Basement Renovations: Items To Consider Before Calling Construction Companies

New addition to the family? Bigger pet? Kid dropped out of college? If you need more space you should consider the basement as a cost effective option since adding a floor or an addition to your house requires substantial structural work, which is very expensive. After all, the space is already there, it just needs, well, some work.

The first thing to do is to figure out what your budget will be for this project. This will dictate if the project is feasible. Basement renovations will range from $10,000 for a small project to $50,000. This will depend on many things that you should think about before calling a construction company for an estimate, for example:

1. Are there modifications required to the structure of the building?

2. During the next rain event carefully inspect the foundation for leaks and moister issues.

3. How much framing is required?

4. Is it one big room or several rooms?

5. Is there going to be a bathroom or kitchen? If so, will it require a septic pump to get the wastewater to the existing sewer drain pipe (hint: is the big sewer pipe up high or low in the basement floor)?

6. Will the flooring be laminate, carpet, or hardwood?

7. Will there be a media room?

8. Do you want pot lights or standard light fixtures? Pot lights supplied and installed are approximately 100 each due to the additional electrical wiring required. If you plan to add a large rec room or kitchen in your Bathroom Renovations Burlington plans the cost of pot lights can easily exceed .

9. Heating: What is the current heat source? If it is forced hot air or heat pump confirm that the ducts for the basement were installed during house construction. Duct work is expensive and it may also be an indication that the heating system may not have been designed for the future basement living space. If the home is heated with electric baseboard heaters or electric in-floor heat the electrical service may have to be upgraded to handle the additional load.

There are many other items to consider before calling in construction companies to provide a proposal for your basement renovation but considering these items and drawing up a hand sketch will greatly assist all parties to “get on the same page”. One common issue that happens is the home owner obtains proposals from several qualified companies, but each proposal is different. This makes it very difficult for the home owner to compare the proposals apples to apples.

One possible solution that has worked well is to meet with one or two contractors to discuss your basement renovation and help you make decisions for your final plan. After these initial site visits a revised plan can be developed and provided to the construction companies for their proposals. This can increase the accuracy and consistency of the proposals.