Do You Agree? (Mississippi Basements) (Jackson, West: new house, tornado, square footage)

[Claude Wilson]

Hi,

My builder says that you can't put "basements" in
houses in the Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan area
(Hinds County).

He says the land is too "muddy" and doesn't hold
basements very well.

Land looks DRY, rich and gorgeous to me!

(I'm not builiding in a Flood Zone)

I wanted a lavish basement entertaining area but
he says would be a waste of money, because "NO ONE
HAS BASEMENTS IN MISSISSIPPI."

Why is he saying all this?

What's your opinion?

I just know somebody has a nice basement in the
Hinds Co. area in a nice home.

[The4Moores]

"There's a rational explanation for the typical lack of basements in the South and there prevalence in the North. The further North you go, the deeper the building codes require you to excavate to place a home's footing below the frost line. If you're excavating 3-4' already, plus placing the house 2' out of the ground, it's foolish to not dig an extra foot or so and just create a basement. In the South, the codes may only require footings to be 1-2' deep, and therefore the addition of a basement would require much more excavation (and therefore cost) beyond what's required."

Found that on anther thread hope that helps

[The4Moores]

might also ask about the water table.... depending on how high that is... it could be the reason why. If water table is high then you're going to have flooding issues in your basement. A mancave is not fun if you're big screen and poker table are 2 feet underwater... if a basement isn't an option just build a room made for entertaining on ground level?

[NWS]

Originally Posted by Claude Wilson

Hi,

My builder says that you can't put "basements" in
houses in the Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan area
(Hinds County).

He says the land is too "muddy" and doesn't hold
basements very well.

Land looks DRY, rich and gorgeous to me!

(I'm not builiding in a Flood Zone)

I wanted a lavish basement entertaining area but
he says would be a waste of money, because "NO ONE
HAS BASEMENTS IN MISSISSIPPI."

Why is he saying all this?

What's your opinion?

I just know somebody has a nice basement in the
Hinds Co. area in a nice home.

I'm from New York and I miss my basement too.
The soil around here is so different. The clay just doesn't absorb
water. I water my lawn and 2 days later it's still soggy.
Your builder is right. Unless you live on a small hill or elevation
I wouldn't try it. Also due to the clay it's possible to have foundation movement problems.
Why not build up? Build a second floor and put the "she cave" upstairs. My house is a one story large ranch but long.
It is the same size square footage as my NY home which had 3 floors (3200sqft).
The area I live in is over 300ft about sea lvl and no one here has a basement. Much of hinds is closer to 200ft or less.
If you force the issue you may hit the water table in your area, have to worry about dampness, mold, ect.
Believe me builders would be happy to charge you extra to build a basement. It costs more to build down than to build up. Go with a bigger one or two story and you will be happy.
Think about it this way since you are going to spend the rest of your life in MS why would you want to be old and have to go down those nasty basement stairs? Good Luck.

[auntbee]

It's the Yazoo clay that causes so many foundation problems in the area.

[Frank1938]

This was interesting to me. I always wondered why there are so few basements in this area. I live in Desoto County. They sure would be great with a tornado approaching
I would guess that 90% of the houses where I grew up in West Virginia had basements

[Claude Wilson]

HEY EVERYBODY-----GREAT ANSWERS!!!!

Thanks so much.

I just wanted to hear from some responses from others.

Now I'm fine with it.

[Tama]

I grew up in PA and everybody has a basement. I don't like them at all. New homes still have them. Great for storage maybe but to spend time in those
underground holes isn't something I miss at all. Would rather have a sunporch, sunroom, enclosed patio or bonus area filled with light, a pretty view, and the scent of fresh air during day---with nice blinds to adjust, comfy seating, and soft lights for the "mancave/shecave" evening wear!

[NWS]

Tama I thought that too. If I were building a new house a huge sunroom would be great. A great view of your backyard, pond, garden, pool maybe.
With the right window treatments it could get dark enough in there to serve as a media room also.

[darylwi]

Never been in a basement in MS, but I have been into many establishments and homes that had ground floors build into the side of a hill so it practically served as a basement with one side open.

Can't beat a good sunroom though. Spend the money there.