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Just wondering what most of you think...do you prefer a house with a basement or a house on a concrete slab? Can't decide if basements are a good thing, or if they are a lot of extra work to keep up. Any thoughts? Thanks.
I was born and raised on the West Coast, without basements.
When I first moved to the Midwest, I have to admit, they scared me. I still rate all basements on my personal "Silence of the Lambs" creepiness scale.
Now that I have lived with a basement for ~10 years, I am a fan. What I do not like (and I think I am in the minority ) are finished basements.
I want a basement to be dry, functional, and utilitarian. It can house a workshop, a workout room, a laundry and perhaps a wine/root cellar.
I want to be able to see and easily access all "sytems" in the house (plumbing , electric, ductwork etc). So "dropped ceilings" and drywall are out out out for me.
A basement really depends on location. Dry is always better. A basement allows you to maybe double your usable floor space for little added cost, compared to adding a second floor.
Grew up in a house with a basement (near Los Angeles!). Creepy. Still remember the possum I disturbed unexpectedly.
Bought a house with a crawlspace. Not as creepy.
Bought a cabin with a half basement built into the mountain. Really creepy.
Bought a house on a cement slab. Best. House doesn't creak as much during earthquakes
I like having a basement to store wine, and for better access to the underside of the house. I don't much like a dirt crawlspace, sooner or later you have to get under there to work on something...
I agree that a finished basement is not such a great idea. Most basements have at least a possibility of water intrusion to some extent, I think the dumbest thing I have seen is carpet on a cement floor in a basement. Just dying to get wet.
Grew up in a house with a (half) basement, it's a good place for washer/dryer/freezers, and for storage.
I grew up in a home with a crawl space under the house, all my homes since have had crawl spaces. My current home is on a slab. A basement or crawl space is better in the long run as if you want to add a outlet or cable you can run them under the house. Much more work running wire from the attic.
All my wash rooms have been in the garage. Much quieter.
Around here you pretty much will never sell a house without a basement. Finished basements are the norm here and the vast majority of people have never had an issue with their basement being wet. There are steps to take if you live in an area where that is a possibility but only water we have ever had in our basements is from the kids spilling a glass of water on the carpet.
We have full sized windows in our basement, 9 foot ceilings, fully finished. It is a great place for the kids to have friends over and in the summer it is nice and cool down there.
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) are finished basements.
