Do you have a basement?

[Nancy]

Most houses here have basements. There are some houses that were built right after WWII that don't have basements..they were built on concrete slabs very quickly. All they have is an attic crawlspace.

I live in an area with a very high water table, so my basement tends to be damp all the time. It drives me crazy. Of course I didn't know that when we bought the house. I just found out recently that there used to be a creek running through the village and they filled it in to build houses. My house is very close to the location of the creek.

 

[KimRaye]

Originally posted by Roemama1
I have a finished basement and am actually in it right now because that is where my computer is.

Same as me altho, my computer is technically in part of the storage area. Good for when we have company tho, just close the doors and, "POOF", my messy desk is outta sight.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

Yes we do at home and also here at school

 

[catsrule]

 

[Pluto2003]

we have expansive soil.......... a type of clay that expands when wet and shrinks when dry. Must water your foundation to keep the soil expanded so your foundation doesn't crack..........My husband misses his basement.

 

[tar heel]

Most of the houses here that have basements are built by people who moved from the north!

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Living in Wisconsin I think most homes have basements. I for one could not live somewhere without a basement. The threat of Tornados is too scary to comprehend without a basement!

 

[LuvN~Travel]

Actually in Alabama, it depends on where you live. In the northern half you'll find more basements, but below the central part you find very few. Most of it depends on the local soil. The northern half has pretty good soil, so basements are cheap, and it helps during tornadoes. However, about midway down Alabama, there is a nasty soil line of black clay, and boy is it expensive to dig out! Most people can't afford to do so. Some areas aren't hit by it, so you'll find basements here and there, especially near the two biggest lakes. And, pretty much further down, you may find crawlspaces, but not many basements either.
Kim

 

[Danauk]

I live in England where most houses don't have a basement. Old Edwardian and Victorian houses had basements but modern houses don't.

 

[cinmell]

Yes, we have a basement.

 

[aprilgail2]

We have a basement here in NY too! Most of the new houses they are building around here dont have them , simply because its cheaper to build them without. Ours is finished and when I was a kid it was our "playroom" had pool table, ping pong table, air hockey, pinball, darts, cable TV, etc....now it pretty empty and my daughter rides her bike on the carpeting down there but I am hoping to get it redone soon with the Owen Corning basement system.

 

[Towncrier]

Another basement checking in. Most of our neighbors have sump pumps to keep their basements dry. Apparently the water table is just high enough in our neighborhood that some homes require an active system to keep the water out. Our house is the exception. No sump pump. No water problem. When they were building the house next door, the basement had two feet of standing water during construction.

The houses up the street were almost built without basements for a different reason. Our community is located on a ridge, and that ridge almost made it necessary to use dynamite to blast through the rock in order to "dig" basements. The concern was that the explosions would crack the foundations of homes that were already built. I think that once the builder dug down a bit, that they were able to create basements without blasting. Of course, those houses sit higher off the ground that those which weren't build on the ridge.

We would be lost without our basement. One half is finished with drywall and carpetted. That's where our teenage kids spend most of their recreation time. There are two computers, a television, DVD player, air hockey table, and several videogames down there. The other half of the basement houses our washer and dryer as well as Sue's flower shop. We have used every square inch of our basement and could not cope without all of that square footage. I don't know how we could ever relocate to Florida (or any other place without basements). I never realized just how many places in the United States don't have basements.

 

[robsmom]

one of the things we loved about our model when we had the house built was the great basement. Ours goes under the full house. about 2/3 of it is finished. it has stairs down the middle of what would otherwise be one really big room. we have created sort of 4 sections, one is sofas/tv like an extra family room, one is toys/play area. the back is the pool table and the last is a hodgepodge of stuff - table with chairs, a computer desk with my son's computer, some old dressers that I use to store wrapping paper etc. it also has a big closet build under the stairs and a full bathroom. we hope to build in a bar in the next few years. The final 1/3 is our storage area. unfinished/cement floor and walls with the sump pump and hot water heater in this area. full of christmas decorations, bins of outgrown baby clothes and toys, etc.

 

[FINFAN]

We have a hole in the ground that is cement below our first floor...kinda dark, cold, holds a lot of useless stuff...not quite sure what this place is as no one is brave enough to enter it, especially alone! We are in Chicago area, most homes have basements but not all. It is an option for a lot of builders and many older ranches do not have them. We just passed on a job offer in OK and one concerning issue was no basement...issue for DH that is, given the unstable storms ourt there. I hate our dungeon and would take a second floor "bonus" room any day over a besement...o.k., maybe a daylight or walk out is nice, if finished...Just not one to be put in the ground before my time! Gotta have natural day/sunlight!

Pam

 

[Catzeyes]

Here in Puerto Rico I have yet to see a house with a basement. However in Wisconsin where I lived most of my life almost every house had one.

 

[p-nut]

no I do not have a basement.

 

[browneyes]

Nope, no basement here.

 

[Serena]

We have one, it's a full basement and I wouldn't know what to do with a house without one.

 

[ShuisFan584]

We have a basement in our house. It used to be the place where all the junk was, and no one ever went down there. But just last year we got the basement finished and it is one of the best things we've ever done! We have some futons and chairs down there, along with a TV, Nintendo, computer, air hockey, refrigerator, etc, so now it's where everyone hangs out.

 

[shep]

Yes.