I dont know what you mean by changing the location of the basement areaway. However if you have a pdf with the dimensions of the basement you can put it in a simple software plan yourself or you can consult a local designer or architect to work with you. Layouts for basements aren't horribly expensive but it does depend on the level of detail you want /need in terms of ceiling details, built-in cabinets, bars etc and if you want to see it in 3d or just 2d

We're building a house w/ a basement. The builder had a "design guy" (not an architect, though) who tweaked our chosen floor plan. We also had him do a basic basement layout even though we aren't finishing it through the builder (you can do it less expensively contracting on your own--which we did 4 years ago in our last house). Reason we did this was to utilize basement walls for support and save on expensive steel beams. To do that, we did have to keep some things in mind for load-bearing walls, but the rest of it was available to change. Don't see why you can't have your builder do that too? Just sketch out how you want your basement to be and see what they can do with it. First, though, do ask about your load-bearing walls so you can keep that in mind (unless you want steel beams and columns to work around later). I preferred walls / rooms as opposed to having to incorporate columns.

One thing you might want to consider while building--if you know you are going to finish your basement, go ahead and have them place the drywall in the basement for you. We did that because otherwise, we'd have had to pay $3-5 per sheet to be carried around back into the basement at a later date. It cost us $1200 extra (enough for 2000sf finished space) to have basement drywall placed there for us when they were unloading all the upstairs drywall.

Good luck. Have fun.

You might want to try laying it out yourself and see how it turns out before you go to someone else.

I designed our house, but then gave it to a design professional to turn into "blueprints." When I mentioned to him early in the process that I'd be interested in his input for the walkout basement, he said, "It is what it is." In other words, whatever it ended up because of the first floor, that would determine the basement. Of course this is true up to a point, but I was irritated. I hate seeing basements with few or no windows because a builder or designer didn't plan ahead a little.

We wanted a small kitchen (plumbing under the concrete floor), a bath room (plumbing under the concrete floor), a wood stove (needed to determine where the duct would go up thru the 1st & 2nd floors), and all steel support posts concealed within walls. We also wanted as much natural light as possible, so added a window well to the shop area, a glass block window in the bath, an egress window for the guest bed room and a window in the play area for the grandkids (these both were somewhat below grade so we had to have a shallow window well area with a retaining wall), and a couple of windows on each side of the French doors to the patio. The wall where we couldn't put windows became the TV area, and another windowless wall became a storage room.

In other words, think about which rooms you want, where you can add windows, where you might put window wells, and make it work as best you can.

Anne

You had better design your basement now, or you will have some expense plumbing lessons in your future. Adding bathrooms, kitchens, and rooms with utility sinks or drains to a basement that hasn't been plumbed for it can be done, but it will cost you dearly.

The same goes for electrical requirements, but to a lessor degree.