recessed lighting, several outlets, including a/v wiring and receptacles, quite a bit of framing around hvac ductwork, risers on stairs installed for carpet, and finally, carpet. He also installed a door with frame, a dummy wall with panels for the utilities in the partly unfinished laundry and furnace room, and linoleum. All was well trimmed. (I painted.) The contractor did all of the work except for the carpet install and had full insurance. It cost 6k, and another 1.5k for the carpet, I think (including the stairs).
We have since had him back for at least three other jobs, one was to remodel our family room, including a full fireplace surround and mantel. We have noticed also that his prices keep going up, lol.
Find a good contractor who has design skills and insurance, but who is fair, and stick with him.
How will they know it is nonpermitted work? Maybe the basement was originally finished, or renovated before current permitting requirements?
The permit will (should) trigger a comment in the county records of an unfinished area becoming finished. If an inspector tours the property and realizes there is a finished area that is not accounted for via county records of approval, then that's how they figure it out. A non-permitted significant improvement. It's one thing to redecorate and/or upgrade what is already there. It's another to add a whole different structure that requires more from the house to operate, that's the trigger.
Where I live, we had a hot tub installed, which triggered the county to come out and make sure the 220 power was properly installed and grounded into the house's electrical supply. Did the same for replacing a gas water heater. They had to come out to make sure it was installed according to code to make sure nothing could blow up or catch fire. Patio expanded, needed permit, and inspection to make sure grade was proper to shed water in the proper manner. That sort of stuff. Annoying sometimes, but also helps to prevent problems later on.
The permit will (should) trigger a comment in the county records of an unfinished area becoming finished. If an inspector tours the property and realizes there is a finished area that is not accounted for via county records of approval, then that's how they figure it out. A non-permitted significant improvement. It's one thing to redecorate and/or upgrade what is already there. It's another to add a whole different structure that requires more from the house to operate, that's the trigger.
What I am asking is how do they know it wasn't "already there", that it isn't a redecoration of a previously finished area?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
