Anyone Furnish Their Basement?
MayDay10
Posts: 11,725
I am designing my basement project, planning on DIY... as I did almost 2 years ago... then just got to the same hang-up point:
Do I permit and do it the legit route? Or just build?
The permit route, has a lot of benefits, however, it will add a lot of cost, and also likely result in a tax increase.
Not the least of which will be to install an Egress Window. The main room is going to be a home theater and I do not want a huge window... but I do have a spot for it in the unfinished storage area. This will require me digging a gigantic hole in my yard and sawing through like a foot of concrete. Not to mention there will be this eyesore deep window well in my yard hanging out for people to fall in and kill themselves. I can DIY, but not sure I trust myself learning on the fly fucking with the foundation like that... and I read that a Contractor can do it for like $3K - $5K
Do I permit and do it the legit route? Or just build?
The permit route, has a lot of benefits, however, it will add a lot of cost, and also likely result in a tax increase.
Not the least of which will be to install an Egress Window. The main room is going to be a home theater and I do not want a huge window... but I do have a spot for it in the unfinished storage area. This will require me digging a gigantic hole in my yard and sawing through like a foot of concrete. Not to mention there will be this eyesore deep window well in my yard hanging out for people to fall in and kill themselves. I can DIY, but not sure I trust myself learning on the fly fucking with the foundation like that... and I read that a Contractor can do it for like $3K - $5K
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i'm prob 2 yrs out from it finished....luckily though, its a walk out and I can get materials in/out easily...
let me know which route you end up going cause i'm thinkin bout not going the diy....
one thing for sure....I want some sort of pj area....
I wouldnt mind permitting it/codes, for electric, plumbing, etc if it werent for this egress thing. Basically Ill have to pay $4K for the right to start furninshing my basement (was planning on like $12K total max)... and also end up with this monstrousity.
Sweet window man!
Just pay to have someone do it. Yeah, it'll be more $ but it'll also be no work for you and a lot less BS to deal with.
if you do the work and get caught it could cost you three times the construction cost
so that's 4 times what it would have cost you if you just went ahead and paid the permit fee
but some places dont' care...
buffalo might be one of them
some jurisdictions have an exception, if it's less than 20,000 in construction cost you don't have to permit it
that might be useful for a basement project
but really, you're not going to get caught unless you have a dumpster out front
and no one complains
^^^ from my wife, she's an interior designer in N.Y., hope that helps.
Oh and I always get a permit. It's the insurance. If the shit hits the fan, they may not cover you....
My house is newer and the basement is basically set up furnish-ready... you can see the pipes, wiring, layout ready to build.... and is as dry as a bone. Good temp etc.... the problem is, it was built in 03 and this rule wasnt widespread until 04.
I was planning on slowly building over time in order to spread the budget out and be meticulous and precise with each step...
Well, as the safety coordinator for my work I can say safety first is vital. But a permit won't make you work any safer in general. But please do work safe regardless of a permit
I'm a tad apprehensive in finishing it off, but the beadboard that is already there only shows minimal water damage.
I read the laws for my state and they state that if you don't get a permit, they can make you either a)pay a fine and bring it up to code or b) rip it all out and hire a professional
in the long run, I would cover my ass and get a permit.
- Christopher McCandless
Im going to ask around the neighborhood a bit and see what everyone else did.