Anyone here into basements?

[babzog]

There are vents down there - both cold air return and fresh air (from the heat pump). I do need a backup sump unit, though I'd have to get a battery unit as I'm on a private well. There is perimeter drainage tile but it's mostly blocked (determined when I had a crack repaired a few years ago - the guys cut out a section of the tile to check it and it was about 75% plugged). I need the entire foundation excavated, sealed, new tile installed and backfilled with stone (but at $15k minimum, I'm still unsure .. like replacing a roof or any of the basic services, that is not going to add any value to the house).

The water table is high here... or rather, the land is low. I recall seeing the place when it was being built. The foundation hole was dug too deep - the fellow should have stopped when he hit the clay layer. Instead, he kept digging and digging until he had a hole that resembled a swimming pool more than a basement. If he'd stopped at the clay layer, they could have backfilled and built embankments with sand and there would have been no issue.

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.

 

[Scotto]

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

You have any experience with those things? I've been throwing around the idea of getting one as a backup for my sump pump. I don't really like the idea of the battery operated once too.

 

[porphyre]

I need the entire foundation excavated, sealed, new tile installed and backfilled with stone (but at $15k minimum, I'm still unsure .. like replacing a roof or any of the basic services, that is not going to add any value to the house).

It may not ADD value, but it will definately PRESERVE value. This summer I bought a home. I looked at probably 30-40 properties. The way a home-buyer looks at things is "how long is this going to last?". If they see a new roof or learn the foundation has been completely fixed, it's one less thing to worry about.

Also, I looked at a great home in a great neighborhood that had about $20k worth of foundation repair. Crack repair, cable bracing and ties to eliminate bowing, grading of the property and drains installed. I looked long and hard at that home. While I didn't buy it, I can guaran-damn-tee you that it wouldn't have been on the short list if I'd seen cracks, bowing and grading issues. Fixing your foundation preserves the value of your home.

 

[Virago9577]

Hmm, a basement thread....great I love basements and until last summer we had a ranch with an unusable crawlspace....so I just dreamed about converting it into a full height basement. I'd spent some time thinking about how to create a great basement with walkout (we're on a lake) and garage type workshop. I had initially planned to do a separate 28x28 garage but that will have to wait. In the meantime I've gone forward and created my dream basement which is 73 x 30 - entirely open concept - 9" thick concrete walls with 10" ceiling height. The floor is 32mpa with fibre cement that is min 4" thick and the entire floor is equipped for radiant heat. Over the past four months the project has moved ahead to the point where the basement is fully enclosed and insulated. Until we get the radiant all configured and hooked up we've attached a small 55000 watt electric furnace and set it to 42 degrees F just to keep the chill off the floor. In the spring I'll finish the outside and cover the plywood with tyvik wrap and then architectural stone brick veneer - top to bottom. The water side will have several french doors and large windows for light and entry. Here are a few pics of the basement project so far - soon to be workshop/mancave. I will likely separate off a dedicated 28 x 15 section at one end for shop use....the rest will be bike storage, mancave, and washroom. I'm struggling with how to most efficiently and economically configure the radiant (possible geothermal) and how to finish off the floor. But more importantly looking forward to setting up the shop and using all the new space.

Virago9577

 

[logical]

In Michigan, you are already going down 48 inches plus to get below the frost line so a basement is cost effective providing you don't have water issues. Mine's what we call a walk-out meaning the back of the house has a grade at basement floor level while the front of the house has the lot graded up closer to first floor level. I have a little 4 x 8 light duty work table down there and keep all my homeowner tools in one area. All told, I've got over 2500 sq ft of space down there. eventually about half of it will get finished into a media room/bar/billiards area like my previous house but for now you could rollerblade down there. Another nice feature I did when I built this house is that I have one set of stairs to the basement from inside the house and a second set directly from the garage. First picture is taken in garage showing door to basement and entry to house. You can see house is pushed up fairly high above garage grade to get basement floor up to the grade level at back of lot.

