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Old 02-22-2009, 04:54 PM
 
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How common are houses with basements in New Mexico? Is it more common with newer houses than old?
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Old 02-22-2009, 05:47 PM
 
Location: New Mexico U.S.A.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by angielee001 View Post
How common are houses with basements in New Mexico? Is it more common with newer houses than old?
I haven't seen any basements or cellars in New Mexico... I'm sure they exist. I remember a house in Miami with a basement. At 8 feet above sea level it was pretty damp.



Rich
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Old 02-22-2009, 05:55 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by angielee001 View Post
How common are houses with basements in New Mexico? Is it more common with newer houses than old?
There are some with basements here in Alamogordo. You have to think of how much rock you have to move before you can put one in. Neighbors did not put one in, and after the foundation and dirt added, it would have only cost about $10,000 more to have the basement for a good 2000' of living space. Many builders down here are not wanting to put in basements.
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Old 02-22-2009, 05:59 PM
 
Location: Where I live.
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They don't seem to be common at all. I had a list of 50 or so homes in my price range in Farmington....and only ONE had a basement. It was an older home built in the 1960s.

None of the listings I saw for Alamogordo had them at all.

I've been looking at quite a number of homes in the Ruidoso/Alto/Downs area, and I have seen ONE that has a basement. It showed up in the listings today.

By contrast, the listings I've been looking at in Colorado Springs--quite a few of them have basements!
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Old 02-22-2009, 06:38 PM
 
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I personally have never seen a basement here.

Is it the clay soil? The caliche?
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Old 02-22-2009, 06:41 PM
 
Location: Where I live.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lisdol View Post
I personally have never seen a basement here.

Is it the clay soil? The caliche?
Probably a combination of both. Either one is almost like blasting through rock.
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Old 02-22-2009, 08:29 PM
 
Location: Tejas
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I have a basement / cellar and I think all but two houses that I was looking at had a basement or cellar of sorts. In this town it is probably more common that not to have one I would think. Thats judging by my friends houses that have em too.
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Old 02-22-2009, 09:18 PM
 
33 posts, read 118,146 times
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Originally Posted by BrianH View Post
I have a basement / cellar and I think all but two houses that I was looking at had a basement or cellar of sorts. In this town it is probably more common that not to have one I would think. Thats judging by my friends houses that have em too.
BrianH,

What year was your house built?
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Old 02-22-2009, 11:32 PM
 
Location: San Juan County, New Mexico
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Basements in Farmington are pretty much confined to pre-1950 homes, and even then it wasn't that common. Post 1950 homes were built to accomodate the demand from the oil boom and were built as fast and as inexpensively as possible. Don't think that they're "cheap" either. The Stamm homes built in Santa Fe and Farmington during that period are remarkable homes with true viga ceilings, kiva fireplaces, hardwood floors, and real plaster walls. They're rock solid, but don't have basements. Mossman built a lot of solid homes back then too, although the Stamm homes are a grade above in my mind. Bellamah built pretty good tract homes back in the day too in places like Las Cruces, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque. Not top of the line, but models that served their owners well over time. I don't think any of those builders ever offered a basement, but I could be mistaken. I recall that most folks who came from midwest or eastern places with dark, damp, flood-prone basements really didn't want them here and were glad to be rid of them.
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Old 02-23-2009, 07:51 AM
TKO
 
Location: On the Border
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There are few basements for the same reason there are few multi-story houses. With land plentiful and relatively cheap it's much cheaper to built out than up or down. Beyond that it's cheaper to build up than down. There are some though mostly built in 60's and before.
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