Why don't southern houses have basements?

[dontpanicbobby]

Southern houses have basements? US specific i think?

 

[Dannydet]

I believe it's because most of the southern states are close to or below sea level, which means you are digging into mud or worse, so there's not much to work with, to create a good foundation.

 

[ocnbrze]

no basements here in LA.....after seeing too many horror movies, i would be creeped out by them....LOL

 

[dontpanicbobby]

They are actually cool. Like chilly.
I think they missed a good thing.
There are cellars down there though.

 

[ocnbrze]

no cellars that i have seen hear in LA......most house will have attics though

 

[dontpanicbobby]

If it's not a triple-decker it's a rare attic.

 

[ocnbrze]

If it's not a triple-decker it's a rare attic.

i have a single story house and it has an attic....granted it is more like a crawl space, but never the less it is called an attic. i even have a foldout ladder to climb up it.

 

[Deleted User]

Hi all

 

[ocnbrze]

Hi all

hello and welcome to af!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[olbriar]

Being in construction in Kansas, it's rare to find a new home that doesn't take advantage of the cheap additional footage a basement adds to a dwelling. I once shared a chat channel with a lady that lived in OKC. That's just a two hour drive or so from where I live. She was contemplating building a new home and I suggested a basement plan for all of its advantages. It made her shudder. Living below the earth surface.. NO WAY. It's more of a mind set than soil conditions which all but eliminates basements from being popular in Oklahoma.

 

[ocnbrze]

now if you turn your basement into lets say a kitchen or the dining room, it will be less creepy for my. but if you turn a basement into a basement.....HELL NO!!!! i aint going down there!!!!! so yeah its all in the head for me

 

[Hadron]

Basements are not common in the UK. But in recent years they have become very popular with the super-rich in London: since there's very little space, one way you can extend is downwards, so some have been adding multiple floors underneath an existing house (sometimes resulting in the property being larger underground than it is above).

Of course every now and then one of them gets it wrong and the house collapses during the building work...

 

[olbriar]

now if you turn your basement into lets say a kitchen or the dining room, it will be less creepy for my. but if you turn a basement into a basement.....HELL NO!!!! i aint going down there!!!!! so yeah its all in the head for me

Around here there is typically a spare bedroom or two, the mechanics room, and a den or entertainment area. A fireplace is common as well as daylight windows. Larger homes will have a theater and or a gym. Most nowadays have nine foot ceilings or even ten. It's not like entering a cave. Here is a recent job I did. Bar area looking into the theater.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

No way @olbriar I've got the full Vincent Price movie with rock walls experience going down into my basement. My Uncle did do some renovation in the 1970s (painted the rocks and created a little playroom with drywall) most of the walls are mortared granite though. There's this one room...

 

[Dannydet]

This is my finished basement...

 

[dontpanicbobby]

@Dannydet it's an apapartment building.
No room for a pendulum.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

View attachment 155554 This is my finished basement...

No furnaces? How do you stay warm?

 

[olbriar]

Very nice @Dannydet ! A great example of using the space to create a great living area!

 

[Unforgiven]

I'm currently refinishing my basement after a burst water heater caused water damage. I'll post some pics as it comes together.

 

[Dannydet]

@dontpanicbobby, the furnace room is on the other side of the basement...

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Of course.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Turn it out to the left yeah.

 

[olbriar]

I've actually worked on a few new homes that put heat strips under the flooring to aid in keeping the feet warm. Forced air will stay higher in a basement space making it great in the summer but a bit cool to the feet in the winter. More often that not, the air supplies are in the ceiling but the duct work can be run in the concrete floor... it's just a more expensive alternative. Though more expensive, forced flooring heat has to be a cheaper alternative to electric heated matts between the concrete and flooring.

My home is built on a crawl space and I hate it!

 

[Dannydet]

Here's the furnace room...

 

[dontpanicbobby]

They're so thin.
Do you do water in there.