How long does it take to finish a basement

The total time require for finishing a basement will depend on the size of a project, what will be involved and how the work will be organized. Building and finishing simple walls around 900 square feet basement perimeter, installing drop ceiling and laminate flooring can be done in 3 – 4 days and about 230 – 250 man-hours will be sufficient for such simple renovation. But converting a basement into fully functional living area with adding a couple bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen is much more time consuming project and might take about one month to complete. Also before make any plans check with your local jurisdiction what will be allowed. Even though most of the kitchen appliances will be acceptable in the basement, adding a full kitchen might be not permitted by local codes.

Contractor will estimate the total man-hours only after analyzing the drawings and inspecting the area of the future project. Bigger space is definitely longer to finish, as well as cost to finish a basement will raise if the sizes increase, but calculating the man hours cannot be estimated on square footage availability only. Typically per square foot time spend will decrease with increasing the number of square feet.

Many basements have concrete slab in a condition that can be simply use as a subfloor for flooring materials and if the projected height from the floor to finished ceiling will be acceptable there are no concrete work require. Otherwise, if building codes allow, very time consuming excavation work for increasing the height of basement might be necessary to perform. Pouring concrete and possible extra foundation work will lead to increasing the total time require for completing the project. Also because of a curing time you have to wait an additional couple days or even longer, depending on a temperature and humidity, to be able to walk on it and start actual finishing work.

Rough framing in 1,000 sq. ft. basement will take about 10 – 12 hours of work for three carpenters and two helpers. It might take longer if building arches or performing complicated ceiling work will be involved. All rough in electrical might be completed in a day. Hanging and finishing drywall may be done in 3 – 4 days. Adding a bathroom will increase the man - hours, but the actual work will run simultaneously with other tasks not slowing down the whole renovation project. Another 1 – 3 days will be necessary for flooring installation. Laying any type of floating flooring is a fastest option, but ceramic, porcelain or any types of stone tile will take a few times longer to install. Finish carpentry, painting, touch-ups and finishing up all small details might require additional 2 – 3 days.

When it comes to customization there is no certain time can be defined before knowing exactly what has to be done. Custom high end work will require extra time and significant increase of man-hours.

Overall time will depend not only how many people will work at a time but how well the working process will be organized.