Anyone here into basements?
- Thread starter TAftw
- Start date
61scout80
Well-known member
i wish i had a basement. my place is slab on grade 
bry@n
Well-known member
My basement is a bar and tv lounge area. I have a space for a little shop but my wife took it over for storage.
Vernmotor
Well-known member
Sure
Sure
you rebuild 727s
RLRRLRLL
Well-known member
my basement is my "studio" have a couple drumests set up down there, and a small PA. its only like the size of one small room down there. But..its my place to escape other then the garage.
heres an older picture.
heres an older picture.
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My basement is light blue and cluttered. Much better than when I moved in and it was dark, had a terrifying section walled off as a canning center, and felt like spider town. I do have a very old workbench down there, tiny toolbox...place to tinker when it is cold outside. If I find some time this winter, I'd like to make my work area more appealing/organized. We'll see what I can make happen...after the bathroom remodel.
babzog
Well-known member
i wish i had a basement. my place is slab on grade
I wish I had slab on grade. My place has a basement.
What I mean by that is, the floor is 3' below the water table; I'm constantly in danger of floods; I've had two floods already (and the PO had one or two); the sump pump runs every couple of minutes or so; I need a backup gen to keep the pump working when the power goes out; it's cold; it's damp (both of which lead to mould and mildew buildup). I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. It's a finished basement, so a flood means an expensive claim. I'm this close >< to gutting it, throwing everything in a dumpster and forgetting it. I'd never buy or build another place with a basement again. Better to go up, IMO, if you want or need the extra space. Who wants to spend their time in a hole in the ground?
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rsanter
Well-known member
I wish I had a basement
I could use the added space
bob
I could use the added space
bob
I honestly can't understand why most newer construction, at least in my part of the country, doesn't include basements. Seems like wasted space to me. Under my house I could easily have a nice 12x12 room at least, but it would be a ton of work to try and add that now with a house on top.
If I decide to fix up my "barn" and turn it into more of a "shop", I'm going to dig some kind of room under it before I pour a new slab.
Although I have a hard enough time moving transmissions around my shop as it is, I can't imagine adding stairs to the equation.
If I decide to fix up my "barn" and turn it into more of a "shop", I'm going to dig some kind of room under it before I pour a new slab.
Although I have a hard enough time moving transmissions around my shop as it is, I can't imagine adding stairs to the equation.
crewchief888
Well-known member
that was one of my requirments when we bought our house, wife didnt understand why. now that we do have one, she understands. no listening to washer dryer, all kinds of extra storage room for seasonal stuff. a place for the kids to watch tv and play video games, and a place for me to get away from all of them when it's too cold to be outside
heres my one corner in my basement used for reloading and small projects. the previous owner was kind enough to leave his wookworkers bench, so iave enough room there built in shelf to store paint and stuff on and acouple shelves on the otehr side where i keep my collectable stuff.
i even have a small fridge, just in case
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Displaced Hokie
Well-known member
My garage is in my basement...which seems to be really common here in Alabama. It's a 2.5 car that takes up about 1/2 the length of the house. The other half if an extra bedroom and storage.
that was one of my requirments when we bought our house, wife didnt understand why. now that we do have one, she understands. no listening to washer dryer, all kinds of extra storage room for seasonal stuff. a place for the kids to watch tv and play video games, and a place for me to get away from all of them when it's too cold to be outside
EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!
I grew up in Maryland and all homes have a basement there. If I was to ever build a house here in California, it is a reqirement. I hate the fact that my house doesn't have one.
ddawg16
Well-known member
I have been trying to figure out why some parts of the country have them and others don't.
About the only thing that I have concluded is that it has to do with frost line....up north you have to put your foundation below the frost line....and properties tend to be small....so basements are common....but it's kinda rare to see them in the south...
I will be doing an addition to the house in the next year or so....part of the addition will be slab...part crawl space....I'm kicking around the idea of building a basement.....it would make a great office....
About the only thing that I have concluded is that it has to do with frost line....up north you have to put your foundation below the frost line....and properties tend to be small....so basements are common....but it's kinda rare to see them in the south...
