Hello All,
I figured it was my turn to ask a stupid HO type question with no easy answer.
I am trying to figure out a sensible budget for finishing a downstairs room and bathroom and I just don’t know how to do it. I’ve looked at online calculators but they don’t do exactly what I am trying to do sooo…
I have a 360 sq ft room and a smallish bathroom. The room has a slab floor and the bathroom is already roughed in for a sink, toilet, corner shower. I need to build a subfloor, run the electrical, extend the heating ducts, build a closet along one wall, drywall the room, I need to install tile, shower pan & ’tile’ for that, the toilet, plumbing for the shower, a sink and plumbing for the sink-basically everything needed to ‘finish’ a pre-existing room. The only jobs that I am planning on hiring out is the carpet install and the glass shower surround install.
Yep I know this is silly but I’m just trying to get a ‘reasonable’ bounds on what its going to cost me. Got a wedding coming up in a few months and we got to do some budgeting.
thanks,
Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
Replies
Why the subfloor?
RSMeans 2004 Interior Home Improvement Costs. "The practical pricing guide for homeowners and contractors." Take it with a really big grain of salt.
Deluxe full bath 7'x10'. (Deluxe has ceramic tile.) $8400.
Basic finishout of a basement, about $28/sf.
Are those numbers right? Probably not. Lots of regional variances, and site-specific issues. if you're looking for a rough budget numer, add about 50%
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Why the subfloor?
Hello and thanks for replying.
I need to build up an insulated subfloor to match the height of the floor on the other side of the entry door and the height of the floor in the bath.
We are hoping to get the room / bathroom done for $20,000 tops. We are not looking to finish it out super high end but with quality materials and methods that will last a loooong time. Those figures you quote are they for HO remodeling or do they include a pros wages also?
Looks like a $20,000 budget should be do able.
thanks,
Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
$28,766.71 if you buy the tile
Aint that the same bid you gave for the rough in on the plumbing job?
You better be careful throwing those numbers out there, some one will take one of your bids one of these days!
Doug
I actually was thinking of a number along those lines!!
Good shot BB!It's Never Too Late To Become What You Might Have Been
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Are you the HO or bidding on the job? If the former - it'll cost what it costs. You'll have to check out materials costs yourself. As for the labour.... It might be cheaper in the long run to sub out drywall, for instance.
Latest FHB 'kitchen and Bath' mag shows 2 bathroom renos costing $68000. Go figure.
All the best...
To those who know - this may be obvious. To those who don't - I hope I've helped.
Hello Piko,
Are you the HO or bidding on the job? If the former - it'll cost what it costs. You'll have to check out materials costs yourself. As for the labour.... It might be cheaper in the long run to sub out drywall, for instance.
I'm the HO and I'm doing the lionshare of the work myself. I don't have the luck to let it cost what it will cost. I am on a budget and time constraint.... I'm getting married at the end of April and I have to get this dang room done before then so my soon to be wifes family will have somewhere to stay. Yippee her entire family is planning on coming out 2 weeks early to 'help' that'll be fun........
Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
so let see, your going to be getting whoppee with mama in next room. repeat after me. Holiday Inn.
" I am on a budget and time constraint.... " Ha. 2 things that don't always complement each other. If you are working you won't have time. If you are renovating you won't have money. So, what I am saying is do a bit of both working and subbing. Have you got 70 hours to board, mud, sand, mud, sand, mud, sand, prime, sand, paint, sand, paint again? That's 10 saturdays, beside all the rest yiou have to do...
And, you'll have to put up with the LW nagging for you to get it done sharpish. Sorry, I'm too cynical. But not only have I done working for someone else, I've had the LW on my tail too oftenAll the best...
To those who know - this may be obvious. To those who don't - I hope I've helped.
MADSCI,
How handy are you? Sounds like less than $2K in materials to me including the carpet.
WSJ
How handy are you? Sounds like less than $2K in materials to me including the carpet.
Well I'm pretty handy for a HO with a full time science-nerd job. We installed the cabinets and stove and hood in that pic earlier in the post.
I can do the electrical and lay tile and the plumbing, the only thing I really do not want to do is the drywall and the carpet. I am also planning on building a full wall of built-in shelving and a murphy bed along one wall.
Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
the only thing I really do not want to do is the drywall and the carpet. "
MADSCI,
They are both pretty easy to do. Drywall, you go in with the intention off not sanding anything. And depending on the carpet, it does not need to be stretched.
WSJ
....well, our little bathroom took about 3 years to finish, but two of the walls were also painted
....well, our little bathroom took about 3 years to finish, but two of the walls were also painted
Man I can't do that. This house is small and I dearly need the additional 360 sq ft + the extra full bath for when the in-laws visit....which is pretty frequent. I think I can avoid strangling my FIL if I don't have to share a bath.
Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
I hope yours goes along more smoothly than mine did...good luck !"
I know what you mean...I don't care how BIG the bathroom is ....I ain't sharin no bath with MY FIL..don't they have a bathroom in their home ? we hired a carpenter through a referral and after he was done and gone....we had to tear just about everything out ..( except my electrical ) since he used the wrong crap for the walls around the tub/shower.and then the fun began. I thought we could re-redo everything in about six weekendsI'm an electrician by trade and merely handy with just about everything else. and ignorance only led to further frustration which fueled animosity toward anyone standing within 300' of the house. Just writing this is gettin me wound up, .....even the $$$ Kohler faucet had to be replaced ...twice...the finish turned black !again...good luck"