Basement Breakdown

Do it yourself is definitely my motto. Lance has learned since marrying me and embarking on 1 remodel and 2 basements start to finish that some things are easier than professionals let on and others we will just leave to them (aka sheet rock and mudding).

Our basement has been our 2014-2015 project and it is nearing completion!! 

Framing:  Back in the summer we got a brief tutorial from Will (lance's uncle) on how to frame. We invested in a miter saw and went to work. We nailed in the treated boards into the cement with 2" cement nails (looking back we should have used 3"). We also placed header 2x4s in line with those foot boards then we went to work on the studs spacing them 16" apart. The exterior walls were pretty easy because we could line things up with the cement wall. The areas where we had to jig the ceiling lower to cover duct work became a little more complex. We simply used 1x4s and 2x4s to drop the ceiling down and made sure things were level as we went. $700 total for the miter saw, wood, & nails.

Insulation:  We thought insulation was going to be expensive but it turned out to only cost $160 for all 900sq feet of our basement.  We used the construction insulation that was on the cement walls and shoved it inbetween the ceiling joists (free) then we insulated the exterior walls with rolls of insulation purchased from lowes. We made sure to insulated the wall between the bathroom and bedroom to help control noise. 

Electrical- we did this by ourselves with the help of Will. It is CRAZY how cheap electrical is if you do it yourself. we bought two 50ft spools of wire, kid safe outlets, switches, a dimmer switch, GFCI outlets, 2 new brakers, speaker wires, and 8 can lights and ended up spending $300 total. Compare that to our duplex where we paid $800 for 6 can lights and outlets. 

HVAC- while it seems pretty basic (just wrapping tubes together and connect to to the furnace we chose to hire out spending $400.  We've got a guy who does a great job for cheap.. let me know if you want a referral.

Sheetrock and Mudding-  When we finished the duplex basement Lance and I went to town sheet rocking and mudding all 600 sq feet and it took us ALL summer.  We would go to work, come home and work until the wee hours of the night and there was sheetrock dust EVERYWHERE.  We decided to save our time and energy and hire out.  I was in awe that just two men were able to sheetrock the entire place in an 8 hour day!  It took an addition 4 work days for the mudding and to be honest they did a better job than the pros did on our upstairs house.  A weeks worth of work for $3000 was money well spent seeing as how we definitely didn't have the time with an infant crawling around and my 6 months pregnant with B #2.

Paint- Paint was definitely more expensive than I had budgeted for partly because we painted all 3000 sq feet of our house.  Total we spent about $900-1100 in paint and that is with a 40% off discount I have at Kwal.  We painted 3 coats on our ceiling with white paint, 3 coats on all of our trim, sprayed all of our blinds and doors which ate up a ton of white semi gloss, and 2 coats on our walls with grey paint, as well as primed the new basement sheetrock and painted our stairs and cement floors.  If I were to estimate I would say about $300 of that total cost was dedicated to our basement.

Plumbing- It helps to have someone in the family.  My dad was a plumber for over 25 years so he was able to turn the stubbed plumbing into a functional bathroom.  For pipe, a stop and waste, delta shower fixture 3 piece, toilet, tub, tile, grout, and adhesive we spent about $1200.  We still need to get a vanity, but we are pleased with the free labor and help!  The oil rubbed bronze shower fixture alone was $190, tub $200, and toilet $100... bathrooms just add up quickly in cost.  We chose to go with a long rectangular ceramic tile for the floor that resembles a marble pattern and white subway tile for the shower walls.  It doesn't seem like it but the shower took 480+ subway tiles to complete! I thought it was never going to end!!! Vanity we are trying to find a deal, but it'll be somewhere between $300-850 depending on if I can find a deal on a granite counter that will fit the space on ksl.

Gas- A random addition that tickled my fancy was my dad adding a gas line through the joists so eventually I can turn my standard stove into a gas stove.  The parts for that cost about $150, but it'll be well worth it once we replace the oven.

Carpet-  This is where we splurged.  I absolutely HATE how you get "nice" carpet and within a year or two the high traffic areas are all matted down and it looks 10 years old already regardless of vacuuming and shampooing.  We wanted something high end that felt super soft and full of cushion.  Our friends have this dream carpet and Lance and I looked EVERYWHERE and touched many a carpet samples until we found THE ONE (which happens to be the same one they have but in a different color).  For the pad, install, and carpet we spent about $3000 (88 sq. yards), but ohhhhh just wait until you feel the dreamy softness.  You'll be so envious!

Doors & trim-  We have an estimate for $975 for all the trim, 1 storm door for the cold storage, 3 regular doors, and 4 slabs for closet sliders.  We also trimmed out all the windows for an additional $100 well spent.