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How important IS a basement?


snickerplum
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God willing, our house will sell and we'll be moving. Soon.

Our house right now is a good size, but with no basement. I had initially had a basement as part of my criteria for the new house, but the houses I'm finding in our price range that I like are on slab foundations. And if faced with having to choose between a basement and a big kitchen, well...

I'd like a basement for two reasons. 1. A safer space if a tornado comes through. It's not like we live in Oklahoma, but we get the occasional tornado watch. 2. A nice place to send the children when they (I) need some time to play (relax). [emoji6]

I want the basement, but I also want the houses that don't have them.

 

 

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I have lived with and without basements.  If the basement is well done, doesn't every leak, is finished, they can be great.  They are not the be all and end all of existence though.  I have converted formal dining rooms or other rooms into play areas for the kids, put in sound proofing and had fun painting the walls with the kids pitching in.  We didn't have to have a basement for the kids to have their own play space.

 

The tornadoes would be the only reason I might really keep looking for houses with basements if I was in your shoes.  We have only had two tornado incidents where I currently live and we have been here 19 years so a basement was never a need for us from that perspective (and almost no houses have them here).  Your situation sounds like they are more common.

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Where I grew up ,people had unfinished basements. Our laundry was down there but they weren't very functional. Steep scary stairs, flooding.

 

I didnt really see the point until we moved to the SE. Not Oklahoma, but still tornadoes come through every year and plenty of nights spent watching severe storms. Now I say I wouldn't buy a house without one.

 

However, what I say I will or won't do, and what happens house hunting are two different things.

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That tornado issue would be important to me.

 

I've had just a quarter basement for years, and I miss having a 'real' basement.  The quarter basement is fine for the furnace and water heater and a little overflow storage, but in a real basement there could be also a washer and dryer, a workshop, and some kind of playroom/family room/music room/TV room.  The real bummer is that the house we live in had a new foundation put under it a year before we bought it.  I can't imagine why they didn't just dig a bigger basement at the same time.

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This is regional. I've always had a basement. I like having a basement. Occasionally, we have tornado warnings and need to go down there, but I like that it's a cooler place in my house in summer. I like that it's a space that can have any use I want and not affect the home value--there are expectations about the living room or other rooms in the main part of the house that don't necessarily apply to finished basements.

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Grew up in S. California, never had a basement. Moved to Illinois - basements here useful for storage and hiding from bad weather. BUT so far have only lived in older house with lower ceiling basement that can't really be any liveable space, also gets damp/leaks in spots. If I moved into a house here with no basement, I would want to dig out and install a small tornado center underground somewhere.

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 It really depends on the part of the country you live in.  In my area, I would not consider a house without a basement.  A finished/finishable basement as opposed to a cellar was one of my criteria when we were house hunting.  Reasons: tornadoes; a significant number of days when it is too wet, too cold, or too hot for extended outdoor play; and storage space (few newer homes have attic storage).   Also, in my area, lack of a basement/cellar can indicate that the house was build in an area with a high water table/prone to flooding.  

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I have never lived in a house with a basement.  Most places I have lived, a basement would have flooded.

 

Yep. I've never lived in a house with a basement. It just isn't possible affordably around here because the water level is too high. I don't know that it was possible in the Pacific Northwest either.

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Above ground tornado shelters are available; you could easily anchor one into your garage or pour a slab foundation for it in your back yard.

 

Or bury one.   

 

 

One other thought, as the baby boomers start looking for houses without stairs, Houses with stairs will lose value comparatively.  

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basements vary by location.

if there is a high water table - you can't have a basement.

excavation of certain types of rock layers make basements costly.

 

I notice you said they do a slab foundation - not one with a crawl space.   if this is typical for your area, there is probably a reason why.

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I've never lived in a house without a basement, and didn't even know it was possible until my sister moved off the east coast.  

 

I love my basement! We use it for storage of holiday decor and as a pantry. It is where my kids' swing hangs, it is my exercise room, my husband's brewery, and my son's workshop.  The basement is where all of the sports equipment lives, and it is where all of my bulky cleaning supplies are housed.  

 

More importantly, my sister lost her house to a tornado, and quick access to the basement is what kept her and her children safe from the destruction raging above.  I am a big believer in basements!

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Yep. I've never lived in a house with a basement. It just isn't possible affordably around here because the water level is too high. I don't know that it was possible in the Pacific Northwest either.

 

depending upon where you are in the PNW - daylight basements are common.  it's *really* easy to make a daylight basement into the side of a hill so you can have a house on top. . .

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Where I grew up everyone had basements. Where I live now it's about 50/50 because of the limestone and basements being expensive to dig and sometimes blast out.

 

I prefer not having a basement, for us it would be a place for junk to collect.

 

For what it's worth my grandparents live in the panhandle of Texas, they have a special storm shelter for tornado protection. My inlaws have also put one in although they live in an area where tornados are not terribly common.

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It totally depends on the house and where you live.

