[Mattie Jo]

synopsis,

that was funny. i understand the college here has a tornado shelter and that is where we are suppose to hide.

[AZ_singlemother]

Perhaps, it's population control for the rules in place?

[FutureFormerCalifornian]

We just bought our first home in Yukon and we have a 100 sq ft basement. It was built when the former owners built an addition on the back of the house and the basement is under the den (inside house access vs outside access).

[rugratref]

I guess the basement thing depends on what part of a state you live in.
Just peeked over on the South Carolina board and someone had posted there about us not having basements! I'm in the central part of the state (SC) and I have seen lots of basement homes here...maybe certain areas in Oklahoma have them too...

[Mattie Jo]

We looked at a home here in Tahlequah that had a storm shelter, and we probably would have bought it but learned it was in escrow. I wondered how I would ever have opened the door by myself though. I had visions of a tornado coming and I was 90 years old and living alone, and I went out to open the shelter door and couldn't. I was blown away by the wind.

We have sirens, and they give you plenty of time to get to the college shelter, so they say. I thought we would just crawl under our house since there is a lot of room under it, but someone said it wasn't a good idea.

[johnrex62]

Originally Posted by Synopsis

Below is an answer that I found on another thread in the citydata forum, and it makes sense because there are basements in Oklahoma, just very few and far between. Apparently it just boils down to cost.

"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."

Cost is a hugh factor, and is compounded when the ground is mostly limestone. I got to participate in the preparation for a 4" concrete beam for a house that required 60 hours of air hammer and 2 days of blasting to excavate a 3" trench 20 feet long. The engineer finally relented and suggested that would be sufficient if pins were drilled into the rock ledge and the beam was attached by rebar to the rock. The houses three blocks away that sat on the same rock were really shaken by the blasting even thought the charges were kept to a minimum.

Landscape elevations also seem to play a part. Many of the basement homes I have seen in the Southeast (haven't seen many firsthand in the north) are on slopes so that the excavation is minimized. Oklahoma doesnt have many slopes to utilize in that respect, and most of them in Texas are on limestone hills.

[johnrex62]

Originally Posted by AZ_singlemother

Perhaps, it's population control for the rules in place?

No, we have trailer parks for that purpose.

[Mattie Jo]

johnrex, that is good information. what it tells me is, if i have a pump house like in the movie Tornado or another like it, i should strap myself to the well.

[pastorgirl]

Frankly, most people don't think about basements, unless they come from a northern clime.... soil and water table issues were part of the reason in Durant when I lived there.

[FutureFormerCalifornian]

Originally Posted by rugratref

I guess the basement thing depends on what part of a state you live in.
Just peeked over on the South Carolina board and someone had posted there about us not having basements! I'm in the central part of the state (SC) and I have seen lots of basement homes here...maybe certain areas in Oklahoma have them too...

The tornado alley part of the state? LOLOLOL