Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi everyone~This may be a stupid question, but we will be coming from NE, and here we have basements (FILLED WITH STUFF). I have 4 kids, and have been cleaning out like crazy getting rid of tons of stuff, but I still have to wonder what we will do with it all. Do most houses have attic space (usable to store things), like holiday decor, keepsakes, clothing, etc.?? I realize the garage has space, but I would like to use this for the car!! Also, lawnmowers, yark stuff, tools, etc. WOW, either we have a lot of stuff and we are in trouble or maybe I'm missing something! Any ideas, tips. What do you all do with this kind of "stuff"? TIA!!
I've got both attic and basement. Use both for storing, although most of the basement space is occupied by the furnace, water heater, and washer/dryer. The attic holds definitely more.
Basements here are typically going to be "walk out" basements, due to the soil, but they do exist. Also, it is common to have walk-up storage and attic space, or even an unfinished bonus room that can hold a lot. But, with your holiday lights, my suggestion is to leave them up year round - then you don't have to store them!
(of course I'm kidding, and yes, my HOA would have something to say about that! )
I don't know what size your home is there, or what sq ft/price range you're looking for here, but if you're coming from the northeast, you should be able to get enough space here to contain it all.
I have found it tough to store things in my house as there is no basement. We put a lot into our attic but there is no way to get everything from the garage up there. regardless, both of our cars sit outside and we notice that with so many of the homes in our area. I miss the car in the garage too!
Hi everyone~This may be a stupid question, but we will be coming from NE, and here we have basements (FILLED WITH STUFF). I have 4 kids, and have been cleaning out like crazy getting rid of tons of stuff, but I still have to wonder what we will do with it all. Do most houses have attic space (usable to store things), like holiday decor, keepsakes, clothing, etc.?? I realize the garage has space, but I would like to use this for the car!! Also, lawnmowers, yark stuff, tools, etc. WOW, either we have a lot of stuff and we are in trouble or maybe I'm missing something! Any ideas, tips. What do you all do with this kind of "stuff"? TIA!!
LOL...I feel your fustration! You know, I'v been wondering the same thing.
Even though I've given away, donated & donated & donated (I think they know us by our first names at the Salvation Army Donation Center) and thrown out a ton of stuff--it seems like I still have a lot for storage. Mostly seasonal things (I'm big on seasonal decorating). Majority of our things are stored in our basement, because at least it is climite controlled. I'm not sure how we are going to store things in a home that may not have a basement.
The home we are renting in the Raleigh area is really bad! It doesn't have an attic, bonus room or garage!! The majority of our things will stay in our home up north until it sells---so at least I don't have to worry about storage until the spring.
Our house (new construction - 2005) has a finished attic, so no storage in there! But there are about 4 nooks (3 feet by 10) throughout the house. The other thing we have is a sealed crawl space, so we are able to store our christmas stuff down there. The other thing we did was install hanging storage units in our garage, which helps with the seasonal stuff (coolers, etc), and we have storage units as well for tools, etc. We have a three car garage and are able to park two cars in it, so we feel very proud! Most of the people I know can maybe park one of two cars in a two car garage!
Silly question. But we are relocating from michigan and 90% of us have basements. Are basements considered a luxery in NC.? Also, could anyone tell me which builders have homes with or capable of a crawlspace, basement, attic...
Also, if there aren't many basements, where are all the Mechanicals?? Like the furnace/ hot water heater, etc... placed within the home??
Thanks!
Kristie
^ I think there's been other threads on this topic, but short version;
Due to the type of soils in NC and drainage of it, alot of the newer homes now cut costs by not putting in basements. (Using a crawl space at the most.) The "mechanicals" as you call it are most often in a utility room or adjacent garage. Storage is relegated to garage and/or attic.
Homes that do have basements, most often build on a slight slope so that at least one wall of that basement is exposed to air/sunlight....in order to keep dry and prevent the above-mentioned soil drainage problem.
On newer homes, this could be considered a "luxury" as you said.
On older homes, it's actually very much more common. (I guess they were more diligent back then.) My home, my parents' home, grandparents, and all NC relatives I can think of (who live in single-family detached houses) all have basements. Some, like my parents, have the garage go *into* the basement, thanks to that exposed wall on the slope. Again, it's more common in older homes (theirs built in the '50s).
In my house (built in 1940), our basement is probably one of a very few in NC that doesn't have an exposed wall to the outside and is completely underground. And due to that you can well see the drainage issue---everytime there's a heavy rain, there's a shallow layer of muddy water going across the floor. The concrete floor has actually been stained mud color due to six decades of this! LOL
So, do you use the basement for storage then?? With the muddy water on the floor? I would think not, just my guess =) What do you use it for then, if not for storage and then the fact that it's getting wet?? Kinda confused, sorry. Is a crawl space an option, with builders there, or is it standard, do you know?? And , in your opion is it necessary to have a basement as opposed to an attic, etc...
Thanks so much for your reply above, it was EXACTLY what I was looking for, I probably should've elaborated a little more... Thanks!
So, do you use the basement for storage then?? With the muddy water on the floor?
On shelves yes, but otherwise, no. But it is where the furnace, water heater, washer/dryer are...although i'd jack up the legs on them some.
again...it's a unique case...most NC houses that even have basements, will have one of its walls exposed outside to address this issue (although that's even less common down east on the coastal plain where the land is flatter).
but for most new houses, like I said before, crawl spaces are the norm, with storage limited to the attic and garage, if it has one.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