I will be doing an addition to the house in the next year or so....part of the addition will be slab...part crawl space....I'm kicking around the idea of building a basement.....it would make a great office....
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
Additional cost is one factor. Around our area it is probably 50/50 with basements vs. crawlspaces. For awhile it was slab foundations, but you don't see too many of them anymore due to the way plumbing has to be ran.
I would prefer to have a basement over a crawlspace just for the ease of working on plumbing and or wiring. Also with a basement it gains some extra room on the living area as your furnace, water heater, softener can all be located underneath. And the utility appliances can be more centrally located. Ranch style houses on crawls or slabs seem to have the utility appliances all at one end off of the garage. So if you have a bath at the other end of the house, it take a little while for warm water to travel that far.
I did have a basement put under a 1 1/2 story house back in the early 80's. Luckily the house was on a hill and the guy doing the excavation could go in through the side of the hill and dig it out. It was supported by large beams and adjustable post. All in all it took about a month from start to finish. One half was dug out and foundation laid up, then the second half was dug and laid. $13,000 then to do it. I'd hate to see what it would cost today
TAMPAGT07
Well-known member
Man I wish I had a basement. I had one up north and I really miss it. I used to keep all of my small toys (jetskis, motorcycles,etc.) in it. I would have a machine shop set up in one if I had one.
rburke65
Well-known member
One reason for not building a basement is the location of the water table. Example would be the costal areas of Texas water table is very high. Also bed rock, where you would have to literally blast the rock away for a basement area.
I never knew houses DIDN'T have basements. the only place i could think of are homes on the coast, but aside from that everybody I know has one.
I like the shop you've got mikevango, this is what I was looking for. one guy I know uses a winch to lower motorcycles down his bulkhead stairs, and basically does complete rebuilds and restos in his basement lol.
I like the shop you've got mikevango, this is what I was looking for. one guy I know uses a winch to lower motorcycles down his bulkhead stairs, and basically does complete rebuilds and restos in his basement lol.
Vernmotor
Well-known member
Well I do mind own for the racecar..
FryZ
Well-known member
tweidman
Well-known member
Which Krate does that front wheel go to?
Scotto
Well-known member
I do all my woodworking and house oriented stuff down in the basement. Also do any auto related stuff that I need to tinker on down there. I like working down there because the temperature is always around 65-70 degrees, summer or winter.
galwaytt
Well-known member
...reminds me of the Ken Imhoff story.........!
rockwithjason
Well-known member
basements are pretty rare here in vegas. we have caleche (sp) clay here and it's as hard as rock to dig thru. basements would be very expensive.
Gary S
Well-known member
My basement has my computer room, my Wife's winter office, and my woodworking workshop with my Shopsmith and all my other "sharp" tools.
galwaytt
Well-known member
Additional cost is one factor. .....For awhile it was slab foundations, but you don't see too many of them anymore due to the way plumbing has to be ran..........
I did have a basement put under a 1 1/2 story house back in the early 80's. Luckily the house was on a hill and the guy doing the excavation could go in through the side of the hill and dig it out. It ............... All in all it took about a month from start to finish. One half was dug out and foundation laid up, then the second half was dug and laid. $13,000 then to do it. I'd hate to see what it would cost today
Let me help you on that one: I started with flat green field, and got the guy to dig. Problem no: 1 - met rock a short bit down. Problem no: 2 - a week later, and 3 days of rock breaker, hit bedrock.
26 truckloads of rock removed...........
.........cost: €30k (USD$45K at today's rate...........)Attachments
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I love our basement! It adds nearly 650 sq ft of usable space to our 100 year old house. We have the laundry down there as well as some office/craft room space, the furnace & water heater, plus some storage. The stone walls make it look kind cool, too.
Eddie 70
Well-known member
That was one of my requirements when my wife and were talking about building. We bought land that lay in such a way that a basement would be easy to drive into so I could keep my toys in. The other requirement was to have a 3 car garage upstairs so all of our drivers could stay inside. We bought the land and held it for 2 years. Then we came across a house that was very good deal that met my requirements. My wife liked the rest of the house so, we negotiated and now have a fairly new house with tons of room. 3 cars upstairs and a full basement below.
