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Hi everyone. Just curious, I have been looking at a lots of homes and there seems to be a lot of craw spaces and slabs. Is there a reason for this, like high water tables? Or Is it that they are just not that popular. Thanks in advance.
In my subdivision we have a mix of slabs, crawls, walkouts and basements. I think it mostly depends on the lot and the builder. We had a basement in NJ and when we moved to SC I told my husband NO BASEMENT. Too much trouble. Sometimes I wish we had one, but then when we get huge rains I'm grateful that I'm on a slab on top of a slope so that all the rain simply runs away versus potentially flooding my basement.
We asked the same question of a builder when shopping around and were told up north (where we're from) basements are necessary because they have to build the foundation below the freeze line, hence a basement... in NC they dont have to do that, so basements are just an extra expense that many dont feel is necessary or worth the cost. My question is where do people store all their stuff without a basement?
Yes it is because it is an optional cost so most don't do it. You store stuff in the attic, in the garage, closets, or a shed.
We're in the process of getting a house built and multiple contractors have quoted us $40,000 to $50,000 for an unfinished basement regardless of size. It is very hard to justify based on that cost...it has to be something you really, really want.
We asked the same question of a builder when shopping around and were told up north (where we're from) basements are necessary because they have to build the foundation below the freeze line, hence a basement... in NC they dont have to do that, so basements are just an extra expense that many dont feel is necessary or worth the cost. My question is where do people store all their stuff without a basement?
We have two storage spaces - the attic over the main part of the house and another small attic space over the garage. We also have built in shelving in our garage which we use to store a lot of things as well.
Thanks all for the replies. We are also coming from the north and love the basement we have now. It's finished and love the extra space for storage and the kids to play in. It's good to know that it is still an option. At 40 to 50 grand you could build a pretty good 2 car garage. Or get rid of all our junk, lol.
Most area contractors build on slabs to save money for them. The down fall is if you ever have a plumbing issue, your concrete slab flooring is more than likely coming up.
A basement would have been nice but the downside to most homes in the South with basements is you end up with a heavily sloped yard as most basement homes tend to be walkouts. They look nice but not always practical when you have kids or do your own landscaping. Plus as others mentioned the additional cost for one runs between 40-50K unfinished. Add in the cost of finishing it and you will likely be in the neighborhood of 60-70K. There's a bunch of builders that offer great alternatives to a basement by having floor plans with very large bonus rooms or homes with a third floor which a 3rd floor typically only runs 20K finished. I personally would rather go up than down especially at the cost savings on average of 20K. For storage there are builders that offer the addition of a third garage stall which when we were looking last year ran in the neighborhood of 6K on average. Basements are great when you have kids and need storage space but there are plenty of significantly cheaper alternatives offered by a lot of builders in the Charlotte area.
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