@cengland0@yakkoTDI Commercial building basements are not the same thing; they have enough structure on top of them to keep the basement below grade regardless of the level of the water table. Build a house with a yankee-style basement in Dade, Broward, or Collier County and it’s going to rise from the ground and then settle sideways at an angle. Much of the rest of the state has the same problem, particularly anywhere abreast or south of Lake Okeechobee. Just keeping an in-ground pool in the ground can be a challenge if it needs to be emptied for some reason.
@cengland0@lisagd@werehatrack@yakkoTDI So if you want a basement you just gotta order enough stuff from Meh! et al and keep it at home to keep the earth from regurgitating your below ground structure…
Couple refrigerators full of batteries would make a nice dense start…
In Las Vegas we were always told that the caliche was the reason for no basements… you can dig into/through it but its hard and so more expensive
I’ve seen exactly one house with a basement in Texas. And that house was split level. You went in the front door of the house, took the hall and opened the door down the steps to the basement, then out the back door to the back yard. Does that count as a basement? It was used as a shop and a rec room.
But I guess that would still be some protection from this very destructive weather we’ve had lately.
OTOH, I’ve also seen houses with storm cellars separate from the house. They look like mostly-below-ground concrete igloos. Those can be very handy. (Preserve your hide in bad weather, hide your strawberry preserves in any weather.)
@phendrick I don’t know how TX does it without basements. Where do you put your movie theatre room and half used paint cans? You’re not going to waste good real estate with a window for that stuff are you?
@show_the_maw At least along the Gulf Coast, basements are simply not an option. The ground is too unstable; you’d have to sink deep piers to keep the foundation from subsiding unevenly. And you’d need one hell of a sump pump to lift water from the drain high enough to prevent backflow from the sewer, and to keep the basement dry in wet weather - which we get rather a lot of during certain months. Up in the Dallas area, you’d often have to blast a hole in the rock; the topsoil’s not terribly deep in large parts of that area. That’s true for a lot of non-coastal Texas, actually.
For the hot water tank and furnace. Also a place to hide if the tornado sirens go off. It’s dirty and has spiders. It also has access to water lines and stuff. I’ve never had a dog willingly go down there. We had to carry our old dog during storms. Pup wants nothing to do with the basement and runs off if I even open the door.
@werehatrack@andyw My current house is the first one I’ve lived in with a basement and I love it. We spend time down there pretty much every day. It is a walk-out (the house sits on a slope). Never had a leak and never humid - it was built with proper drainage and sealing. Down there is the family/TV room, my wife’s sewing and crafts area, a full bath and a small (4th) bedroom I added when my oldest became a teen and decided she didn’t want to share an upstairs bedroom with her younger sibling. There is also an unheated mechanical/root cellar/storage room.
None where I live. Be nice to have them for a place to hide for tornadoes, storage… One person I know has a split level and the lowest level is “basement” level and it constantly gets water in it.
We just refinished our basement and took what was once a half finished liveable area to a gorgeous desirably livable area. We put a full bath, laundry room bedroom, guest room / office, and a couple of rec rooms. It’s awesome.
I love a basement. I live in California so I don’t have one. They’re such a great way to add basically hidden square footage to a home. Our basement was finished when I was a kid and it was the best place to be on a hot afternoon in the summer.
When we bought this townhouse in the development (new, not yet completed) they had already sold all their basement units; I really wanted one. Storage, instead of using the ladder-accessible attic, plus a couple of big workbenches and storage for hobbies for both of us.
It was not to be; it would have been another 1-2 years before they started building the next section which would have made 2-3 more basement units available.
But it would have made a HUGE difference in our lives and hobbies.
I send the kids down there and they can do whatever kids do in a basement that doesn’t involve stressing out the Mrs.
Not as good as a trunk.
I wish I had a basement. I live in Florida and the water table is too high for basements here.
@cengland0 I live in west Texas, the ground is to hard for basements
@cengland0 That is not correct. Multiple building in downtown Tampa have basements and it is right next to the Hillsborough river and Tampa Bay.
@cengland0 @yakkoTDI Commercial building basements are not the same thing; they have enough structure on top of them to keep the basement below grade regardless of the level of the water table. Build a house with a yankee-style basement in Dade, Broward, or Collier County and it’s going to rise from the ground and then settle sideways at an angle. Much of the rest of the state has the same problem, particularly anywhere abreast or south of Lake Okeechobee. Just keeping an in-ground pool in the ground can be a challenge if it needs to be emptied for some reason.
