Your basement is often the largest untapped square footage in a home, and finishing it adds instant livable space and resale value. Yet homeowners and contractors alike struggle to pin down the exact cost to frame and drywall basement areas because every project feels unique. CountBricks brings clarity with AI-driven estimates, real-time material pricing, and voice-powered workflows that turn rough ideas into accurate numbers in minutes.
Finishing below-grade spaces introduces variables that main-floor projects never face: moisture mitigation, irregular foundation walls, and complex mechanical runs. Over-estimate and you lose the job. Under-estimate and you lose profit. CountBricks eliminates the guesswork so residential contractors bid with confidence and homeowners budget with facts.
The national average cost to frame and drywall basement spaces falls between $7 – $14 per square foot. San Francisco, Boston, and other high-labor markets can reach $18 per square foot, while lower-cost regions sit closer to $6. CountBricks pulls live labor rates and material pricing from local suppliers to reflect your zip code—no broad averages, just current numbers for today’s market.
• Framing lumber type (SPF, Douglas fir, LVL) and current board-foot pricing
• Wall height and layout complexity (soffits, jogs, utility chases)
• Vapor barrier, insulation R-value, and moisture control methods
• Drywall thickness (1/2", 5/8" fire-code) and specialty boards (mold-resistant)
• Labor productivity based on ceiling height, stair access, and loading distance
• Finish level—tape only, Level 4, or high-end Level 5 skim coat
• Permit fees and waste factor on off-cuts
1. Open the CountBricks mobile app and start a voice conversation with our AI estimator.
2. Upload or snap photos of the basement blueprint. The software auto-detects wall runs and ceiling heights.
3. Select your preferred wall assembly. Our database updates lumber, insulation, and fastener costs hourly.
4. Let the AI calculate labor based on your crew’s historical productivity stored in your profile.
5. Review a detailed line-item estimate—materials, tasks, hours, overhead, and profit—ready for client approval.
• Framing materials: $4,800
• Framing labor: $5,100
• Drywall materials: $3,700
• Drywall labor: $4,600
• Insulation and vapor barrier: $1,400
• Fasteners and sundries: $350
• Permits & disposal: $550
Total: $20,500 or $20.50 per square foot
Note: These numbers pull directly from CountBricks.com/services data feeds for June 2025 and will update automatically inside your project dashboard.
Below-grade walls can seep vapor even in dry climates. CountBricks recommends sealed foam gaskets under bottom plates and closed-cell spray foam in areas prone to condensation. While spray foam adds $1.25–$1.75 per square foot, it eliminates callbacks caused by damp drywall seams—saving thousands in warranty work.
• Opt for 24" on-center stud spacing on non-bearing partition walls when code allows
• Combine Romex runs before framing to avoid extra drill passes later
• Stage drywall sheets in the basement before installing stair stringers to shorten material handling time
• Use CountBricks voice notes to capture field changes instantly and avoid costly re-work
• Instant blueprint takeoffs remove two days of manual counting
• Voice-activated change orders stop scope creep in its tracks
• Shareable, branded quote PDFs impress homeowners and close jobs faster
• Cloud dashboards let project managers track actual versus estimated hours in real time
Once the homeowner approves your framing and drywall bid, convert it into a production schedule with one click. Field crews clock in through the CountBricks app, and material PO’s auto-populate from the original estimate. When work is complete, generate a progress invoice that mirrors the line items your client already saw—no surprises, no disputes.
Create your account at CountBricks.com/services, upload a recent basement drawing, and compare our AI estimate to your last manual bid. Contractors report saving an average of 6 labor hours on the first project alone. Imagine what that does for your bottom line across an entire season of residential remodels.
The cost to frame and drywall basement spaces no longer has to be a mystery. With CountBricks, you leverage live pricing, historical labor data, and AI accuracy to produce bids clients trust. More transparency means higher win rates and healthier profit margins—so you can focus on building, not number crunching.
A Bay Area remodeler recently partnered with CountBricks to price a 750 sq ft basement conversion. Their traditional workflow—manual takeoffs, supplier calls, and spreadsheet math—averaged 11 hours per estimate. Using CountBricks voice capture and blueprint AI, they produced a line-item cost to frame and drywall basement walls in just 2.3 hours.
• 79 % reduction in estimating time, freeing the owner to meet new leads
• Material variance dropped below 3 %, eliminating costly mid-project runs to the lumber yard
• Win rate jumped from 31 % to 48 % in the first quarter, credited to faster, clearer proposals
1. The contractor voiced site dimensions into the CountBricks mobile app while walking the basement.
2. CountBricks auto-suggested a mold-resistant drywall upgrade after detecting a floor drain, upselling the project by $1,050.
3. The homeowner signed the digital quote on the spot, impressed by the transparent cost structure.
• Capture photos of existing mechanical lines; CountBricks high-lights potential soffit framing in the takeoff, so you bid adequate labor hours.
• Save your preferred wall assemblies in a personal template library—perfect for production builders finishing multiple basements each year.
• Sync CountBricks with your accounting software to push approved estimates straight into job costing.
If you are ready to replace spreadsheets with smart automation, visit CountBricks.com/consultation. Our team will import one of your recent basement projects and demonstrate real-time price updates, material optimization, and rapid invoice generation. The cost to frame and drywall basement projects is no longer a guessing game—CountBricks makes it an exact science.