I love having the basement. Gives me plenty of room for work and storage.
I love having the basement. Gives me plenty of room for work and storage.
Vernmotor
Well-known member
I have to ssk why is the shelf in the middle of the door way ??
There used to be an older ranch style house behind me with a full basement from the 70s I think. We were told the house would stay and they were building another house on each side of it...but then they just bulldozed the house and a bunch of nice mature trees to build 3 new overpriced yuppie houses...
The worst part was sitting here watching them FILL IN the ******** basement before they built a house on top! Honestly I think some of the developers around here are morons. Which house is worth more...the one with a basement and nice mature trees in the back yard...or the one with fill under it and nothing but dirt out back?
The worst part was sitting here watching them FILL IN the ******** basement before they built a house on top! Honestly I think some of the developers around here are morons. Which house is worth more...the one with a basement and nice mature trees in the back yard...or the one with fill under it and nothing but dirt out back?
RbrtAWhyt
Well-known member
that was one of my requirments when we bought our house, wife didnt understand why. now that we do have one, she understands. no listening to washer dryer, all kinds of extra storage room for seasonal stuff. a place for the kids to watch tv and play video games, and a place for me to get away from all of them when it's too cold to be outside
heres my one corner in my basement used for reloading and small projects. the previous owner was kind enough to leave his wookworkers bench, so iave enough room there built in shelf to store paint and stuff on and acouple shelves on the otehr side where i keep my collectable stuff.
i even have a small fridge, just in case
How do you like that Dillon Square Deal "B"? I used to have a 550 but I wound up selling it with all my dies and other odds and ends...
Displaced Hokie
Well-known member
It was always funny to me how all the midwest folks I used to work with thought that there were no basements in the south. It's just that all the houses they looked at were newer spec homes buillt cheap and quick. Back home in VA everyone had a basement! But we also oversaw the building of their houses.
yhprum
Well-known member
Here in Phoenix, if you ask the builder for a basement they will say too rocky for a basement to dig. Then they will ask you if you want the inground pool option!
Torque1st
MEMBER EMERITUS
Gut the finished basement. Open up some vents so you have heat and AC down in the basement. Keep everything up off the floor. Put in a water driven sump pump for a backup to the sump pump if you have a city water supply.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200352039_200352039
Make sure there is an adequate perimeter drain channel for any water coming in to flow to the sump pump. Make sure the soil around the outside of the house has a slope of 1" per foot for 6 feet away from the foundation.
Also, check to see why the water table is so high.
I have a basement that stays dry if I keep after the soil grade outside. I also live near the top of a hill. There is a hand dug well on the property that didn't go dry even during the dust bowl days. It can go artesian in the spring of the year and cause some water problems for everyone around.
My basement currently has two workrooms, a rec room, a pottery room, laundry and utility room. When I remodel it will have a larger rec room, 3/4 bath, laundry, utility room, and a wood shop.
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I have to ask why is the shelf in the middle of the door way ??
Excellent question, Vern!
The house, which was built in 1910, was restored back in the 90's. At that time the basement had a dirt floor and that was the doorway between the front section and the furnace room/coal storage area in back. During restoration the fellow dug the entire floor out and poured concrete. During construction he opened up a larger doorway (seen at the right side of pic). The old doorway was now redundant and he placed a shelf there, which is really a dumb place for it. I plan to move the shelf and install a pre-built pantry unit in the opening, freeing up some floor space.
For those interested...those stone walls are 24" thick!! This house is solid as a proverbial rock!
z28snksknr
Well-known member
I've got a basement in the house I just bought. 11' ceilings (to the drop ceiling), poured concrete walls, clean concrete floor with no cracks, and it's completely empty and dry.
I've been fighting the wife to use it for storage since I know it's going to be a slow death if it starts accumulating clutter. One of these days its going to make an awesome area of the house. Until then, we forget it's there....
I've been fighting the wife to use it for storage since I know it's going to be a slow death if it starts accumulating clutter. One of these days its going to make an awesome area of the house. Until then, we forget it's there....
Vernmotor
Well-known member
ok thanks for the reply..did't make no sense to me why..But it does now!