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When I started planning my basement remodel, I nearly choked at the quotes I was getting. Most contractors were saying $15,000 to $20,000! While I certainly do love my home and value my space, that just wasn’t going to happen.
I figured there must be a cheaper way, so I started looking around. Turns out, there is. I transformed my 600 square-foot basement into a functional living space for a fraction of the price the contractors gave me, and I’m going to show you exactly how I did it.
Hardwood was my dream, but at $3-$15 per square foot, that would have been $1,800-$9,000 for the flooring alone. Instead, I went with interlocking foam tiles for the main area and epoxy floor paint for the utility corner.
The foam tiles were $0.75 per square foot and the epoxy was $85 for the remaining 250 square feet. My total initially ended up being $347.50 for my new flooring.
My mistake: I bought cheap foam tiles. I was penny-pinching a bit too much on this one and realized I probably could have afforded something a bit nicer that would last longer as well. I did end up redoing that part with a nicer tile I found at $1.50 per square foot, so the total would have been $610 (including the epoxy) if I had gone with that option from the beginning.
My initial plan included drywalling everything. Then I got a quote: $4,000 for materials and installation. For a budget remodel, this was a non-starter.
What I did instead: I left 80% of the walls exposed concrete and only drywalled one accent wall where I mounted my TV. That partial wall only cost me about $400 in materials DIYing it.
The final result was an industrial loft vibe for my basement, which I’ve gotten many compliments on since.
I originally had looked into drywalling the ceiling or adding a drop ceiling in. That was a big no. Adding a drop ceiling could cost between $4 and $20 per square foot, and even just drywalling the ceiling would be $2 to $4 per square foot. That would be at least $1200 on the lowest end.
However, 2 gallons of white matte paint cost me roughly $70 (granted it came with nearly 6 hours of paint/dry time – my neck was sore for days).
While I love my industrial loft vibe basement, the white matte paint helped to make it feel less man-cave-y. It reflects light well and gives the space a comfortable feel to it.
Tip: Be careful if you decide to choose a semi-gloss paint instead of matte. I originally looked into this to make my space feel brighter, but heard it can often cause an uncomfortable glare. I also thought it’d clash too much with the industrial vibe.
Here’s yet another area where I messed up: I got excited and started painting before properly checking for moisture. A few days later, a small wet spot appeared through the paint.
Turns out, I had a minor leak from an exterior crack. I had to strip the paint, let the wall dry for a week, patch the exterior, and repaint.
What was the cost of my impatience? Roughly $100 in wasted materials and a lost weekend.
While not the end of the world, this cost could have been easily avoided. Not only that, but I’m lucky the water damage wasn’t much worse and I could easily fix it. It would’ve been way more expensive if I had to call a plumber or handyman. I was also lucky in the fact that I didn’t have any mold from the water issue, which would’ve just continued adding to the cost. You may not be as lucky if this were to happen to you, so it’s very important to check for water issues BEFORE starting.
I’m pretty comfortable with DIY, but I certainly know my limits as well.
I decided to hire and electrician to:
That cost me roughly $600, but if was well worth it. I don’t want to think about how much it would’ve cost me if a fire broke out due to my amateur work or, even worse, hospital bills if I ended up getting hurt trying to install it. I personally choose not to mess with electrical work.
I also got a waterproofing assessment done, which cost me $300. Luckily, they didn’t find any issues (I guess my patchwork from earlier was successful).
If they had found issues, it surely would have cost much more, but still nothing in comparison to long-term damage if we hadn’t found an issue. The assessment was still worth it as well in my opinion.
Here’s the total cost of remodeling my basement on my own (without counting my mistakes):
| Area | Costs |
| Flooring |
Foam Tiles: $262.50 Total: About $350 |
| Walls | Accent Drywall Material: $400 |
| Ceiling | Matte Paint: $70 |
| Electrician | For Outlets, GFCI Protection, and Code: $600 |
| Waterproofing Assessment | Inspection: $300 |
| Overall Total | $1720 |
Considering the contractor told me $15,000 on the low end, $1,720 doesn’t seem so bad. I’m very comfortable in my basement space and have gotten many compliments on the remodel since completing it.
Now this chart doesn’t include the mistakes I made because, hopefully, you’ve learned from them. This is to help give you an idea of what it might cost you to remodel a 600 square foot basement yourself in a similar way to how I did it. Granted, there is a chance you’d experience other issues (like water damage) or make your own mistakes.
A year later, I’m still thrilled with how my basement turned out. There’s no hardwood, fancy lighting, or drywall, but it’s functional, comfortable and, most importantly, cost a fraction of the quoted price.
My biggest lessons from this experience?
My 600-square-foot basement went from a wasted storage space to a room I use every day, and I did it for $1,720. If I can do it, you can too.
Note: This article was first published on August 4, 2021, and was revised on August 27, 2026 to reflect the most current information.
