Basements Pros and Cons? (dehumidifier, foundation, fireplace, pool)

[carolinadreamin]

My husband has lived in basment homes as a kid but I'm a native Floridian and have never even set foot in one.

I'd love to hear from homeowners who have had basement homes and learn what the pros and cons are.

We're planning a move next year to SC and although many homes there are set on crawl spaces there are also many with basements, some of which are walkout type.

I have read that basements make the best foundation and don't have some of the moisture and/or vapor barrier issues that crawl spaces come with. The only down side I could find was lack of natural light. Are there more potentially troublesome issues?

The Net offers lots of info but I'd appreciate hearing the opinions and experiences of real people who have had basement homes.

Thanks so much!

[Ohiogirl81]

The only "con" I can think of where basements are concerned is not having one! Extra storage, extra living space, extra space to hide stuff when company comes over ... And windows let in the natural light, just like on the upper floors.

Every now and then a basement may leak. Often it's not the basement's fault; gutters or other drainage measures outside have gone bad. A dehumidifier will keep everything nice and dry.

I can't imagine not having a basement.

[jhlcomp]

Nooooo crawl spaces for me. I have lived in homes with basements. The ones with a walkout make for a nice living experience - I would go that route. There is so much you can do with this type of basement since they tend to have much more light than northern basements which do not tend to have walkouts. You can use them for your family room with a pool table - extra guest rooms, play rooms -- the list goes on.

You will be pleasantly surprised. On the down side - if it is older, make sure you don't have a flooding problem.

[ready2move]

I grew up in Ct with a dark, dingy basement. When I moved to Florida in 1980 of course there were no basements. My husband grew up in Florida and never really spent time in one. Fast forward to 1/07 when we moved to GA. We have a finished, walkout basement with a wet bar, professional pool table, big screen tv, full bath and an area for our big treadmill, plus tons of closet space. This basement walks out to our pool area. I love having a basement.

[Northwoods Voyager]

Basements.. YES!!! Had one in my first home and do not have one now. Would give anything to have a basement. As the previous posters have said, basements are good for so many uses. Shelves along walls for storage of seasonal items. Room for extra sleeping. Play ares for children AND adults. Yes, have a basement. Good Luck to you.

[eggalegga]

I've never lived in a flood plain, so I have no experience when it comes to that issue.

I love having a basement. It's nice and cool in ther summer. The downside is it's cold in the winter....well, at least mine have been. But better insulation and heat vents would probably help with that. I have a woodburning stove which helps with the heating and I had a fireplace in my basement growing up. And as people have already mentioned, the additional storage is nice.

For parents, it's nice to have an area to get away from the kids or to send the kids.

[sweet-t-virginia]

Hey there, carolinadreamin, I see you checking out the SC forum along with me. The people in the Greenville area forum are just wonderful, aren't they?

We had a basement in our first house and I loved it, loved it, loved it. It was dry, large and wonderful with lots of windows on the lower side of the house.

My next basement was a nightmare! It leaked, the walls got mold behind the drywall and we had to have very expensive mold remediation done. It was a gigantic headache! It was completely below grade and had no windows. We kept dehumidifiers going all the time.

If I have another basement, it will be a walk-out and will have windows. I will ask the sellers to have a radon test done if they don't already have a system. I may even ask for a mold test to be done at the same time. Air samples are taken much as for radon and sent to a lab for analysis. I would need to be sure that the basement was as airy as possible before I buy another house with a basement.

The really good thing about both basements were the fact that the house was nice and warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Our current house has a crawl space and we are getting ready to put insulation under the house as one of the rooms is f-f-f-f-rrrreezing in the winter!

Good luck with your search!

[Yeledaf]

Basements are great places to get cozy with your sweetie when it's either too hot or too cold upstairs.

Plus you get to see spiders.

[yellowsnow]

I love basements. I've lived in homes that didn't have them and I can't think of a single advantage. Love my basement!

If my house sells, I am moving to an area with no basements. A basement is one thing I will really miss. It's like twice the house for the same money.

[cdcdguy]

I sold my home last year with a basement. It was a full older finished basement, that ran the entire house. It was my favorite place n the house. It did have a few water issues, that were minor pain, but not much else. My new house is bigger and nicer- no basement, and I sure do miss the basement!