5 Tips for Saving Money When Finishing a Basement

An unfinished basement represents untapped potential. Renovating it will help you get more out of your home: you’ll boost its usable space and dramatically increase its resale value.

However, to realize these benefits, you need to plan and budget carefully. Maximizing every dollar will go a long way toward making your basement renovation as successful as possible.

To that end, we’ve curated some advanced basement design tips from professional contractors that will make your budget work extra hard.

5 Tips for Saving Money When Finishing a Basement

Tip #1: Think about your doors

Finished basements usually serve recreational functions as play areas or media rooms. While you may want to door off the main downstairs room to help soundproof it, formal separations of the space tend to be less important. Every door you install can cost hundreds of dollars when you factor in all the parts, hardware, trim, and labor costs.

The solution: eliminate doors unless they’re absolutely necessary. You’ll have more wall space to decorate and you could save hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars without impacting your basement’s functionality at all.

Tip #2: Spread out your wall studs

Most of the walls you’ll add when you finish your basement won’t bear loads. They will house drywall, electrical components, decorative trim, and maybe some insulation, but they don’t fulfill critical structural functions. Thus, you can ease off on the spacing of your wall studs.

In load-bearing walls, studs are normally spaced 12 to 16 inches apart. In your basement, studs in non-structural walls can be placed up to 24 inches apart. Every stud costs a few dollars, to say nothing of the labor and installation costs. Extended out across your entire basement, your savings can reach multiple hundreds of dollars pretty quickly.

Tip #3: Use your plumbing infrastructure strategically

If your design ideas call for plumbing pipes under your concrete flooring, you can save a great deal of money by rethinking your layout. Removing concrete to build plumbing under your floor slabs is a huge expense—one you can avoid altogether by placing your sinks above the drains that are already built into your floor.

Tip #4: Save on flooring by staining your concrete

Speaking of concrete flooring: another way to trim your budget is to stain a concrete floor instead of adding carpeting or another surface finish. Stained concrete looks great and it also delivers many functional advantages: it’s highly durable, easy to clean, and is highly resistant to water damage.

Tip #5: Go for a minimalist ceiling

A lot of people finish their basement ceilings with stucco or tiles, but you can put some money back in your pocket by leaving it as-is and covering it with a thick, glossy coat of black paint. This strategy is all the rage in contemporary lofts, and it also works very well in basements.

Combining these tips could trim your budget by thousands of dollars, all while leaving you with a beautifully finished and optimally functional basement. Discuss them with your contractor or work them into your DIY plans to maximize your savings.

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Mid-Atlantic Home Improvement has been providing basement renovations, finishing & remodel services in Charlottesville and Culpeper VA for over 45 years. We pride ourselves on providing high-quality contractor services for homeowners ready to turn their basement remodeling dreams into reality.

We are a fully licensed, insured, and bonded Virginia Class A Builder, in business since 1975!