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Question

Which is more expensive per square foot, finishing a basement or a third floor of a house?

Submitted: 190 days and 10 hours ago.

Category: Home Improvement

Value: $9

Status: CLOSED

Posted by Home Improvement Jay 190 days and 10 hours ago.

Answer

Thank you for using Just Answer!

I do not have any actual numbers per square foot to pass along, but in my opinion it would be more expensive per square foot to finish a third floor of a house. I did some research and found an informational site about per square foot building costs. Hopefully this will shine some light on the subject for you.

http://www.buildwisely.com/home-building-cost.html

Please review the site and feel free to post any follow up questions you may have.

If this has been helpful, please click the green accept icon.
Jay T.

190 days and 9 hours ago.

Reply

Thanks Jay, that site was a bit too involved for me. Can someone point me to examples of why a basement might be cheaper than a third floor to finish?

Accepted Answer

Depending upon the layout of your home, you will usually gain the most useable space by finishing your basement. It is also highly rated as far as recouping the money you invested up on resale.

If you do not add interior walls to the basement then this would be one reason that contributes to it being less expensive. Additional walls require additional lighting, heating, ventilation, electric, building materials, labeor, etc.... The basement will also require shorter runs of HVAC, plumbing, and electric. The following is an excerpt from a real estate magazine concerning finished basements.

FINISHING YOUR BASEMENT ...
... adds value to your home and makes it more attractive to buyers when you sell
... generally recoups 60-85% of your money spent
... gains you SUBSTANTIALLY more living space within your existing home (sometimes even doubling your livable square footage!)
... drastically enlarges your living space at a far lower cost than adding on.
Thank you,
XXX X.

Accepts:
Expert:	Home Improvement Jay
Pos. Feedback:	99.0 %
Answered:	5/17/2009

General C&ontractor

6 years exp. residential home and pool construction; mold, fire and flood remediations.

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