 

[porphyre]

Logical: I'm stealing your "Wall of Tools" idea. It always bugs me that my wife wants to use a tool and, even though she can find it, she can never get it back in the right place. If I put a peg board with ONLY tools she's allow to touch, then do an outline of the tool on the board, that should solve the problem.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Most benches get the job done. But some just look better than others:

 

[Virago9577]

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...........)

Hi Galwaytt - I know your pain - 7 days of shovel and hoeramming through Cambrian Shield rock/limestone - to finally get our basement dug....I can't even utter the $ without getting weak at the knees! (85 tandems later)

 

[justinmc]

i got my bicycle tools down here in the basement.

That is one cool looking space!

 

[babzog]

It may not ADD value, but it will definately PRESERVE value. This summer I bought a home. I looked at probably 30-40 properties. The way a home-buyer looks at things is "how long is this going to last?". If they see a new roof or learn the foundation has been completely fixed, it's one less thing to worry about.

Also, I looked at a great home in a great neighborhood that had about $20k worth of foundation repair. Crack repair, cable bracing and ties to eliminate bowing, grading of the property and drains installed. I looked long and hard at that home. While I didn't buy it, I can guaran-damn-tee you that it wouldn't have been on the short list if I'd seen cracks, bowing and grading issues. Fixing your foundation preserves the value of your home.

I don't disagree with you, however, a wet basement is not an uncommon problem. If it's known about, it can often be lived with. I grew up in an old farmhouse that would always have a flooded basement in the spring. We just never finished it into living space. Same with my Gran's place - it's a newer home, but the basement is constantly wet. So, it's just used for bulk storage (off the floor). The foundation here is in good shape (only one other crack in the wall that I know about, and that's in the utility room and it can drain into the sump hole if it weeps) - it's just been placed far too low in the ground.

I'm essentially torn between paying for a dumster rental and a few cases of beer to have some buds come over and help me tear it all out, back to bare concrete walls and just living with/not caring about the occasional flood versus paying many many times more to have a crew come in every 15-20 years to dig up the foundation and replace the blocked drain tile.

The downside, of course, is losing a nicely finished basement, which is usuable probably 98% of the time (the rest of the time, it's a nightmare due to water issues). That 2% is enough to make me want to sell and buy/build a place on top of a hill made of rock.

 

[Cobra4B]

That's very cool looking... lots of character

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.

My parents made that mistake when they built their house in Greensboro, NC. They were told the back yard would be graded much flatter that it turned out... my brother is in a wheelchair and they through they'd be able to make a paver pathway to the golf course they live on. Turns out the back yard is way more graded and they could have easily done a walk in storage area integrated into the corner of the house to at least maintain all my father's yard equipment. As a result the garage is cluttered with stuff and he has no good place for it. I'm trying to convince him to retrofit the storage area as the HOA for the place they live is very picky and won't allow a shed or anything of the sort. This was supposed to be nearly flat...

Back home in VA everyone had a basement! But we also oversaw the building of their houses.

Depends on where you live. When we lived in Fairfax Station our house had a full walkout basement. I live in Va Beach and nobody has basements due to the sand and water table.

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!

Now that's pretty funny... no profit margin in a basement?

eventually about half of it will get finished into a media room/bar/billiards area like my previous house but for now you could rollerblade down there.

That gave me a flashback... when I was a kid in NJ we used to rollerblade in my basement... was unfinished block and slab.

a wet basement is not an uncommon problem.

I remember my dad constantly fighting the basement in NJ. One time it flooded nearly a foot deep. I was 8ish and inflated a 2 man raft I had and floated around... thought it was hillarious. Of course my father didn't... that mini flood precipitated a huge shelf building project to get everything upp of the ground and a sump pump was installed... then we sealed all the walls a few times. Still had dampness, but no more flooding.

Looking over this thread I do wish I had a basement... but my 1800 sq/ft ranch suffices. I do like the solid feel of my slab house. I'm so used to it that when I visit my parents w/ their crawl space house it feels odd to me as the floor doesn't feel the same as my house.

 

[Jeffksf]

My next house will have a walk out basement, I dream of being able to get my quad into the basement to do the winter time maintenance. It would be so much easier.
Right now our basement is 1/2 finished and 1/2 laundry/workshop.

