House construction question (Sacramento, Bakersfield, Visalia: new home, crawl space, find a job)

[Tired of Chicagoland]

I know this maybe a weird question, but I was wondering if most houses in CA or Sacramento area are built on slabs, or have crawlspaces or actual basements? Coming from the midwest we all usually have a basement but with all the earthquakes I am not sure how CA houses are built differently, if at all.

[semispherical]

Nearly all of the newer construction (since the mid 70s) are on slab, mostly because it's cheaper to build. Older houses, even in SF where earthquakes are a possibility, have basements.

It is a common misconception that all of California is earthquake-prone. It's pretty much a coastal phenomenon. The central valley and most of the Sierra foothills aren't affected. I grew up in the greater Chicago area and am amused by folks who live in a region where odds are good every freaking year that a tornado will plow through talk about how terrifying earthquakes in CA are.

[wburg]

The issue in Sacramento is water intrusion--we're a flood plain and the water level is very close to the surface, so it's hard to build a basement that doesn't leak.

[derekjones]

You'll find a mix depending on where in and around Sacramento you are looking. Newer houses are on slap, older have a raised foundation(crawl space), really old can be basement or crawlspace depending on location.

[NinaN]

There are a lot of homes in the foothills that are built on the slope. The front part will be a slab and the back part will be on a raised foundation. Many people do finish out the back part on the lower end of the slope. It creates a lower-level bonus room, but not necessarily what you would call a basement.

[xenxes]

Basement = storage area with 2 sump pumps!

All kidding aside, there are some older high water bungalows which were built up, so you can find basements on the ground level (hopefully above grade).

Most older houses are built up with a raised foundation, but crawl spaces in the 1920/30s homes have much lower clearance than homes built today, there are parts of my house that have maybe only a 10" clearance. Newer homes are mostly slab (cheaper) as others mentioned.

And rarely any quakes in the central valley.

[Elliott_CA]

The foundation of a home must be built below the frost line so the house does not sink or tilt during the freeze/thaw cycle. In the midwest or northeast the frost line can be several feet deep, and so the basement walls are there simply to connect the house to the foundation. In California there are no deep freezes and therefore a slab foundation is sufficient, saving the homebuilder the expense of digging the basement pit.

There have been a sprinkling of new homes with basements in California because builders think customers want them. These are designed to current seismic codes so earthquake performance is not an issue. Current fire safety codes, however, have strict requirements to ensure people rapid egress from a basement in case of fire. The easiest way to meet this requirement is to build it as a walkout, like this new home in Carmichael:

Serramonte

[Tired of Chicagoland]

Thanks for the good info guys. That house in Carmichael looks really nice! Are those going for 500k?

[Elliott_CA]

Originally Posted by Tired of Chicagoland

Thanks for the good info guys. That house in Carmichael looks really nice! Are those going for 500k?

They sold for $750k to $950k. I think the builder was right, there is a market for basements in California. Storage, man cave, the son or daughter who is slow to graduate from college and can't find a job, etc. etc.

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by semispherical

It is a common misconception that all of California is earthquake-prone. The central valley and most of the Sierra foothills aren't affected.

It depends on where in the central valley you are located.

I used to live in Visalia & we have felt them. Granted, they are not even close to being as strong as when I lived in the LA basin.

The White Wolf fault line
The White Wolf Fault and the Bakersfield Earthquake of 1952

http://www.sjvgeology.org/geology/co...arthquake.html

There's also another fault line/earthquake prone area out in the CV boonies. I have to remember where. Got it. Parkfield. Between Avenal & Paso Robles. It's related to the San Andreas fault.
http://www.sjvgeology.org/geology/tejon_earthquake.html