Basement Remodeling

Most of our basement work falls into three scopes. A first-time finish on a builder-rough basement — insulation, framing, egress, electrical, plumbing, and full finishes from scratch. A re-finish, where an old finish from the 70s or 80s is coming down to studs because of water, odor, or a dated layout. And a full basement remodel that adds complexity — a second kitchen, a wine room, structural work to open up a low-ceiling area, or a legal bedroom addition.

What’s included in a Knutson basement remodel

• Moisture and envelope — rim-joist spray foam, perimeter drainage review, sump pump upgrade if needed, vapor strategy against foundation walls
• Framing and insulation — code-compliant framing, proper insulation, fire-blocking at floor/ceiling transitions
• Code-compliant egress — window wells, full egress cuts into the foundation where a legal bedroom is planned
• Electrical and HVAC — new circuits, upgraded panel if the house needs it, supply and return runs sized for the finished space
• Plumbing — bath rough-in, kitchenette or wet-bar plumbing, sometimes a grinder pump where gravity drain is not feasible
• Custom built-ins — media walls, wine walls, bar cabinetry, office millwork from our shop
• Drywall, flooring, trim, paint, and lighting — finish work to the same standard as your main floor

Our basement remodeling process

We use the same five-step process on every basement, whether it is a builder-rough first finish or a gut-and-rebuild of a forty-year-old basement.

1. Consultation — we walk the basement, check for active or historical moisture, evaluate ceiling heights, locate mechanicals, and look at egress feasibility for any planned bedrooms.
2. Planning and selections — typically four to eight weeks. Layout, structural review where needed, and finish selections.
3. Fixed-price contract — every line priced and signed before demolition. Allowances only for items that are genuinely unknown until we open things up.
4. Build — dedicated project manager, daily dust containment, staged inspections. Typical basement timeline on site is eight to fourteen weeks.
5. Final walkthrough and warranty — we punch every item with you before handover, and our workmanship warranty covers the work after.

Why Twin Cities homeowners choose Knutson

Basements are where corner-cutting shows up fastest. You cannot see a missed vapor detail behind drywall until the finished space starts smelling musty in August. You cannot see an improperly sized egress window until a buyer’s inspector calls out a failing bedroom in the listing. You cannot see an underperforming sump until the spring thaw backs water into your new laminate. We have been remodeling Minnesota basements for four decades, and that is enough time to have seen every version of those failures on tear-out — which is exactly why we build to avoid them.

The second reason is what a Knutson basement looks like when it is done. Our cabinet shop builds the bar, the media wall, the wine cellar, the office built-ins, and the mudroom bench — matched and detailed the same way as the rest of the project. When families hire us, they usually want a basement that feels like part of the house, not a finished basement that reads like a finished basement. That is mostly about cabinetry, trim, lighting, and ceiling detail — and those are the pieces we control in-house.

Basement remodel cost and timeline

Basement budgets in the Twin Cities depend heavily on whether you need a bath, a bedroom egress, and any structural or moisture work. As a working guide: a straightforward first-time finish — open family room, no bath, existing ceiling height — typically runs $45,000 to $75,000. A finished basement with a full bath and a bedroom with a new egress window lands in the $70,000 to $130,000 range. A fully built-out basement with a second kitchen or large wet bar, theater or gym, custom wine room, and high-end finishes runs $135,000 to $260,000+. A re-finish after a water event or bad previous build adds demolition, disposal, and often moisture remediation on top of whichever scope you are in.

Timeline runs four to eight weeks for planning and selections, then eight to fourteen weeks on site. What most often adds weeks: cutting a new egress opening into the foundation (permit review plus a concrete contractor in the middle of framing), long-lead appliances for a second kitchen, natural stone for a bar front, and structural work when we need to reroute a ceiling beam to gain head height.

Our Twin Cities service area

Knutson builds basements throughout the Twin Cities metro. Our dedicated city pages cover Minneapolis and Saint Paul, plus Edina, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Wayzata, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Bloomington, Eagan, Burnsville, and Lakeville.

Basement challenges vary by era of the house. 1920s south Minneapolis homes and Highland Park colonials typically have block foundations, seven-foot ceilings, and old cast iron drains running low through the ceiling — ceiling detail and duct rerouting matter most. 1960s ramblers in Edina or Bloomington usually have eight-foot pours and generous floor plans, but the original single-pane glass-block windows need to come out before any bedroom conversion. 1990s two-stories in Eden Prairie and Maple Grove usually have poured-wall foundations and nine-foot ceilings — the planning challenge is using that height well, not fighting for it.

Ready to finish your basement?

Request a consultation and we will walk the space, check moisture, measure ceiling height against code, evaluate egress feasibility, and talk through what a realistic scope and budget look like for your house. You will leave the first meeting with a clear picture of what is possible on your lot, not a generic sales pitch.