Q: Hello. We are Angie’s List members and found your company on their site. We are thinking about having our basement remodeled. Unfortunately, the previous owners of our townhouse thought that they would attempt to “finish” the basement, which only means more work since I would guess that all of their dreadful drywall will need to be removed, and the horrible dropped ceiling also. Really, it would be more efficient to have a bare, unfinished basement! My question is, will the “de-construction” add significantly to the cost of the project?

Joni Seth
Willow Grove, PA

A: It is always better to start a basement finishing project with a bare basement as the demolition of existing work will always increase costs. The demolition cost is based on the amount of demolition work required.