How to bid a basement finish

[olly]

How do you bid a basement finish? Is there a price per sq ft? If so its in Colorado where the cost of living is pretty high so that should affect the price per sq ft? Do you go off # of openings? If so how much per opening?

 

[jeff48356]

I would first add up how much all the materials would cost, then the number of days (or fractions thereof) that I think it will take me to do the job, times $500/day.

 

[ptonsparky]

Jeff’s solution can’t get much simpler.

You are the variable, we can’t tell from here how fast/slow you are. We also cannot see how much stuff is stored in that basement that you will have to work around.

 

[growler]

How do you bid a basement finish? Is there a price per sq ft? If so its in Colorado where the cost of living is pretty high so that should affect the price per sq ft? Do you go off # of openings? If so how much per opening?

Basement finish projects are not all the same even with comparable square footage. Many basements these days are being finished as small and sometimes not so small apartments.

The first thing to think about on a basement finish is what type of living space they are trying to complete.
Second thing is to look for existing wiring that may have to be changed to accomplish this finish. No junction boxes in a hard ceiling that are not accessible.

Think of extra clean up and tool storage time because people don't stop using a basement just because it's under construction. Naturally any junk that's in the way will slow things down.

I wouldn't bid a basement without a site visit. Look for anything that may slow things down. Working for a homeowner that doesn't have the slightest idea what they are doing can be a big factor. Working for a GC that doesn't have the slightest idea what they are doing can be a big factor. Watch out for people that want to provide their own materials ( that's normally a bad sign). Don't forget to check what hours you will be able to work on the project ( people normally are living in the house ).

Once you visit the job site it's easier to get an idea of how long it will take to finish the project. You can use any method you want to come up with a figure that will pay for this time.