stupid question? do houses in AZ have basements? (Phoenix, Gilbert: rental, lease)

[sfw1979]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

There is just no need for them. Many homes in the Midwest do-for obvious-reasons as do homes in New England. Aside from offering protection from tornadoes, most basements serve as storage, which is why you'll find many homes without a garage and very little closet space.

I can see no need for them for "weather" reasons, but the space would be nice. Houses in AZ run far less ag ft on average compared to houses in the midwest or NE. I have never seen a house in the midwest without a garage. Maybe a duplex or apt with just parking spaces but not a house.

[Arizona Bound]

If they did have basements.. would it be included in the total sq ftg?
Does anyone really know why basements are not a big part of Arizona homes? Is it because of the ground water? soil? or mainly the costs?

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by Arizona Bound

If they did have basements.. would it be included in the total sq ftg?
Does anyone really know why basements are not a big part of Arizona homes? Is it because of the ground water? soil? or mainly the costs?

Do a search on here and you'll find the answer to your question (now if they are right that's another story).

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Originally Posted by sfw1979

I can see no need for them for "weather" reasons, but the space would be nice. Houses in AZ run far less ag ft on average compared to houses in the midwest or NE. I have never seen a house in the midwest without a garage. Maybe a duplex or apt with just parking spaces but not a house.

Must have never visited Iowa or Illinois. I lived in both for two years and did see plenty of homes that did not have garages. I grew up in California and most homes I am aware of have garages in California, but seldom basements. At least inh the southern part of the state. I always figured that to have a basement you needed to have a very old home. But then look where I was raised, earthquake country.

[azloafer]

Originally Posted by Arizona Bound

If they did have basements.. would it be included in the total sq ftg?
Does anyone really know why basements are not a big part of Arizona homes? Is it because of the ground water? soil? or mainly the costs?

We had a basement when we lived in Wisconsin, but when we sold the house we were not allowed to add the square footage to the main floor square footage, finished or not. Of course, it can be mentioned as a plus.

[twin.spin]

The reason cold weather area homes in mid west have basements is the frost line and water tables. It amazes me that basements with there natural cooling effect, is only now being considered.

[and the]

There is no "need" for a basement in colder areas. There are plenty of houses built on slabs. I think a bigger part of why there aren't many basements in AZ is because you'd have a lot more drainage problems given the nature of of the "soil".

[Greatday]

Originally Posted by Stephan_K

"Almost all basements in Arizona must come finished"......who decided this and is this a law of some sort? And if so, why?

Customer demands decided it - when builders first offered basements here, they were unfinished - and they did not go over at all well

The basements here today are often used as media rooms - many are wired to the hilt for such useage - works out well.

Also, the game rooms and play rooms for the kids -

There are many, many homes built in Arizona that exceed 2000 sq ft - it is not at all uncommon to see 3000 +

[NoMoreHeat]

YES, THEY DO . . . more in some areas than others and you know, if you look for it you can find it, it just might take a few weeks.
Our Chandler full basement home was built in 1988 so no, not all basement homes here are relics lol. In fact, I say if you find one buy it bc it maintains your home value better than the other cookie cutter homes here - we just sold ours for above appraisal in this poor market bc of the basement (has 2 bedrooms and a bath down there, too), our school district and location.
I have many other friends who have basement homes here also and not all are customs or higher end homes either.

[azloafer]

We lived in Wisconsin for over 40 years before moving to Arizona and almost all the houses had basements. A four foot foundation was required because of the cold winters, so it wasn't a big deal to go down further and end up with a basement that you could stand up in without banging your head on something. I knew of only a handful of houses that just had the four foot foundation and they ended up with what was called a "crawl space." The four foot requirement was to get just beyond the "frost line."

I just saw this same "basement question" on 'This Old House' TV show. They said that a basement was preferred over a crawl space because a crawl space is wasted, unused space and a basement can be finished and used almost like a second story would be. They did mention that a basement cannot be used in an area with a high water table like New Orleans.