While developing your basement won’t be cheap, it will add an entire floor of living space and significantly add to the value of your home.
Our average basement development cost range between $70,000 to $100,000.
Our clients think of it as an investment, giving them a roomy, open-concept space where they can enjoy time with family and friends for years to come. Many say it becomes the most used room in the house.
One important thing to remember when developing your basement is to be careful about the materials and finishes you select. While the space is intended to be more relaxed and comfortable, you want the same level of quality found in the rest of the house. This will impact resale value, your enjoyment of the space, and the experience of visitors to your home.
Design is key—what do you want the space to be used for? Is it a home theatre, games room with wet bar, guest suite, home office, gym? One of our basement specialties is removing teleposts and installing a new structural support system to create a fabulous open area for entertaining and relaxing. Once this is done the possibilities for the space are endless.
Developing a basement requires almost the same amount of suppliers and trades people as building an entire house, just on a smaller scale. You will need an electrician to do wiring and lighting, HVAC for heating revisions, framing of walls and bulkheads, drywall to walls and ceilings, new doors and trim, flooring, paint, and the list goes on.
Most people like the convenience of having a bathroom and a small wet bar in the basement, so cabinetry, plumbing, fixtures, and tile will have to be factored into the cost. Special touches like a gas fireplace, built-in media centre, and custom built-in cabinetry also need to be considered when figuring out your budget.
It’s fine for a contractor to give you a ballpark quote that takes square footage into consideration, but there are too many variables for anyone to accurately quote this way and you’re practically guaranteed to run into extra costs as the project goes on.
When we price a basement development, we are extremely thorough. Our goal is to provide you with an estimate that is as close to the final price as is humanly possible, and it’s possible to get very close.
Yes, clients change their mind and want to include extra components along the way, which adds to the cost, and sometimes we run into unforeseen issues that might increase the cost a bit. But our thorough quoting process gives you a very good idea of what you are going to end up paying when the entire project is complete.
If a contractor is quoting you simply by square foot, ask how they will determine an accurate Project Scope Estimate. Check out our process so you know what to look for.
To price out the cost of renovating your basement, start by determining how much you can afford to spend on the project. This is one reno that adds a lot of value to your home so look at it as an investment in your future that you can enjoy today!
Once you know what you want to do and how much you can spend, talk to experienced contractors. They can give you a rough idea of the cost, although, as we said, this is only a starting point. They may also be able to provide you with ideas for your basement that you might never have considered.
We have vast experience in all types of basement developments and renovations, and would love to work with you to create the perfect lower level for your home. Use our online calculator to get an instant estimate on your basement project.