Refinishing Basement Costs

Permits

• Depending on the work, refinishing a basement generally demands permits from the city or county government. They can consist of a building permit for structural changes, an electrical permit for electrical installations, gas permits for gas appliances or pipes, mechanical permits for ductwork, and plumbing permits for adding sinks or baths. The permit process requires plans and inspections to ensure work meets building and safety standards. Though homeowners can apply for all permits for less than $100, a contractor should incorporate the cost in his bill.

Basics

• The costs of refinishing a basement varies by the size of the space, the amount of work needed and the cost of materials, which generally account for one-quarter to one-third of the total. Much of the expense is in labor, so any work that the homeowner can do will save on the final amount. Costs range from $25 per square foot on the low end to $75 or more for luxury finishes. A 1,000-square-foot refinishing can run from $25,000 to $75,000, including walls, flooring, wiring, insulation and a bathroom, according Cost Owl's 2011 publication.

Bathrooms

• The biggest single cost in a basement refinishing is adding a bath. Eliminating this room saves money, but bathroom additions typically recover their costs during the sale of the home. According to CostOwl.com, a simple half-bath can cost $5,000, and a full bath can cost $10,000 or more, depending on finishes. For example, a simple, single-hole faucet in polished chrome costs about $60 from Home Depot without installation. A more traditional-looking version with arched piping in rubbed bronze runs $400.

Location

• How wages for contractors differ across the country affects the cost of basement refinishing. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics as of May 2010, construction supervisors earned a mean wage of $29.93 per hour. Their highest wages were in Alaska at a mean $39.12 per hour and Illinois at a mean $36.40 per hour. For cities, the highest pay was in the Bay Area of California. San Francisco showed means of $41.04 per hour, Oakland had $41 per hour and San Jose was $40.97 per hour. In rural areas, southwest Alaska had the highest wages at $39.35 per hour, followed by parts of Nevada at $39.24 per hour.