 

[fireball 440]

My basement is 26x50. I have 2 8 foot work benches in there. One with miter saw, bench grinder, other saws and sanders. The other is for mechanical work. Also have a table in the middle for mostly woodwork. Also down there are 2 couches, 2 tool boxes, washer & dryer, storage room, furnace & waterheater, & a toilet.

Future plans ----- The Ultimate Man's Bathroom! I have 8x14 feet set aside for this.

 

[Boyd Who]

That's very cool looking... lots of character

Thanks, Cobra! We love the place. This is what sits above the basement...it was built in 1910.

 

[hawkgt]

In east Tennessee almost half of the homes have basements due to the gently rolling hillsides and not a lot of issues with rock. We are in the 5th week of building a new house and I couldn't be happier with the 650sq ft basement garage along with the 3 bay garage on the main level. The plan is to keep the 3 bay clean to keep the wife happy and the basement will be used for wood/metal work projects. Talking to multiple builders in this area confirmed an average upgrade price to build a basement of around $30k. Our basement is a daylight walkout which I felt was worth the $30k premium because it not only gave me a conditioned workspace but it also offers future benefit of finishing the rest of the basement for a guest suite, media room, den, or whatever we want/need.

sorry for the large pic
<a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i46.tinypic.com/2w3b1no.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>

 

[Cobra4B]

^ Now that's neat... will there be any other windows/doors on that bottom level?

 

[xpmcharly]

we moved two 1200 sq. ft. houses in the 90's and I had the mover price them delivered 8 ft in the air. Had the foundation poured,13 courses of block, and the houses set down on this. My father-in-law said it was steeupid. Doubled the sq. footage for 4500.00 each. Of course, I did marry into his family.

 

[Virago9577]

Ok - time to post again....fast forward a year or so and here's the progress report on the Mancave basement - 2500Sq ft of 32mpa concrete with walkout. Replaced the old red brick wwith architectural stone. Replaced the small windows with Argon filled double panes. To enable bikes etc in went with two honkin big sets of french doors + a man door at one end. Just got the washroom in and all new heat, ac, ducting and a 1000 gallon tank of propane. The project chugs along!

Virago9577

 

[Virago9577]

Ok,

Around the other side of the house is the garage 14 x 28 - Replaced the lil window with a honkin big picture window to let lots of light and breeze in. Then pulled the old insulation on the water side of the garage and had a co come and blow icynene in to completely seal the garage against the north wind, Guys did a nice job and the contractor then installed a poly barrier and new drywall. Replaced the ceiling drywall and mudded. added additional light and plugs and just finished the priming. Plan to paint the lower four feet to the base of the window ledge dove grey and the rest including the ceiling gloss white. Got me two American living canopy lights to go in- each puts out the same as serveral 60 watt bulbs - 750W light output total. Should be really bright.

 

[Justanoldguy]

I never knew houses DIDN'T have basements. .

I'v been a builder here in NZ for 40+ years and only ever seen 2 or 3 houses with true basements. Plenty cut into sides of hills etc.

 

[tigerbalm2424]

Ok - time to post again....fast forward a year or so and here's the progress report on the Mancave basement - 2500Sq ft of 32mpa concrete with walkout. Replaced the old red brick wwith architectural stone. Replaced the small windows with Argon filled double panes. To enable bikes etc in went with two honkin big sets of french doors + a man door at one end. Just got the washroom in and all new heat, ac, ducting and a 1000 gallon tank of propane. The project chugs along!

Virago9577

Have any of the entire house? Front of back? Its looks sweeeet!

 

[meissen]

I'd love to have a basement. Living in a tri-level built in the 70's on a slab foundation.

 

[robs400]

Not much done with my basement so far, but I love that this house has one. Its two steps up from the garage, so I just made a ramp and I can bring the bikes right in. It sits below grade, but the floor is insulated and is stays comfortable all year long down there.

