Who Has a Basement?

[flyangler18]

Everybody in Missouri has a basement.

I finished ours three years ago. Two movie rooms. A great room. A bedroom and a huge bathroom with walk-in marble tiled shower. The basement makes up about 1,100 square feet.

As usual, BM lays us all to waste. :rockin: Buzzkill.

 

[Skins_Brew]

BM, i couldnt watch the entire video because my internet sucks at work, but are you brewing with propane in your basement? What kind of ventilation do you have set up?

 

[BierMuncher]

BM, i couldnt watch the entire video because my internet sucks at work, but are you brewing with propane in your basement? What kind of ventilation do you have set up?

Box fan blowing in...a box fan blowing out. Nice strong cross breeze.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Just out of curiosity, up here in Canada it's kind of par for course to have basements. I thought the U.S. was the same as I'd always seen people on TV with basements. But considering some recent comments form American friends and people on this board, it seems they're not as common as I thought. Which is a pity considering our hobby! Is it an earthquake thing?

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people 'round Portland (OR) as I could be moving that way soon.

And if you DO have a basement, is there any reason you don't have a bar?

-WW

Having lived in several areas of the US, I can tell you that basements are common in the midwest & northeast, and almost nonexistant in the southeast & southwest, but there are always exceptions. A lot of homes in tornado prone areas will at least have some sort of storm shelter if not a proper basement. The northwest is a bit of a mix as some have them & some don't. Technically, I don't have a basement, but my place is partially underground to begin with. For me outside ground level is about waist high inside, but I don't think that would count. Regards, GF.

 

[Flyin' Lion]

Actually, around here it's all about the water table. Not many people have basements. Water tables are variable in each location. There are locations around here where one day it might be 15 ft and a few weeks later it could be 3 ft, depending on precipitation and soil geology.

Most builders here won't build them due to the liability. Sump pumps are too risky and can't handle the load in a lot of places. You have to waterproof the crap out of the foundation walls and even then they might leak because of the high water table. Plus a 1500 sf (footprint) house will add about $10-$12K just on builder cost over a 4 ft crawlspace. So, unless it's a custom home on soil with a low water table, basements just aren't done around here.

The houses (new construction) we've been looking at in the Townsend/Middletown area are being built with basements. Which is odd, I thought, considering the obvious groundwater issues...But, houses around here in Richmond (new construction) are mostly going up without basements. I get all kinds of excuses as to why, but mostly it has to do with builders cost and experience level (so I'm told).

I grew up with a basement in Michigan and I swear my next house wil have one--even if its in Delaware.

 

[CBBaron]

Frost line and water table both affect a basement. A deep frost line makes a basement a fairly minor cost increase over the required footings. So most buildings in the north have a basement. However a high water table make basements problematic so the are rare where the water table is high.

Once you get to areas like the south west there is no need for anything more than a slab for a foundation. Because this is much cheaper than digging and pouring a basement few houses will have a cellar.
Here in NE Ohio nearly everyone has a basement. But by the time you get to southern Ohio its not unusual to see crawl spaces.

Craig

 

[WriterWriter]

Thanks guys for the info. I had never heard of a frost line or water table. I guess down in Portland it's just a matter of looking around.

Another thing about basements that made me ask is the possibility of renting them out to students, or whomever. In Vancouver (5.5 hour drive from Portland) you've got half the city refurnishing their basements to supplement the mortgage. But back at Christmas I ran into a guy from Portland who had never heard of this practice.

 

[BlackDogBrewing]

My basement is dark and damp, with stone walls and a very rough concrete floor. I can only stand up between the rafters. I'd have a bar if I could, but it's still a great place to ferment and keep 40 cases of beer.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I have a walk-out style, not a dungeun-style basement.

My back doors lead out of my brewing kitchen and a slider at the other end of the house, a bathroom, TV room fireplace and a couple of tables. We also have an East German Eckbank (corner bench unit).

