What is the Cost to Dig a Basement?

The cost to dig a basement hole on our 1800 sq. ft. house was only $790. However, I have a feeling you want to know more than simply the cost of digging the basement hole.

Some of the other costs that you likely want to know about are::

........You need to dig the basement hole, which as I said was $790.

........How about pouring footings and foundations, which costs $6 to $7K

.......Then there is pouring flatwork cement for a tune of $1.00+ per square foot x 1800 sq ft = $1800.

.......Putting in sub-rough plumbing which can be $1,000 plus the cost of gravel and the excavator's charges.

.......There's the windows for your basement which includes window bucks of close to $500 (4 windows) and the corrugated window wells of $500 ...total $1000 + or -.

.......The actual windows cost $400+ depending on if you have a walkout basement with sliding glass doors, which would be plus the cost of the sliders.

.......Sealing the basement walls to prevent water leakage through the walls will be another several hundred dollars.

.......The cost to backfill around your basement adds a few hundred more.

.......Now the last question is how big is your basement going to be?

That $790 figure of digging a basement suddenly became a whole lot more didn't it? The reality is, however, that the real cost only involves a few of the above: digging the hole, flatwork cement, and windows, window bucks and window wells.

You still have to either poor a cement slab, or put in footings and foundations, which in the case of the later, go down to frost level. You still have backfill whether you have a basement or not. You still have sub-rough plumbing, with gravel before the slab. With a slab you will have furnace ducting to consider too.

Even though you have all the above items to consider in building a basement, it is still only a few thousand dollars more to add a basement, in comparison to the total cost of building your home.

Considering that your home may be worth $250 thousand to $400,000, your basement will probably only cost $7K-$10K+ added to the cost. All things considered, there isn't a better investment for that extra 10K in comparison to doubling the living space of the first level, that a basement adds.

As an example, consider the storage space it adds to your home. If you didn't have to rent storage space, what would it save you each month? Or wouldn't it be nice to park the car in the garage instead of using it for storage space?

In addition, the basement maintains an even temperature of around 59 degrees all year, so the cost of air conditioning in the summer is drastically reduced when compared with air-conditioning an upper story with the same amount of floor space.

If you build your home on a hillside, a walkout basement makes for a nice feature opening up the basement so it doesn't feel so "deep" in the ground.

Many people are putting home theaters in the area of the basement that doesn't have any windows.

The furnace, hot water tank and water softener can all go in the basement utility-furnace room and not take up precious main floor living space.

Some areas of the country are too close to sea level to have a basement, but if you live inland, having a basement is a real advantage when compared to the cost of putting one in. To dig a basement is a an economical way to increase the square footage of your home.

In reality, what is the cost to dig a basement? Very little, and the benefits far outweigh the negatives.

BIO ...Linda Baxter is a piano teacher, and a stay at home mom of nine children, (22 grandchildren) who acted as General Contractor for building (earning) their retirement home. She hired and paid subcontractors, was overseer of all construction work (with the help of her husband, RL) She freely shares her experiences on her website, http://www.home-built4u.com