Reasons for no basements in Dallas (Denton, Sachse: apartments, rent, lofts)

[lh_newbie]

Originally Posted by galore

It's a lot of work to do and much more expensive than a slab on grade (which also needs to be done for the basement floor, anyways)

I definitely agree with everything except this statement. Isn't the basement floor just 4" thick? Basement floors don't have to bear structural support like a slab foundation, as the basement walls sit on top of footers, which are the structural support component.

Pretty sweet pictures of those walls - and that definitely illustrates why it's so much more expensive here (beyond just the digging piece).

People need to realize there are different types of clays also. The clay in TX is expansive clay, meaning it swells and contracts much more than normal clay with changes in moisture content. It's like a clay-sponge.

Brian

[elan]

Growing up I had a couple of friends who had basements, one lived in Highland Park and the other in Preston Hollow (their houses were built in the 1930's). Both basements had sump pumps, maybe that's the answer. I recall most people just having pier and beam foundations because the ground shifted so much.

[lh_newbie]

Sump pumps are the norm in ALL basements.

[galore]

Originally Posted by lh_newbie

I definitely agree with everything except this statement. Isn't the basement floor just 4" thick? Basement floors don't have to bear structural support like a slab foundation, as the basement walls sit on top of footers, which are the structural support component.

Pretty sweet pictures of those walls - and that definitely illustrates why it's so much more expensive here (beyond just the digging piece).

People need to realize there are different types of clays also. The clay in TX is expansive clay, meaning it swells and contracts much more than normal clay with changes in moisture content. It's like a clay-sponge.

Brian

The floor in my case is between 8" and 5" thick and has a significant amount of rebar. There are several sections where it has to transfer load from upper walls. It's not as massive as the post tension slab from my previous house, and therefore cheaper (but was still a pretty penny because the pour (pump fee) and finish labor cost is not that much lower)

About the sump pump: This is mandatory as per the city of Dallas - it was one of the first details the building permit official wanted to see. It's probably unavoidable for non-daylight basements in fairly impermeable soil where it's not possible to install a gravity drain.
It will flood the basement, if it's off. However, the rate of water intrusion is very slow based on experience with deluges from Hermine last year and the thunderstorms this year - the clay retards water and the runoff that enters through the gravel backfill isn't that much, which is easily pumped out in a few minutes, once the switch triggers the pump.

Without a pump I'd eventually get a wet basement (the indoor pool), so a electrical backup (and a spare, redundant pump) is essential. I left it off several times during thunderstorms and 1" of rain typically translates in about 6" rise of sump level (36" deep sump). So it's not as if there is suddenly 5 foot of water if the electricity cuts out.

[BigDGeek]

Sometimes I think it would be nice to have a basement, but since I've never lived in a house that had one I don't really miss it.

[hal2814]

Originally Posted by lh_newbie

Sump pumps are the norm in ALL basements.

Not really. Construction techniques are very regional. Sump pumps are almost non-existent in some regions (like the more hilly terrain in the southeast). There the only thing I see builders do to account for water intrusion is coat the outside of the concrete basement walls with tar. And even that is not universal.

EDIT: And just to address some grass-is-greener concerns, we moved from a house in Georgia with a basement to a house in Texas without one. Over the course of 8 years our basement was just filled with crap. We threw away, donated, and sold so much junk that we don't even miss. I miss my basement in some respects. It was nice having the two nice, cool finished rooms down there for a play room and office, but if you're feeling cramped in your current home it won't solve anything. You'll just accumulate more crap.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by hal2814

Not really. Construction techniques are very regional. Sump pumps are almost non-existent in some regions (like the more hilly terrain in the southeast). There the only thing I see builders do to account for water intrusion is coat the outside of the concrete basement walls with tar. And even that is not universal.

EDIT: And just to address some grass-is-greener concerns, we moved from a house in Georgia with a basement to a house in Texas without one. Over the course of 8 years our basement was just filled with crap. We threw away, donated, and sold so much junk that we don't even miss. I miss my basement in some respects. It was nice having the two nice, cool finished rooms down there for a play room and office, but if you're feeling cramped in your current home it won't solve anything. You'll just accumulate more crap.

That seems to be how more and more people around here are using their garages, i.e. as storage units. People seem surprised when I tell them that I park my car in mine.

[Loveshiscountry]

I have a basement with land sloped correctly and proper drainage. After slopping the yard correctly I've had zero problems when it rains. I didn't want to take up a lot of yard space when I added on, so we went with a 20 x 20 foot addition with a basement along with a 2nd story.

[ROckjaw]

I have lived in Atlanta (had a walk-out basement), Charlotte (slab and crawlspace), Columbus OH - both homes had walk-out basements), Minneapolis (another walk-out) and Carmel IN (day-light basement.. meaning full sized operating windows about the grade)... each and every basement had a sump-pump and a battery operated backup, good for at least 72 hrs of back-up power).... in each of those homes, the soil was heavy-duty clay.... the type where if you dug a hole for a tree and it rained before you could plant the tree, the hole would fill with water and it would stay filled for days....until you bailed out the water (speaking from experience on this one)... my builders for each of the homes, regardless of location, were pretty much aligned in that they all agreed that the only way they would dig a basement was if the frost line required it and/or if the lot required it (aka sloping lot).... I have seen a number of walk-out basement lots in Highland Village near the lake, due to the hilly landscape in that area

[Pete53FR]

I have a friend who built a basement and he was born and raised in Dallas. Every time there is a heavy rain his basement floods. It is in a million dollar house also