Not everyone thinks of their basement as a lovely place to be. In many cases, basements as a living space are reserved for movies or those who can afford to indulge their fancy for a wet bar. However, whether you’re looking to schedule basement repairs for your Philadelphia home or are pricing out the cost to finish a basement the way you’d like it to look, it’s essential to think about the final price of the remodel and how best to cut costs without cutting corners.
A basement remodeling service can cost anywhere from as little as $5,000 to as much as $50,000 on the high end. The average basement renovation cost in Philadelphia falls around $20k, but that doesn’t mean that will be the actual cost to finish your basement.
Here are the most significant things that will impact the final cost of your basement remodeling service:
How Much Moisture
Basement space is notorious for being damp, and with good reason. Many unfinished basements are prone to dampness because water can seep into the foundation from outside and lead to increased humidity within the space.
One of the easiest ways to minimize the cost to finish your basement is to take care of any problems you have with moisture. The reason you want to avoid simply drywalling over the problem is that mold can start growing incredibly quickly once building materials come in contact with water. When it comes time to sell your home, you then have to worry about potential lawsuits since a buyer can hold you legally liable if they can prove that you failed to report a known risk of mold.
Height of Ceilings
Another way to get a good gauge of the cost to finish your basement is to measure the height of your basement ceilings. In Pennsylvania, building codes can require that a basement ceiling be at least seven feet high, which could mean that you’ll have to regrade your floor before you can legally call your basement “finished.”
However, it’s worth speaking with a contractor before deciding against a basement remodel project since building codes make certain allowances for different kinds of uses for the space.
Number of Escape Routes
If you plan to create a bedroom while finishing your basement, then you might want to add egress windows to the cost of your basement remodeling service. You want to think about egress windows because building codes require two ways to escape a space in an emergency if someone is going to sleep in the basement. If your home doesn’t already have egress windows available, then you’ll need to think about them when it comes time to calculate basement remodel costs.
To find out more about the costs associated with basement remodeling services, or schedule a consultation with basement waterproofing specialists in Philadelphia, call the Rightway Waterproofing team today!