Re: Basement Bathrooms without Rough Ins

Posted by ED on March 29, 2004 at 15:03:40:
In response to Re: Basement Bathrooms without Rough Ins
Most plumbers will tell you that it's better to place the plumbing below the floor. If you are handy (and even if you're not) you could do the excavation of the floor yourself. You could save $500. or more. You can rent an electric jackhammer for about $75 a day. That's about what it would take including clearing away the (broken)debris. If you will need to break up more than 5-10 square feet, you will want to do it with a jackhammer. Another option is an (industrial) wet saw to cut concrete , but that's a job left to pro. A floor-to-ceiling height in bathrooms must be at least 84 inches to be in code. That too is a factor. You can also save money doing the electrical yourself, again if you're handy. It does not take a lot of (complicated) effort to wire a bathroom. You need a dedicated 20amp circuit for a GFCI outlet and another (15A) circuit for the lights, and fan. You could save several hundred dollars here as well. The drain piping unless you are experienced, is best left to a professional plumber because you will only have ONE chance to get it right, before covering over the drains with concrete. It's really hard to estimate the cost of basement bath. It could be as little as $2500 or so or more than $10 grand depending on what you want and how fancy, obstacles to be dealt with, whether it's a full bath with a whirlpool or a simple powder room. The variables are endless. : How much more expensive does it run to install a basement bathroom without a rough in? Is the least expensive option to raise the floor? How much can we save over an entire job if we do our own framing and drywalling and installations? (i.e. a contractor for the plumbing and electrical only--we do the framing, drywalling, and installation of sink and toilet)

Posted by ED on March 29, 2004 at 15:03:40:

In response to Re: Basement Bathrooms without Rough Ins

Most plumbers will tell you that it's better to place the plumbing below the floor. If you are handy (and even if you're not) you could do the excavation of the floor yourself. You could save $500. or more. You can rent an electric jackhammer for about $75 a day. That's about what it would take including clearing away the (broken)debris. If you will need to break up more than 5-10 square feet, you will want to do it with a jackhammer. Another option is an (industrial) wet saw to cut concrete , but that's a job left to pro.

A floor-to-ceiling height in bathrooms must be at least 84 inches to be in code. That too is a factor.

You can also save money doing the electrical yourself, again if you're handy. It does not take a lot of (complicated) effort to wire a bathroom.
You need a dedicated 20amp circuit for a GFCI outlet and another (15A) circuit for the lights, and fan. You could save several hundred dollars here as well.

The drain piping unless you are experienced, is best left to a professional plumber because you will only have ONE chance to get it right, before covering over the drains with concrete.

It's really hard to estimate the cost of basement bath. It could be as little as $2500 or so or more than $10 grand depending on what you want and how fancy, obstacles to be dealt with, whether it's a full bath with a whirlpool or a simple powder room. The variables are endless.

: How much more expensive does it run to install a basement bathroom without a rough in? Is the least expensive option to raise the floor? How much can we save over an entire job if we do our own framing and drywalling and installations? (i.e. a contractor for the plumbing and electrical only--we do the framing, drywalling, and installation of sink and toilet)

Replies to this post

Re: Basement Bathrooms without Rough Ins Gary Swart 15:25:46 03/29/04(0)