I grew up without a basement (water level was too high).  I never missed it, even growing up where we had regular tornado warnings.  Dh grew up in a different state with a basement, but it's unfinished and for storage only (and for tornado warnings).

Both of our houses have had basements.  They've been finished and have been great.  Our current basement houses the school room/treadmill/free weight room, a bathroom, a bit of storage, and the playroom/guest room (fold out couch).  When we have guests, they pretty much have the basement as their space.  It is somewhat unusual to not have a basement where I live.

That said, it's not a magical space.  My basic needs in a house are: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, a school room, and a playroom.  If I could get these things in a configuration I loved without a basement, I'd go for it.

 

Edited by JudoMom
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I have lived in three houses with sort of Basements. The first was in Europe and we had a two story gigantic windowed Living room, etc, downstairs along with another bedroom, a room we used as a schoolroom/guest room and a totally enclosed room which was originally a giant wine cellar I suppose but we used as a storage area. Then we moved to Fl and had no basement. In VA we also had a walkout basement where we had a family room and other areas and we did send youth down there. Here we also have a walkout basement with a family room, my dh's office, a kitchen, laundry room, and a combo- bathtub/shower rooom/exercise room/storm shelter. In this area, I refused to look at homes without a basement or storm shelter. As to stairs, my house has entrances on both levels and if it was a day, I am not walking on stairs well, I would just walk around the house. That would be a step down from my porch and one step down from my sidewalk. Also I specifically bought a house with straight stairwell to accommodate a stair lift system when I will need it.

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We have a finished basement, and the "man cave" portion is surrounded by 3 fully underground walls. When there is severe weather overnight, the kids sleep down there. We join them during the worst of it, but they never even have to wake up. It's a non-negotiable for me on housing. Basements are so common here, that it's rare to not have one. Even my aunt and uncle's manufacturered home is sitting on a full, walkout basement (although you have to access it from the back yard).

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I've never lived in a house with a basement, really, though parents did jackhammer out some of the hillside under their house to make a small one when I was a teen. Either way, I'd prefer one for storage butbwebhave managed okay without one. My inlaws have a basement and I can see the convenience but sometimes the soils just aren't amenable, so it's not a deal breaker for me.

 

I'd rather have no basement that a gross, wet one!

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We have a basement, but it's not a play place. DH has a workbench down there, and the chest freezers are down there, but it's not a finished space at all. Not suitable for playing. I have other places in the house I send the kids.

 

We aren't in a big tornado area so that's not really a concern. But we could hang out in the basement if need be.

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There are pros and cons to a basement. We have an unfinished one and like it. If you want to live in a place with a creek nearby or certain types of soil, you may not want one.

 

One plus to a basement is that the HVAC is quiet. In our last house it was on the first level and very loud. Kind of embarrassingly loud. I find this to be true for all of my friends with the HVAC on their first level.

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I'm kind of surprised you have a choice.  Every place I've lived, which granted, isn't a lot, has either

 

1) Needed to have a foundation beneath the frost-line, which pretty much mandates at least a crawl space below grade, and usually a full basement.  So, every house in those areas had a basement

 

or

 

2) Was in a climate that never needed to worry about frost heave, or the water table was high enough that you couldn't have a basement, and thus none of the houses in those areas had basements.

 

 

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I miss having a basement SO. MUCH.

 

We aren't tornado-prone, but it sure does stink having to go out to the shed in the winter to unearth some infrequently used item.  (To be fair, it doesn't stink as much as having to drive the the storage facility we used before building the shed!)

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I'm kind of surprised you have a choice.  Every place I've lived, which granted, isn't a lot, has either

 

1) Needed to have a foundation beneath the frost-line, which pretty much mandates at least a crawl space below grade, and usually a full basement.  So, every house in those areas had a basement

 

or

 

2) Was in a climate that never needed to worry about frost heave, or the water table was high enough that you couldn't have a basement, and thus none of the houses in those areas had basements.

 

That thought had occurred to me too.   

 

I remember in the 80's enough yankees were moving to the DFW area requesting basements, that there was a development that had basements.   It did not work out well.   At all.   Building a basement takes a different knowledge base than building a slab or pier-and-beam foundation.  The workers didn't have that knowledge.   Plus, we have clay soil and a mix of drought and torrential rains.   So, basements are probably extra challenging.   

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I'm kind of surprised you have a choice.  Every place I've lived, which granted, isn't a lot, has either

 

1) Needed to have a foundation beneath the frost-line, which pretty much mandates at least a crawl space below grade, and usually a full basement.  So, every house in those areas had a basement

 

or

 

2) Was in a climate that never needed to worry about frost heave, or the water table was high enough that you couldn't have a basement, and thus none of the houses in those areas had basements.

 

Our area has a mix of crawl spaces and basements.  We're very rocky, so committing to a full basement build risks the extra expense of blasting to get down that far!

 

My crawl space is almost deep enough for me (5'9") to stand up straight.  I'm guessing the builders decided to go as far as the ground would allow them with basic equipment.

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I love having a basement.

