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Why don't southern houses have basements?
- Thread starter dontpanicbobby
- Start date
The stairs
You know what? The house I lived in longest as a child, a turn-of-the-century Craftsman in Pasadena, as well as our next-door neighbor's house, a turn-of-the-century Victorian, did have basements!
Yes! That's actually how we felt whenever we'd go down there. It was just...spooky. Cold, dark, creepy....but such fun!
From the basement we had a perfect view of the underneath part of the entire house. (I don't know how to word this.) We could see the entire house, on its supports, with about...maybe two feet of crawl space under it.My brother and I ventured a little ways under it a few times, and we retrieved some old things from there and the basement--liquor bottles, San Francisco newspapers from around 1900, and a board game [with pieces missing--like its instructions!] called "Treasure Hunt." It had gold, silver, and bronze 'coins' which we made up other games to play with. Fun!
well i can only talk about our neighborhood that was built in the 70's.....none on our block....we live on a hill with a cull de sac....have basements.....only attics.
and even with our attic....i'm still scarred to go up there....LOL
and even with our attic....i'm still scarred to go up there....LOL
yeah.....i ain't going down that.....espdecially late at night.....HELLS NO!!!!!!!The stairs
So a sneak peak in progress. Before with plaster
And after with the new paint. Accent wall isn't done yet.
Well I just started watching "Silence of the Lambs' and that certain room could be his cell without the Lucite.
So much beauty here. Does anybody really want the terror?
I played in all these spaces.
I played in all these spaces.
OK, basement room one of three is completed minus a couple punchlist items. Electric fireplace will be delivered this afternoon and I'll replace all the electrical outlets and wall plates for a clean look next week.
Is that really a window? You need one for a basement room in Boston.
It's the same here in Kansas. The building code requires that all underground bedrooms must have egress. It is normally accomplished with a daylight window well. They are required to have a ladder for escape purposes and a cover over the well to prevent accidentally falling into the well. Living spaces such as a den do not require egress beyond the stairway down.
Home appraisals are based on many factors but stand out items are number of bedrooms and baths. A finished bedroom in a basement that does not comply with the code will not count on an appraisal.
Home appraisals are based on many factors but stand out items are number of bedrooms and baths. A finished bedroom in a basement that does not comply with the code will not count on an appraisal.
^^^that And it really isn't a bedroom as it doesn't even have privacy from the stairwell.
I bought my little starter home in the early seventies. Sadly, it does not have a basement for expansion. Early on I seriously contemplated remodeling the home to increase the living area.
It would have been a great improvement to the floor plan but I would have lost one of the three bedrooms. After considering the expense of the remodel and the decrease in property value I dismissed the idea.
Through the years I've finished many basements for clients. Most, if not all, were a great improvement to the dwellings. The added living area and bedrooms definitely made the homes more livable and enjoyable. Most or the bedrooms added will never appear on an appraisal however by not complying with code. I'm sure there is a trade off of improving the home and what can be marketed.
It would have been a great improvement to the floor plan but I would have lost one of the three bedrooms. After considering the expense of the remodel and the decrease in property value I dismissed the idea.
Through the years I've finished many basements for clients. Most, if not all, were a great improvement to the dwellings. The added living area and bedrooms definitely made the homes more livable and enjoyable. Most or the bedrooms added will never appear on an appraisal however by not complying with code. I'm sure there is a trade off of improving the home and what can be marketed.
So the red drape covers a window?
Yes it does. It's a blackout curtain as the sun rises on that side of the house, so it's a little bright.
Don't mind the mess as I just finished the floor in the laundry room. I'b been shuffling all the stuff that goes in the basement, the materials, and the tools so it is a little torn up. There is zero natural light in the laundry room, so the floor really brightened it up. Now I can put the tablesaw away, clean the 2" of sawdust out of that room, move the tools and painting area there. I just have to buy trim, paint the trim and doors, and hang the trim.
joe71
Android Expert
Back in the late 90's and early 2000's in Las Vegas some home builder actually built homes with basements, I think there were three models to choose between. One or two were basically under ground storage, laundry rooms but the third and larger one had a den, laundry room, and a pretty good size bedroom, I believe that the house retail around $500,000 starting price
I know of a few subterranean homes in my area. I'm sure there are more that I'm not aware of where the entire home is under ground.
I thought all American houses have large basements, well that's what I've seen in movies.
Even projects have basements on the NE coast of USA. Bomb shelters really. Not sure how they were supposed to work though?
So a couple of kilotons go off. You're in the basement. The top is blown off and deadly. How do you get out?
The one part of my basement that doesn't look like a Vincent Price movie was a game room. We had air hockey .
So a couple of kilotons go off. You're in the basement. The top is blown off and deadly. How do you get out?
The one part of my basement that doesn't look like a Vincent Price movie was a game room. We had air hockey .
Years ago I had the opportunity to rebuild a couple of homes that were in the direct path of a deadly tornado. Most of the homes were a heap of debris but a few in the area were completely gone. The tornado not only removed the homes but sucked most of the floor covering from the sub flooring. The basements remained undisturbed and the owners unharmed. Certainly no bomb shelter but the basements proved to be protection from a tornado.