Cost to Build a House in the State of Washington with Finished Basement

Cost to Build a House in the State of Washington with Finished Basement

Note: You will be amazed at how much the price per sq. ft. of the entire house drops when you add the basement area!

Remember that in order for a basement to be considered “habitable space”, it must have two (2) means of ingress & egress. This can be accomplished with doors, as in a “walk-out” (which requires a sloping lot), or with large windows, or with a “emergency basement door”. (See below)

Rustic meets modern in compact Adkins
The covered porch and shutters give the compact Adkins the look of a traditional farm-style home, but the interior is entirely up to date. Kitchen, dining room and living room flow together, creating a feeling of openness, with nine-foot ceilings adding to the sense of volume.

Adkins

Associated Designs, Inc. Plan #30-197



Country Home Plans - Shutters, multipaned windows, and a full front porch create a warm welcome to this country home plan. The living room featuring a fireplace, flows into the dining room then to an open kitchen. A front-facing den, open to the entry, could be used as home office.

Total Living Area: 1604 square feet
1st Floor: 838 square feet
2nd Floor: 766 square feet
Bonus: 353 square feet
Garage: 520 square feet
Plan Width: 50' 2"
Plan Depth: 35' 0"
Floors: 2
Garage: 2 car
Bedrooms: 3
Baths: 2
Half Baths: 1

To estimate cost, I'll use my resource #5 , “Building Costs by City & State”, on "Getting Started" on www.byoh.com, using “average" quality and an unfinished basement foundation.




Using this "shape" on the "cost to build" calculator for the Pasco & Walla Walla, WA area, I came up with $178,420 for an owner/builder. That’s an approximate cost of $91.17 per sq. ft. (Total sq.ft. = 1604 sq. ft. + 353 sq. ft. finished Bonus Room = 1,957 Total sq. ft. of living area.)

As always, I determined this amount by deducting the General Contractor’s Markup, equipment rental, and allowed only $2,000 for insurance.

Breakdown of Building Costs For This House (Unfinished Basement). PDF
(You will need Adobe Reader to read this cost breakdown.)

Here is a FREE Adobe Reader download if you need it.

The cost to finish the basement is approximately $8,518, giving a total cost (for an owner/builder) of $186,938. That’s an approximate cost of $66.88 per sq. ft.! (Total Sq.ft. = 1604 sq. ft. + 353 sq. ft. finished Bonus Room + 838 sq. ft.finished Basement = 2,795 Total sq. ft. of living area.)


If the basement is on flat land, you will need an “Emergency Basement Door”
Note:The cost of this Emergency Basement Door is not included in the "Cost to Build"

Here is an example of a "Emergency Basement Door" from Bilco:


Basement Door - Ultra Series from Bilco: Satisfies IRC 2006 Building code requirements for emergency egress in finished basement areas.

You should keep in mind that the cost to build for this example, or any house plan, can vary considerably depending quality of materials selected, and on actual bids for labor and material.

Again, the estimate for this house is an approximate one based on “average” quality materials.

Until you actually start getting bids and entering them into your own spreadsheet (see my spreadsheet page for FREE spreadsheets), it will remain approximate.

If you have a particular home plan and/or city you would like to see on this feature, let me know.

Carl