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Old 01-06-2009, 03:45 PM
 
93 posts, read 308,404 times
Reputation: 63

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This is the correct answer. In colder climates, building codes indicate that you must build the foundation below the freeze thaw line. Up here in northern Illinois that would be 4ft below grade. In warmer climates, there's no such thing. The only draw back I see with basements is that you must have a sump pump installed, otherwise, it will flood!

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Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp View Post
Some homes do have them, I recall going to a friends relative's house that had a basement.

The reason you see them up north is because you must build the foundation of the house below the freeze line. This meant that the builder had to dig deep to get there, or in some cases, to hit solid ground. The common theory is they figured since they were digging so deep, they might just as well make it a room too. The foundation really only needs support where the walls are, but put some trusses on it, and you can build on top of that.

It provided storage space, and was cool, so people used to store food and spirits in there. I have relatives in Europe who do this to this day. In the midwest, they were used for a safety area as well because of tornadoes. Now a days, people use them for living space.
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Old 01-06-2009, 04:04 PM
 
Location: El Paso
271 posts, read 807,215 times
Reputation: 190
Bowie
My sincere apologies but I feel what I said was in good humor and much milder than comments posted by Muhnay's many fans.
If anyone else took offense at my poor attempt at humor I do apologize. Sometimes I have trouble getting my foot out of my mouth. Bad Dog.
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