The finished side is 1/2 of the house footprint and I would like to someday make this the finished basement. The other side of the house is separated by a full wall and is not finished. Infact the dirt was never even removed before the house was built above it. Unfortunately the dirt is only removable now through a regular size door, and two of the support columns are sitting on footings above grade, so they would have to be redone as well. I started digging this summer in there, its going to take a while, but it is doable I think. It will make for a nice wood working and storage area down the rd I think. Just a long way to get there.

 

[Virago9577]

Hey Robs400 - You're an ambitious soul! Doing it by hand is a lot of work. I didn't have the choice since the house was on a combination of rock and dirt. Hence I had a building mover pick the whole house, gargae, and deck up andmove it to the lawn and had at the crawl space basement with a Cat 325 hoe ram - after 7 days it was done and the new poured foundation went in. I will see about a few pics of the front....it is original nothing to speak of and that's pretty much the way I want it for now...doesn't attract too much notice. You can see them getting ready to lift, digging out the garage slab and then later putting in a steel garage tray with pex for heat. The two final pics in this group show what the place looked like from the water side before and what the water side looked like after they put the house back last fall. You can see the current look a couple of posts back. Eventually we plan to replace the brick on the front of the house too...but Rome wasn't built in a day.

 

[robs400]

Virago - That looks crazy! Ha. I have seen that on TV a few times always cool to watch. Right now I am on a pretty tight budget, so lifting my house is a lot more expensive than the shovel costs me - and its good exercise too ha. So far I have not even had to remove any dirt - just spread the pile out back towards the concrete. Great job with your place tho!

 

[saabman]

Every house I have owned has/had a basement (including my first which was a townhouse). Some I have finished in to living space, and others become man caves. This includes properties in Virginia and Maine. As you might imagine a basement is a requirement for any house I will own.

My current house has a partitioned basement, laudry room, furnace room, store room and MY ROOM. The latter is the biggest space, and is currently being outfitted as a machine shop (CNC Mill, Lathe, Finsih station, drill press, horizonal and vertical bandsaw. Plus it has a wood stove!!


Chris

 

[slowtwitch]

I make custom linkages for the older VW's and Porsches and I do it all in my basement shop.

Here's my work bench..

You can see my linkage on this engine that I recently built.

 

[turrican]

my basement is my "studio" have a couple drumests set up down there, and a small PA.

Same here, but just my drumset - the rest is taken up by what used to be in my garage before I moved to New England (2-car there, barely a 1-car here), plus a bunch of bicycles.

 

[Virago9577]

Hey Slowtwitch thats one awesone work shop. What kind of engine is it you just built up. I'm not that familiar with Porsches...More familiar with Diesels!

 

[swharris]

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?

It sounds like your basement was just built incorrectly for the area. I've been researching putting one under the apartment attached to my future shop. I'm in a really dry area, but still I'd build like this guide says. Good read.

Ironically, I spoke with the architect today, and he was of the mind that it would be too expensive to build. I do like the "shelter"aspects of it though. No one out here on the left coast seems to build them any more. We don't have water issues like you do though.

http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-103-understanding-basements

 

[swharris]

Hey Slowtwitch thats one awesone work shop. What kind of engine is it you just built up. I'm not that familiar with Porsches...More familiar with Diesels!

Looks like a type 4 with full flow oiling/cooler, FI(cool!). Never seen a shroud like that with an air tap off the top. Going to an oil cooler I guess. What type of shroud is that Pete? 911 variant? 74+ Bus?

What size injectors will that run? What type of ECM? Displacement?

Impressive if that is custom made.

BTW I've got busses ;-)

 

[930dreamer]

I make custom linkages for the older VW's and Porsches and I do it all in my basement shop.

Here's my work bench..

You can see my linkage on this engine that I recently built.

Can you give more info on your work.

 

[kbeitz]

Love my basment...

 

[slowtwitch]

Looks like a type 4 with full flow oiling/cooler, FI(cool!). Never seen a shroud like that with an air tap off the top. Going to an oil cooler I guess. What type of shroud is that Pete? 911 variant? 74+ Bus?

What size injectors will that run? What type of ECM? Displacement?

Impressive if that is custom made.

