Basement framing.
I have never done any framing. I am in the process of finishing my basement. It is a walk out basement,7ft ceiling (Unfinished) totally open. How difficult would it be for a rookie(Handy) to frame. Where can I get some instructions. I had a contractor finish a Laundry room for me but I'd like to save $$$ if I can.Every response helps. Wood or Metal which is easier? I'm looking at over $7000.00 for Framing,sheetrocking and Taping by a contractor. Is that a through the roof price? the house is a cape not a mansion. Go to www.doityourself.com/basement for helpful info. Go to www.resercon.com for helpful info regarding insulation, moisture, and other issues. Costs of material and labor vary according to what part of the country you live in. The size of the project is also a variable. You might want to stop by your local building code office to get information on what building codes require in your area. Reading threads on this forum will be helpful because just about every aspect of finishing a basement has been discussed here. I am a homeowner who is finishing off my basement (almost done). DON't Pay $7000 to a professional to frame and drywall your basement. What a Rip off! Materials cost for framing would probably be $200 and for drywall $300. Buy a do-it-yourself book at a home depot or Menards, and make sure you have the following tools: -- Power Saw (Hand held circular--minimum, or better yet, mitre saw or table saw) --Cordless Drill (at least 14.4 V) --Hammer --Drivewall screw driver ($5.00; goes on the end of the drill) --Remington Nail gun (Drives nails into concrete....cost is about $18, or you can rent one for $5/day) --Electric staple gun...used to staple insulation to framing. --Plumb bob ($2) --Tape Measure --Razor Blade (to cut drywall) --Drywall Square (used as straight-edge when cutting drywall) - Taping knives ($12 for set of three) If you install a drywall ceiling, I recommend you rent a panel lifter from a Rental store ($35/day....but it's WORTH it) You also might want to add heating ducts and cold air return ducts to make sure your basement is warm. This is easy too. And DON'T hire somebody to do the wiring. Believe it or not, the electrical wiring was (for me) the easiest job of all, and was the most gratifying, because it was the quickest. You also get to do your own design work; pick out your light style and locations. I suggest using your city building inspector to give you help if and when you need it. That's what they're paid to do. (I got all my permits and all my work has passed). Good luck Where else should you learn about framing? The basement is perfect for this. I disagree w/Starrs on two points, though. Home Depot's DIY books aren't very good; look at several at the library or a book mega-store, like BN, until you find one right for you. In some areas, ONLY electricians can legally wire; go ahead and pay if you want to. Often wiring between framing and hanging the walls is significantly cheaper. I think the number one reason to hire out a basement finish is time. It took me 18 months to finish my basement. For that to be successful, you need a very patient and accommodating family. I'm sure I saved at least $20K, but if you divide that by my hours, I'm afraid you'd find my hourly rate pretty low. So that means that you need to be enjoying it too. You also need to enjoy learning all the skills involved. I probably read 50 books and watched a lot of videos from the library. I also visited a lot of construction sites (after the workers left, and with my note pad and tape measure) and validated my book learning by closely seeing what the pros did. Finally, I spent countless hours in the aisles at Home Depot -- you need to be familiar with all your options in materials. There's more than framing and drywalling. Don't forget HVAC, electrical, painting, tiling, plumbing, insulating, flooring, hanging doors, lighting design, trimwork, firestops, egress considerations, windows, etc. If you want to do the whole job, there's a lot to learn. This approach isn't for everybody. If the above doesn't sound like something you'd enjoy, then hire it out. Moosed, I was in your spot a few months ago. Not a clue. I went out and bought most of the tools mentioned in a previous post. I purchased medium quality tools. Meaning that I didn't buy the best but I didn't buy the worst. I have a feeling you will be dissappointed if you try to get by with the least expensive tools. Just my opinion. Also I read every thing I could and asked the wonderful people hear anything I didn't quite understand. And with that the framing is nearly complete. I've got a long ways to go, and slowly but surely it's coming along. Another thing, if you have time restrictions you should probably consider hiring out some of the jobs. From what I gather the drywall work will probably be the most difficult. I plan on hanging mine, but hiring a contractor to do the taping. I think this will be the most critical part and the most visible. Good luck Moosed: How large a basement are we talking about and how many rooms. Let me know and I will get back to you. To back up what John Nelson said: don't even think about taking on this job yourself unless you enjoy doing such work. Otherwise you will start and never finish. Your $7000 quote seems high (although without knowing the size of the basement it's hard to say). Is it really just framing, drywall, and taping? No insulating, electrical, doors, casing, etc.? Never contract out a job with just one quote - get at least 2 or 3. I enjoy most elements involved in finishing my basement. I do detest drywall (particularly finishing) so I hired that out - a bit under $2000 for about 900 sq. ft. of finished basement (about 50 4x8 sheets of drywall). The basement