Basement pros and cons (Rapid City, Hot Springs: house, crawl space, construction)

[yamahastar]

Since we do not have basements in Florida, I am wondering if I should have one when I move to South Dakota? I saw one post regarding flooding where many basements in Rapid City area were flooded. Was this due to seepage or being walk-out basements? Would one be better off without or with a basement? I realize it adds a lot of room to a home. Thanks for your input.

[BusySocialWorker]

I would never own a home without a basement myself. It is lots of extra storage space plus great oportunity to expand the home. We have a walkout basement and when we finish it, it will double the size of our home plus give us lots of storage. Basements can accumulate water, but with good foundation work and soil studies, this can be avoided. Also a standad sump pump can releave concerns.

We live in Rapid and had no issues with our basement. dry as a bone Some homes here do not have basements - they are often less expensive, but if you want to expand your living space at some time, have storage, etc I think they are great! Also living on the east side of the state growing up, we had a basement as well but I think that was more of a necessity due to weather issues (tornados etc).

[Jammie]

I'm the opposite of BusySoc. I don't like basements at all. They're spooky. But they do come in handy in the event of severe weather.

We had a basement in the house we used to live in and we needed to run a couple of sump pumps. I'd also like to add that we never had a big family so storage or more room wasn't necessary for us. Guess it's all in what you prefer.

[uncleharley]

I think it depends on your current and future needs as well as the slope of your building site. As Busy pointed out having a basement is a handy way to expand your living space if you have a growing family. However, if you are nearing retirement age, you will probably want to eliminate any stairs in a house you are building. My experiance with the extra storage is that it usually collects a lot of junk, most of it not mine, that would be better off in a land fill.
Another consideration is the slope of the lot that you are building on. Putting in a walk out basement might enable you to build a house on a lot that would not accomadate a single story house.
Paying close attention to the lay of the land on your lot as well as the surrounding area should minimize if not eliminate any flooding problems.
Putting in a crawl space rather than a basement will cut your construction costs $15 to $20k.

uh

[yamahastar]

Jamie: if you are scared of basements and rattlesnakes, then you should visit us in NE Florida. We have a black snake that has lived in our yard for 3 or 4 years. He will crawl in the grass while we are in the yard. He is not afraid of us. We want him hear. His name is Willie. He kills and eats any coral snakes we might get in the yard. Just the other day, I saw a alligator on the road sunning. Come see us!

[uncleharley]

After thinking some more about your questions, there are a couple more factors that you are probably not aware of that will affect any building plans you may have in the Black Hills.
The first is the fact that there is not a lot of sandy soil or clay or loam in the Black Hills to dig in. The Black Hills are mostly rock. The builders divide the rock into two types, blastable rock and digable rock. Which one your lot has will be a factor in whether or not you want a basement. Most of the area's you will look at will be digable, but there is a stretch of rock that overlaps the border between Custer county and Fall River county that you might want to avoid. You can build there, but there are easier things to do.
If you decide to live near Hot Springs, or in Fall River county, the availability of potable water can be an issue. There are a couple of subdivisions near Hot Springs that have community wells to deal with water supply, but many have no available water. You may have to drill 400 ft or more for a well and of course there is no guarantee that there will be water there when you are done. If you locate closer to Edgemont, there is the possibility that your well water will be radioactive. Many people deal with the water supply problem by building sisterns next to their homes and hauling the water in. The water and rock are problems that are easy enough to overcome, I just wouldn't want you to walk in blind. Some things in the Black Hills are different than in Florida.

uh

[Jammie]

Originally Posted by yamahastar

Jamie: if you are scared of basements and rattlesnakes, then you should visit us in NE Florida. We have a black snake that has lived in our yard for 3 or 4 years. He will crawl in the grass while we are in the yard. He is not afraid of us. We want him hear. His name is Willie. He kills and eats any coral snakes we might get in the yard. Just the other day, I saw a alligator on the road sunning. Come see us!

OH, I don't think so. I'd be terrified. I've seen pics of black hissers and they're scary. The scariest ones I've ever seen are the bullsnakes. EWWWW!!!! But then again, those rattlers are spooky, too even though they aren't large. Actually, I've never seen one in the open~just in Reptile Gardens and the Sx. Falls zoo, but that's enough.

[DannyBanany]

I have a walk out basement and I haven't had any issues with flooding this summer whatsoever. There's even a meadow behind my place that occasionally floods. Some of the homes up the street that have regular basements had some flooding and they're higher up on hills so I guess it just depends on the type and location.

Personally, I like basements -especially walk out ones. They keep utilities low (I pay about $75 per month). And they have great storage. I do hate basements that are too deep for windows. I have to have some sunlight!

[MJ1986]

OK, this might be a stupid question... but why no basements in Florida? Because of being closer to sea level?

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by mjgustafson

OK, this might be a stupid question... but why no basements in Florida? Because of being closer to sea level?

Florida has two problems. First of all, the water table is only down 3 or 4 feet and basements really take a beating.

Second, Florida is all sand. Matter of fact, shifting sand. So it'll squeeze a basement and house right out of the ground.

A lot of places like that in California too. They recommend that you keep your swimming pool full even if your not going to use it. Because the weight helps keep it in the ground. My friend drained his so his wife wouldn't have to try and keep it clean while he was over seas. He came back 9 months later and the pool and squeezed out of the ground about 2 feet. He build a deck around it and kept it full after that.