Last night, we measured our basement and drew out a rough sketch of how we want it to look once it’s finished. I got all the information from our town regarding getting a permit, and we’ll be submitting our permit application this week. We have to provide them with a drawing of the plans, so we’ll be finalizing that soon too.
A permit is going to cost us just over $1/square foot. For our basement, that’s going to come in somewhere north of $1300. Ouch. I’ll admit that it did cross our minds to just proceed without a permit, but we knew that in the long run, it’s better to be on the up-and-up with projects like this. We’ll make back some of the permit money when we buy supplies for the basement, as we won’t be charged city or county tax on them when we show our permit. And in general, my husband and I are supporters of regulation and taxation. We know that our town needs the money it gets from building permits, and although $1300 is a lot of money just to get a piece of paper and some inspections, we don’t really mind paying it. Having to have each step of the process checked out by inspectors will be a bit of a pain, but it will also provide peace of mind that everything is done the way it should be. We’re looking at this sort of the way we looked at incorporation for our business five years ago (and the resulting additional work that comes around each year at tax time): yes, it was expensive and a bit of a hassle, but it made everything feel much more legitimate, and that pays off in the long run.
Right now, our basement is just one huge room. Eventually, we’re going to have a large office space, an unfinished pantry, a living room/playroom area, a bathroom, a guest room, and a large workout room. The basement is currently used for storage of craft supplies, hydroponic/garden supplies, and baby stuff (which is slowly making its way upstairs in preparation for our new little one’s arrival), but mostly as an office for my husband and a place for us to exercise. So it makes sense that those will be the two largest areas of the finished basement. We’re planning to do most of the work ourselves, although we’ll likely hire out some things.
It feels good to get going on this project. We knew when we bought the house that we wanted to finish the basement, but the time and money involved made us put it off for a while. We’re in no real hurry, and we’ll be working on this project in around our jobs and taking care of our son (and the baby that will arriving soon). In another few months, garden season will be here again, and we know from last summer’s experience that it will take up a good deal of our time. In addition, we want to spread out the financial cost associated with finishing the basement. But for now, we’re taking the first steps, and it feels good.
Money Beagle says
I’ve never, ever of ‘building permits by the square foot’ before. That’s unbelievable, and I’m guessing there’s a lot of non-permitted building activity going on around your municipality.
Good luck. We just finished some work in our basement, and though the layout isn’t ideal (you walk through unfinished part to get to the finished part), we love the finished area that we have!
FrugalBabe says
Money Beagle – I agree, I was a bit surprised by how they do the building permit here too. And I’m sure you’re right… a lot of people are probably just doing their projects without permits. With a permit, the sales tax on our supplies will drop from 7.55% to 2.9%, so we will make some of that money back. But in general, we’re looking at it as a donation to the town’s revenue, which they sorely need (as I’m sure is the case for most towns right now!)
Shannon says
Another good reason to get a permit is that insurance often won’t cover unpermitted work. So… if you had a fire, the renovations probably wouldn’t be covered if they weren’t permitted and inspected. Plus peace of mind is a good thing. I used to work for a city building inspector, and you would be amazed at how often “reputable” electricians and HVAC contractors failed inspections because something wasn’t done correctly. Do you really want to take that kind of a risk with your biggest investment and the place that safeguards your family?
Also, permitting by the size of the project is very common. Sometimes it is by square foot, sometimes it is by the cost of the finished project. Makes sense when you think about it. An entire basement remodel requires more work to review plans and make inspections than does say, bumping out a bedroom wall.
Marnie says
It sounds like a great project! Last summer we renovated our ensuite. It was a HUGE job for such a tiny room – but so worth it. This spring we’re starting on our main bathroom (otherwise known as the girls’ bathroom). My daughters (9 and 6) can’t wait because at this point they have to do most things in our bathroom.
Renovating is so much work but so satisfying in the end – knowing you planned it and you made it happen!
Kaytee says
FB, is switching from hydro to aquaponics something you would ever entertain? Just curious.
~Kaytee
FrugalBabe says
Kaytee,
I doubt it. Although my husband and son aren’t vegetarian, they eat a primarily vegetarian diet because I do most of the cooking. I can’t imagine myself every being ok with raising fish to eat. And aquaponics is quite a bit more complicated than hydroponics, simply because of the animals involved. Although we love our backyard farm, we have no desire to complicate things by adding any sort of livestock to it. Then again, I’ve learned to never say never… :)
Kaytee says
Oh, heh! It didn’t even occur to me to use aquaponics to raise fish to eat (duh!). Now, I’m laughing at myself. I was thinking along the lines of the fish providing the nutrients to feed crops, rather than a synthetic or purchased solution. I wonder what the operation & maintenance cost-benefit analysis would be between the two…
FrugalBabe says
Kaytee, When I first saw your question, I wondered if it would be possible to raise the fish and not eat them. But it seems that their population might get a bit out of control if that were the case. Although I’m no expert in fish – I have no idea how fast they reproduce! I’ve sometimes considered backyard chickens for eggs (no rooster), but everyone I talk to says that after the chickens eventually stop laying, they eat the birds in order to make room for younger egg-layers. That would never work for me, so we’d end up with a flock of old chickens hanging out in our backyard, not laying anything (most towns impose a limit on how many birds you can have, which is why most chicken owners eat the non-layers to make room for more layers). My very soft heart is far from practical. I have a hard time thinning out tomato plants… I think I should stay far away from raising any sort of animals, other than the one cat and one dog that we already have!
Kaytee says
Sorry to hijack the thread as this is not related to the original post, but your comment about thinning out tomato plants reminds me of my own gardening experiences. The first time I had my own grown-up living on her own garden, I felt like I was eating my children come harvest time. Poor little trusting plants… :)