sides to be finished are as follows; First, 7x7 Laundry is complete. Remaining is the following: 13X17 Ft Family Room 11X12 Office 4X7 ft mud/coat room Entranceway Storage under staircase w/door 3X5 ft Storage room will remain unfinished 11X14 Box in 3 Post (Pine Columns) Box in main beam Sheetrock and Tape Office,family mud rooms walls ceilings. Carpenters asking $6000-$8000 I supply materials!!!! Get a copy of the Hometime tape about finishing a lower level. Really gives you the basics for what you are trying to do. Probably get it from Home Depot, Lowes or any home center type store or go out to www.hometime.com and order it directly I figured it up and I come up with $5620 plus materials. this will vary a little depending on where you live. the decision is up to you know. One thing to remember, a pro can have this job done in a few days, You cannot. If you have any wiring to do, do not do it yourself, or your fire insurance will be null and void. Good Luck ...lol... your bid does sound only because I have experience in doing the jobs you need done ( and I actually prefer doing the drywall and finishing more than the framing...lol) The drywall hanging is simple just be sure to use the proper thickness ect ( your city should have specific fire codes on the ceiling requirments ect.) If you have a buddy you dont need to rent a lift, jjust a couple horses and 2x 8 to stand on to screw it up. The good thing about sheetrocking is its easy to cut and cheap if if you make a mistake, and easy for the taper to fix most errors...lol...in ither words spend the money for a good taper ! As far as texturing goes I think they are the biggest insult to an easy do it yourself job. Just go rent a texture and compressor for the day. A texture gun/hopper runs 65.oo at HD if you cant rent one. Out here the entire rental cost per day is 35.00. Simply buy the correct bags of spray texture and a mixing spatula (the big ones) and (the bags come in 50lbs cement like bags and cost about 4-6.00 apiece. Follow the mixing instruction - fill the hopper - and practice a cpl loads on a scrap piece of sheetrock for your desired style. I would spray one wall first and get the experience of letting it dry then knocking it down to a smoother level (read in the book) rather than spraying the entire room then knocking down since you dont have the experience and dont want it to dry to fast on you. anyway sorry got carried away ..... I meant to just say if you want to fly back there, feed me, and pay me 40% of the bid I am there - and I could visit famly also.... Good Luck ...lol... your bid does sound only because I have experience in doing the jobs you need done ( and I actually prefer doing the drywall and finishing more than the framing...lol) The drywall hanging is simple just be sure to use the proper thickness ect ( your city should have specific fire codes on the ceiling requirments ect.) If you have a buddy you dont need to rent a lift, jjust a couple horses and 2x 8 to stand on to screw it up. The good thing about sheetrocking is its easy to cut and cheap if if you make a mistake, and easy for the taper to fix most errors...lol...in ither words spend the money for a good taper ! As far as texturing goes I think they are the biggest insult to an easy do it yourself job. Just go rent a texture and compressor for the day. A texture gun/hopper runs 65.oo at HD if you cant rent one. Out here the entire rental cost per day is 35.00. Simply buy the correct bags of spray texture and a mixing spatula (the big ones) and (the bags come in 50lbs cement like bags and cost about 4-6.00 apiece. Follow the mixing instruction - fill the hopper - and practice a cpl loads on a scrap piece of sheetrock for your desired style. I would spray one wall first and get the experience of letting it dry then knocking it down to a smoother level (read in the book) rather than spraying the entire room then knocking down since you dont have the experience and dont want it to dry to fast on you. anyway sorry got carried away ..... I meant to just say if you want to fly back there, feed me, and pay me 40% of the bid I am there - and I could visit famly also.... Good Luck $5620 plus materials does'nt sound too bad. In CT, I'm not sure what the going rate is, but I don't want to get hosed. I do think $6-8,000 not including materials is being hosed to the 3rd degree. If I don't try my hand which is very likely I'l continue to look for a more reasonable license insured carpenter. Thanks for all your input. If I attack the project myself please remain on-call. JTC don't stray too far. Moosed, You said paying $6000-$8000 not-including-materials is getting hosed to the 3rd degree. Well, Jack the Contractor said the quote is $5620 not-including-materials. So paying $380 below your hosed range is OK??? I agree with TC811 about the bid being high (although I'm not a pro, just a do-it-yourselfer), and you should look elsewhere for a more reasonable quote. In general, I would say 95% of the quote is labor. But would also carefully consider the comments that John Nelson stated... If your time is extremely tight, you want your basement completed ASAP, and you can afford tens of thousands of dollars for contractors, you are better off hiring one. But if you enjoy learning tackle projects such as this, you have a flexible timetable for completion, and want to save tens of thousands of dollars, I say do it yourself!!! I'm in Minnesota, and homeowners here are allowed to do all phases of construction to their homes. Fire insurance would only be void if I didn't get the appropriate permits and inspections. If you are careful with your planning, and take the time to educate yourself on this project, you certainly can do it.
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