@cengland0 @werehatrack @yakkoTDI Wow, I never knew that!
@cengland0 @lisagd @werehatrack @yakkoTDI So if you want a basement you just gotta order enough stuff from Meh! et al and keep it at home to keep the earth from regurgitating your below ground structure…
Couple refrigerators full of batteries would make a nice dense start…
In Las Vegas we were always told that the caliche was the reason for no basements… you can dig into/through it but its hard and so more expensive
Hiding from tornadoes.
I’ve seen exactly one house with a basement in Texas. And that house was split level. You went in the front door of the house, took the hall and opened the door down the steps to the basement, then out the back door to the back yard. Does that count as a basement? It was used as a shop and a rec room.
But I guess that would still be some protection from this very destructive weather we’ve had lately.
OTOH, I’ve also seen houses with storm cellars separate from the house. They look like mostly-below-ground concrete igloos. Those can be very handy. (Preserve your hide in bad weather, hide your strawberry preserves in any weather.)
@phendrick I don’t know how TX does it without basements. Where do you put your movie theatre room and half used paint cans? You’re not going to waste good real estate with a window for that stuff are you?
@show_the_maw At least along the Gulf Coast, basements are simply not an option. The ground is too unstable; you’d have to sink deep piers to keep the foundation from subsiding unevenly. And you’d need one hell of a sump pump to lift water from the drain high enough to prevent backflow from the sewer, and to keep the basement dry in wet weather - which we get rather a lot of during certain months. Up in the Dallas area, you’d often have to blast a hole in the rock; the topsoil’s not terribly deep in large parts of that area. That’s true for a lot of non-coastal Texas, actually.
… not under my house.
Yes. Those things. And more.
I have a crawlspace, and it’s where I store moist air.
For the hot water tank and furnace. Also a place to hide if the tornado sirens go off. It’s dirty and has spiders. It also has access to water lines and stuff. I’ve never had a dog willingly go down there. We had to carry our old dog during storms. Pup wants nothing to do with the basement and runs off if I even open the door.
@remo28 Smart dogs.
Basements are for people who live where they are a practical feature to include in housing construction. I have never had one.
@werehatrack And I’ve never had a garage (but have had basements).
@werehatrack @andyw My current house is the first one I’ve lived in with a basement and I love it. We spend time down there pretty much every day. It is a walk-out (the house sits on a slope). Never had a leak and never humid - it was built with proper drainage and sealing. Down there is the family/TV room, my wife’s sewing and crafts area, a full bath and a small (4th) bedroom I added when my oldest became a teen and decided she didn’t want to share an upstairs bedroom with her younger sibling. There is also an unheated mechanical/root cellar/storage room.
Used to live in Denver. Got sick of the owner finished basements, with a pool table and a cheap tiffany knock off light fixture over it…
All of the above. And laundry, utilities, and an extra freezer that came with the house.
Projects.
It puts the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again.
Projects, washer, dryer, storage, heater, water heater.
creepy
Lots of storage and crafts projects that I haven’t done.
Model railroad
None where I live. Be nice to have them for a place to hide for tornadoes, storage… One person I know has a split level and the lowest level is “basement” level and it constantly gets water in it.
It’s for my office. When I had kids in the house it was also for their hangout area / game room. Now it’s mostly storage
Finishing and making into aTV/rec rom eventually.
Someplace to be avoided at all costs. Or is that just my unresolved trauma showing again?
We just refinished our basement and took what was once a half finished liveable area to a gorgeous desirably livable area. We put a full bath, laundry room bedroom, guest room / office, and a couple of rec rooms. It’s awesome.
EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!
Riiiiight. What’s a basement? We don’t tend to have them out here in California.
I love a basement. I live in California so I don’t have one.
They’re such a great way to add basically hidden square footage to a home. Our basement was finished when I was a kid and it was the best place to be on a hot afternoon in the summer.
When we bought this townhouse in the development (new, not yet completed) they had already sold all their basement units; I really wanted one. Storage, instead of using the ladder-accessible attic, plus a couple of big workbenches and storage for hobbies for both of us.
It was not to be; it would have been another 1-2 years before they started building the next section which would have made 2-3 more basement units available.
But it would have made a HUGE difference in our lives and hobbies.
…where I’ve got Batman.
No, not that episode, the one where he’s got a broken air conditioner.