Basement Finishing Costs - Aurora, Centennial

[Jesse Blaine]

Curious what kind of ballpark budget for turning a basement into a mini-apartment.  

The highest cost would likely be the bathroom (cheaper if you could locate under existing to just pull down plumbing) and small kitchen.  

1000-1200 sqft.   Mid-level finishes, one-bed room, living room, bathroom, and small kitchen.   

I have ideas of what it was...but not in touch with current labor and material costs.

[James Carlson]

Great info, @Blake Mitchell Two things stuck out to me in your response.

1. Separate entry door. Yes, that's a biggie. I know that can be $8,000 right there and quickly add up to more with all the excavation and framing and concrete work for stairs and potential drainage issues. 

I prefer that my clients avoid this entirely by just finding a home with an existing separate entrance. In Denver and Colorado Springs (and I imagine in many other cities) we search for homes with either that walk-out basement or a certain kind of setup with a backyard entrance that comes into a small landing and can turn into the kitchen door or straight down into the basement. We've got one client closing and two under contract on homes with this setup right now. That way, you put a solid door from the kitchen to this landing area and you have your separate entrance.

2. Don't skimp on insulation between top and bottom. I've got a listing in the Park Hill neighborhood in Denver right now that has a basement apartment, and she was smart enough to insulate the heck out of it so noise wouldn't be an issue.