Basement Finishing in St. Louis

17 years ago

I am weighing the following two options for my 1850 SF basement: basic finish with a single powder room (no other rooms) in St. Louis.

a) Handyman: does all framing, wiring ( with licensed electrician connecting to mains), drywall, taping and painting himself. Plumber for powder room plumbing. Dropped ceiling with drywall around ducts, will lose 1 of 5 windows due to ductwork. No permits. Finish quality: average. $37000

b) Reputable and reliable builder: all permits, subcontracts all work to trusted quality workforce, drywall ceiling. All windows stay intact (will move duct work), provides all finishing touches such as skirts for stairs, frames window with moisture resistant drywall return, access doors for critical wall infrastructure (rather than access panel). Finish quality: excellent and comparable with main living area except that it is not fancy in any way: $53000

Any opinions?

Comments (2)

vinelover
17 years ago
If you are going to spend 37,000.00 for the job you may as well spend the 53,000.00 and have the proper permits for the work. I don't know if you're in the city or the county. I know the county is strict with basement work and depending on the municipality you can be in real trouble when its time to sell without permits. Seems like you would be saving doing the work without the permits but in reality you will be losing money if you have to tear it out or run into other problems with the inspectors.
JMHO.
worthy
17 years ago
I'm all for saving money. But any contractor who promises a lower price as long as there are no permits is not someone I'd care to deal with. Improperly done wiring and plumbing can injure, even kill you.

Also, your quotes are not comparing like things. Shop the specs of the higher quote around. That price sounds high to me. St. Louis isn't San Francisco or White Plains.
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