 

[mmb]

I've heard those short, not a basement, not a crawl space foundation areas called "Michigan Basements" when we were looking at older homes (80+). Most had some sort of water cistern as well.

 

[menschmaschine]

The houses (new construction) we've been looking at in the Townsend/Middletown area are being built with basements. Which is odd, I thought, considering the obvious groundwater issues...But, houses around here in Richmond (new construction) are mostly going up without basements. I get all kinds of excuses as to why, but mostly it has to do with builders cost and experience level (so I'm told).

I grew up with a basement in Michigan and I swear my next house wil have one--even if its in Delaware.

Basements aren't uncommon in Kent County and even common in New Castle County. You should be able to get a basement no problem in the Middletown area. It's just down here in Sussex Co. that the water table is so high. This whole county is practically one giant coastal wetland.

 

[llazy_llama]

Half of my house is underground (the 2 bedrooms, master bathroom, utility room) and it's supposed to help with the heating and cooling. Problem is, the genius who designed my house put the heating ducts inbetween the two floors, so all that hot air just rises up to the living room and kitchen, and we freeze at night in the bedroom. It's not really a basement per se, but it's underground, so I think it counts.

When I was a kid growing up in Texas, I always thought basements were fake. I never had one, and no one I knew had one. I was told it was because our soil is too hard, or because we have a layer of clay underneath.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

I love my basement. Someday I may even finish it.

 

[mmb]

I love my basement. Someday I may even finish it.

That will be the 4th sign of the Apocalypse.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

That will be the 4th sign of the Apocalypse.

Nah.. it's not a matter of time or effort. If I get that other issue taken care of it *will* get done.

 

[IrregularPulse]

Southern Ohio here, Basement in deed. bar...not yet. Keezer.... Of Course!

 

[bmckee56]

I have a basement, a gameroom w/bar, a kitchen area which I use to brew beer and make wine and my garage. Oh, I also have a cold storage cellar.

I use all the space I have and spend the majority of my free time in these areas.

Salute!

 

[Homercidal]

My basement is a "Michigan Basement" or Stone Wall basement, and my water table is bit high. Combination means I have to have a working sump pump and it's still damp 98% of the year. It's pretty useless for anything but keeping a furnace and hater heater. I store some stuff on a table.

Most people around here have basements, except people with mobile homes who mostly build on slabs to save money. I've seen many places in KY without basements because the limestone is so close to the surface, or it's all clay.

 

[Turkeyfoot Jr.]

I grew up in NW Ohio with a basement, moved to GA and had a "walk-in" basement (house built into the side of a hill), and now I'm back in Ohio and back to having a basement. Most houses we looked at when we moved back had basements, seems to be common around here. My mom's originally from Pensacola, FL and basements down there are non-existent.

 

[Cookiebaggs]

I finished off 2/3 of my basement about 6 years ago. It was a great investment. It added 800 sq ft. and another bathroom. I didn't put in another bedroom because I would have had to add an egress window to provide a 2nd exit incase of a fire. I didn't feel like going through that hassle.

BTW, The bar now has a kegerator with tapper tower.

 

[pompeiisneaks]

I'm in Utah, and so far almost every house I've lived in, as far as I can recall had a basement, often very BIG basement. We are in a desert here in this state, though and maybe that's why the ground's dry and the water table low, usually.

 

[wildwest450]

No basements on BonAir Mt. 24to 36 inches down and your on solid rock.

So I built my man cave above the garage. So heaven is 12 steps up, not down.

 

[user 30639]

I grew up in Michigan and didn't know anyone who didn't have a basement.

Then I moved to Texas. No basements in my part of TX because of all the clay in the soil.

I miss my basement

 

[bluehouse]

There are houses in our area that have basements, very few, very old, very expensive houses. My husband's grandmothers house, downtown had a basement. Anything built after 1890 probably does not have a basement. We have no frost line, no high water table, few weather realted emergencies, lots of land, big yards & room to build as many square feet as you can afford on a single floor or two story if you so desire.