I own a lot of basement stuff--3 extra chest freezers, an extra refrigerator, house painting supplies, canning supplies and home canned goods, Costco purchases, Christmas stuff, camping stuff, bee keeping stuff, winter wear; I have a sewing/laundry room down there as well as a weight lifting/exercise room.

We have a high water table, too, but have sump pumps and a generator to deal with it.

Cat litter box is down there.

I have an exterior entry and sink down there so the guys can come in and wash up and take off their filthy boots and clothes if needed.

It's a plus in tornado country like ours.

 

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I love ours. It holds our workout/play area and our school room in the finished section. No one can hear anything when the kids are loud upstairs. Plus, we made a cool guinea pig run so they love to "hang out" with us down there. The unfinished (just concrete and painted concrete walls) has the laundry area, storage and freezer. Growing up, I didn't have a basement but it is a requirement for any house now.

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I can't imagine not having a basement. Our current house has a basement with a rec room and an office, plus a little nook where I work. I do wish our laundry was not down here though. I spend most of my day down here. At some point in the future we will most likely be moving to Dallas, where there are no basements. That really bothers me! I think I've seen 3 or 4 houses with basements on Zillow, but they were all multi-million dollar houses.

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I have never lived in a home with a basement and I wish I had a slab foundation. Most of the homes here (or at least ones I look up online on the market) do not have slab foundation. I hate these dumb pier foundations. Ugh.

 

 

I used to think that slabs were for 'good houses' and pier-and-beam were for the 'bad and old houses.'    But, I have been totally converted.  With foundation damage, which seems to be just a matter of time with slab, the repair is outrageously expensive, requiring several men with specialized knowledge and equipment.   If a pier-and-beam house has foundation damage, one husband and a few car jacks can fix things.   

 

The house we live in now, we bought at one third to half its value because of this.  It is pier-and-beam and it had 'foundation damage', which was caused by the previous owner putting a 4" slab of cement into the small bathroom.   The weight of that broke the beam underneath.   Because it had foundation damage, the buyer had to pay cash since no company would give a loan on it.  Which severely limited the pool of buyers.   

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I like a basement if for no other reason than peace of mind to tell if something is going wrong under the house. Leaking bathrooms, fridge hoses, etc can go for years unnoticed in a crawl space. Plus I think it's nice for food storage, a chest freezer and laundry separate from main living area.

 

 

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God willing, our house will sell and we'll be moving. Soon.

Our house right now is a good size, but with no basement. I had initially had a basement as part of my criteria for the new house, but the houses I'm finding in our price range that I like are on slab foundations. And if faced with having to choose between a basement and a big kitchen, well...

I'd like a basement for two reasons. 1. A safer space if a tornado comes through. It's not like we live in Oklahoma, but we get the occasional tornado watch. 2. A nice place to send the children when they (I) need some time to play (relax). [emoji6]

I want the basement, but I also want the houses that don't have them.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

Large parts of the country have areas where basements are simply not possible.  Where we live (close to sea level but away from the coast) the water table is simply too high, so all of the houses here have stout slab foundations.  In our house the half-bath under the stairs is our storm retreat for when a tornado or the strongest part of a hurricane hits.

 

HVAC, water heaters, and such things that often are put in basements are put in the attic here.  Laundry closets or rooms are part of the floor plan, as are any other utility and storage spaces (storing things in non-climate-controlled attics will lead to deterioration of the stored items).  

 

People from out of state think we have a thing for bigger houses -- no, we just don't have the additional uncounted square footage that a basement provides, so all of what we need the house to do has to go into the counted square footage.

 

When looking at houses look at each house with only that house in mind, and mentally put your family into it.  Where and how will you shelter from tornadoes, or have the kids play, or any of the other myriad things you usually count on a basement for?

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Interestingly enough, we have almost always had a basement, even in places where it isn't typical or is unheard of.

 

We had a basement in Los Angeles, CA!   It wasn't finished or anything, but our laundry was down there!  And we had storage down there.

We have a basement in NC, where it is rare.  It is possible, but it is rare.  We happen to live on a hill, so one side of the basement is ground level and the other side is underground.  

 

Basements are great but have never been on my must have list.

 

 

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Grew up in S. California, never had a basement. Moved to Illinois - basements here useful for storage and hiding from bad weather. BUT so far have only lived in older house with lower ceiling basement that can't really be any liveable space, also gets damp/leaks in spots. If I moved into a house here with no basement, I would want to dig out and install a small tornado center underground somewhere.

 

I grew up in SoCAL and live here now. Don't recall  ever being in anything more than a damp cellar on some old Craftman.  I have lived on the east coast, and visit there frequently.  So envious of those with full finished basements:. Family room, wet bar, bath, air/heat, and guest bedrooms all underground. It doubles their living space.   But I know of one house in SoCal with a basement, actually a few.   If  that red ball every lands my way, I am moving here. www.forbes.com/sites/samanthasharf/2016/07/27/l-a-s-distinctive-underground-mansion-relists-at-48-million-a-5-million-reduction/#399d355d52ec 

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