Thursday, August 01, 2013

Do My Own Basement?



Our basement is in desperate need of being "re-done".

It's already finished....but there's mold and nastiness throughout.

But the problem here on Long Island is that these contractors sodomize you, in terms of price.

They are rude-a$$ mofos to boot!

I mean how much do you think it should cost to demo, reframe, rewire, put up sheetrock, hang a drop ceiling, and paint a basement?

I'm curious what some of you in flyover country would pay for this.

Personally, I don't think it should cost more than $10,000.

But you watch, they'll try to charge me 50k!

That's why I'm sort of thinking about trying to do it myself. Well I checked out some book on how to do it at the library anyway.

I can demo it, right?

I just bought a reciprocating saw for $60 on Amazon. A dumpster here costs $350-$500.

I'm a little nervous about cutting into a pipe or wire - but I think I can handle that.

One guy, a contractor who told me he could get me a dumpster for "only $800" (!) said that the problem with demo'ing your own place is "controlling the dust."

I'll bet I can figure that out.

I'm seriously thinking about trying to find someone who lives 100 miles away to do it. They can sleep here. I'll help.

Doing any of this work myself would, of course, amount to a complete waste of my time in the long run.

But I don't think I can stomach a bunch of criminals coming into my house and robbing me for a few months or however long they drag it out.

8 comments:

Paul Mitchell said...

I don't really see anything in this photo to demo. Shoot me some photos and I'll give you my opinion.

10k for a buildout would probably be high in Mississippi, though, unless it is over 1500 square feet.

Justin Time said...

That's 50k until they get halfway into the project and realize you need to redo all your wiring, fix the drainage around the basement walls, move the furnace, replace the plumbing, upgrade the electric panel, etc., etc.

kevin said...

fix the mold (or water problem) first! If you are planning on staying in the house until the kids are college age or older you will just have to shell out more money again. Make sure the water drains away from your house first!!! Extend gutter drainage away from the house and consider installing a french drain if basement is musty especially in the rainy season. If you don't take care of possible drainage issues first you are wasting your money.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_drain

kevin said...

also make sure none o your pipes has a slow leak

CaptiousNut said...

PM,

Not a pic of my basement. Mine is too much of a mess to post.

I will post a pic soon though.

Dumpster got here.

Before I demo....have to de-clutter and remove the accumulated $hit of 50 years.

Contractor just came by...

Said demo alone costs $4,500.

I'm totally screwed here.

CaptiousNut said...

JT and K,

I'm 100% sure our tiny water problem is from poor guttering.

You watch, that will cost 3-4 grand too.

Chandra said...

This is great!

Unknown said...

Renovating your whole basement is a huge project to take. But the problem always starts when searching for the right contractors to hire. I don’t blame you for not trusting that easily. It’s really wise for you to check every detail, like the company's background and it's actual projects, to have an assurance that the result will be good. A good contractor knows how to follow the client's preferences while sticking within the budget, and highly considers everyone's safety in the construction site.

Leeanne @ MasterMyList.com