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  #21  
Old Posted Jan 7, 2010, 7:40 PM
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For reference, I don't think there is any building code that permits a finished basement (i.e. occupied living space) without some sort of window exit egress or natural ventilation (operable windows or doors).

The majority of new houses (tracts, not custom) in areas where the ground doesn't freeze are built slab on grade. Houses in 'non-freeze' areas with crawlspace are generally either on a hill, in a flood zone or built before about 1960. Basements are expensive, but yes, in places where you have to go deep on the foundations, they do make sense.

Also, in development restricted areas (or tight lots), many custom homes are designed with basements to get around lot coverage or FAR.

One more thing, in terms of whether the area counts or not, it's up to the local jurisdiction to determine that. In real estate? Finished basements (living space) are always counted. But in planning and permitting...depends.
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  #22  
Old Posted Jan 7, 2010, 7:56 PM
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Thanks guys - I hadn't heard about the foundation/frost line issue.

I'll be thinking about that while I do the laundry tonight, in the basement of my bungalow.
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  #23  
Old Posted Jan 7, 2010, 7:59 PM
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Depending on the soil condition and water table a basement may or may not be built in the Metro Vancouver region.

In my neighbourhood. Basements are pretty much disallowed due to the very high water table. It sits about 1 foot below ground during the winter. Although in the past some developers have built houses with basements, with detrimental results.

Now where my brother lives all the houses including his has a full liveable basement. He built is TV room in it. It is nice during the summer as it always feels nice a cool.

Of course it is very common to have a basement or 1/2 basement in houses that are situated on a hill.
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  #24  
Old Posted Jan 7, 2010, 10:00 PM
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In cold weather areas, like around here in Calgary, you'd have to build a 4 foot deep concrete grade beam to get below the frost line anyway, building another 4 feet deeper makes for pretty cheap space in a basement ($/ft2)

Once the basement is finished, you have a great deal more living space, than is every bit as nice as the above ground space if done right.
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  #25  
Old Posted Jan 7, 2010, 10:50 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by plinko View Post
For reference, I don't think there is any building code that permits a finished basement (i.e. occupied living space) without some sort of window exit egress or natural ventilation (operable windows or doors).
Right the IRC requires a secondary means of egress no less that 5.7sqft for a finished basement and an additional egress for each sleeping space below grade. Local municipalities can opt out of this requirement though.
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  #26  
Old Posted Jan 8, 2010, 4:49 AM
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Originally Posted by theWatusi View Post
Right the IRC requires a secondary means of egress no less that 5.7sqft for a finished basement and an additional egress for each sleeping space below grade. Local municipalities can opt out of this requirement though.
Not in California or Arizona (my frame of reference)... the IBC also requires natural ventilation equal to 8% of the floor area served. Technically you're supposed to provide 10% of your lighting from natural light as well, but there is an exception for that based on artificial lighting.

Of course that's not to say that many many people take unfinished basements and fit them out without doing all of these things (let alone getting a permit).
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  #27  
Old Posted Jan 8, 2010, 7:38 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by philvia View Post
i grew up all over arkanasas, tennessee, missouri, etc. basements are pretty rare and the frost line isn't very deep here at all. so if someone does opt for a basement, its usually because of storm protection. as for tract housing, yea it's still all sog

as an example, i searched all available homes for sale in a random west TN town.. and then i filtered houses with basements. 30 out of 565 houses have basements, the rest do not.

i dont know why you jumped to chicago when i said the south/midwest
I don't know what part of Missouri you're talking about, but having lived there myself and explored at least 50% of the state, to say basements are pretty rare is a gross falsehood. I honestly can't even think of a specific house that I've seen or been in that was without one, aside from mobile homes and a couple of early log cabins. However, considering you mentioned Arkansas and Tennessee, maybe the Bootheel is the part of Missouri with which you have experience. I could understand why basements in the Bootheel would be rare, as it was originally wetlands.
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  #28  
Old Posted Jan 8, 2010, 3:42 PM
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The frost line explanation seems to fit.
In the book:
Big Weather : chasing tornadoes in the heart of America
Svenvold, Mark, 1958-

the author and co-riders observed that Kansas seemed to have basements while Oklahoma didn't. They asked a construction type person in OK why that might be. The answer being that they weren't needed (other than a possible storm shelter)
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  #29  
Old Posted Feb 25, 2010, 10:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Riise View Post
For some reason I feel kind of embarrassed for having to ask this question but I'll swallow my pride and go forth. Why is it that basements are more common in Canada and Northern parts of the U.S.A. than other areas?
I may have missed it but another reason is that services (water and sewer) are also kept below the frost line and must enter the house at a lowwer level, with some space and access required for water meters, hot water tanks and access etc.,

my house actually has a full basement AND a crawl space below the basement floor due to a suspended wood joist floor, primarily to avoid movement associated with basement slabs on expansive clays in our area.
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  #30  
Old Posted Feb 26, 2010, 2:51 AM
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Originally Posted by theWatusi View Post
My guess is that in the Southwest the ground is too rocky and therefore digging a basement is too expensive to be practical. In other areas (South Jersey and along the coast for example), a shallow water table might be the reason.
Indeed in the deserts of Central and Southern Arizona our ground is made of something called caliche. Its an extremely hard rock to dig through and would drive the cost of home building way up. Additionally it would drive up the time it takes to build a house and with our massive in migration for most years post WW2 developers didn't want to 'waste' time digging basements.

Growing up in Phoenix I always associated people with basements as being rich. When I moved to St Louis for college I was amazed, everyone had a basement!
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  #31  
Old Posted Feb 26, 2010, 7:12 AM
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Basements are rare in Texas because of the high water table, which is unfortunate, because of the tornadoes.
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  #32  
Old Posted Mar 4, 2010, 4:03 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HooverDam View Post
Growing up in Phoenix I always associated people with basements as being rich. When I moved to St Louis for college I was amazed, everyone had a basement!
Even among people who do have basements, it's only the people who have finished ones that will show them to guests, and the people with finished basements tend to be wealthier than those with unfinished basements, as a general rule.
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  #33  
Old Posted Mar 30, 2010, 6:53 PM
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^ He also forgets that most Arizona single-family homes have pools in lieu of a basement.

--don
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  #34  
Old Posted Mar 31, 2010, 12:57 AM
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One of my neighbors house is on a lot so steep that they have a basement and 2 subbasements. It's twice as tall in the back as in the front.
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  #35  
Old Posted Apr 15, 2010, 7:45 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir.Humphrey.Appleby View Post
In both Alberta and Ontario basements even if finished, heated, and with a walk out (if built on a hill) are not counted in the square footage.

--------
same thing in Saskatchewan, but a house without a basement would be virtually un sellable here.
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