BTW I've got busses ;-)

The cooling shroud is an original Joe Locicero DTM (down the middle)
I'm running megasquirt II with Edelbrock pico size 19 lbs injectors. The spark is supplied by 4 denso coil on plugs. The engine is a 2.0 liter and probably has about 150 hp. It's going in a 57 bug

 

[slowtwitch]

kbeitz, That is one great looking shop

 

[4307]

Love my basment...

How in the heck did you get the mill, and lathe in your basement? Nice gear BTW.

 

[4307]

My problem is, I don't have a garage, just a basement and a crappy 8'x10' shed. I wish I could build a garage but I don't have enough space.
I'm tired of dragging a 220v miller and a mountain of tools up the basement stairs in order to wrench on trucks and build off road armor in the driveway.
Weather, winter and time constraints (setup/ cleanup, dragging everything back in) are my major issues.
I'm lucky I have a great wife. There are weeks when the kitchen floor beside the side door, leading to my driveway, is piled with tools steel and the welder.
It's a royal PITA carrying gear up and down the stairs every day until the project is done...LOL

I'm no stranger to working in the rain, nor are certain members in the Toyota club. I we want to get something done weather be damned... except fabrication and welding..

There's nothing like installing a lift in the fall rain + an axle seal replacement..

Another issue is the neighbors.. For the most part they are cool, but I know I'm pushing my luck. It would be way better if I was out of sight, and not looking like a mechanics shop in the driveway. I have one neighbor starting to complain..... lol. He has a garage, packed with ****.

Rear bumper fabrication... mid winter... Brrr.

mounted...

Here's the shop. 11' x 16'. Pretty small, hard to keep organized.
Not seen is the shop crane, welder, band saw, and a 42" tool cabinet, filing cabinet, bender and other ****.
It's way too small for what I do, but I get projects done.
I'm waiting for the job situation and the economy to stabilize , then we'll look for a garage with a house attached to it. Better yet a detached garage... err, ideally a facility.
But alas, I make due. Thats all that counts.

I frequent this site quit a bit, for ideas to organize my situation. I end up leaving frustrated. There are so many nice garages and facilities here, well organized and spacious... this place has fueled the flame to advance my desires. My hats off to the amazing garage builds...

 

[mpr455]

here is my basement machine shop. it was purpose built in 2003. got a smithy 3n1 machine and a hardinge mill. also a sherline mill. i built a flow bench about 2 years ago but that is going into my garage soon as a surface grinder will take it's place. the shop is 12x 12 and has separate 200 amp service and compressed air. i build race car and hot rod, custom motorcycle parts and restore antique bicycles and lionel trains down here. a friend once told me your work space has to be enjoyable to come to on a daily basis so hang your favorite pictures and light it good and keep it clean and you can be very productive. i can post more pics if you guy's like. big mike

 

[stellar91]

I couldn't possibly ever consider a house WITHOUT a basement . Just bought a nice 1,700 sq ft. ranch in Michigan but one of the selling points of the house ( wasn't the 20 x20 garage was the 1,700 sq ft unfinished blank slate of a basement. Will have a 10 x 20 shop in the basement which will share a common side wall with the garage above so I can run air and have refuge in the harsh winter times to work on projects. When I start my garage build , I'll add it in there for ya. (looking for any pics of the old basement shop)

 

[saabman]

Houses I owned in Virginia had basements and the one I am in now in Maine has a basement.

Kind of a neat feature is the attached 2 car garage is connected to the house with an enclosed "breezeway". In the breezeway, adjacent to the entry to the house is an "outside" cellar stair well. I recently englarged the opening from the garage to the breezeway, making it 9 ft wide. This allows a straight shot from the concrete garage floor to the concrete breezeway floor to the cellar stairs. Makes it very easy to move big things in to the basement.

One room in the basement is laundry and storage, another is the furnace room. The biggest room is being set up as a small machine shop (hence the need to get big things in the basement).

I am thinking of mounting a overhead I beam (crane) from the breezway (over the stairs) in to the garage. This would allow me to lift things off my truck/trailer and trolley them over to the cellar stairs opening. I plan on reworking the stringer in the stairs to allow the risers to be removed.