No basements in SC? (Greenville, Spartanburg: for sale, houses, water heater)

[sweet-t]

Where do you put your stuff?
I've noticed not many basements in upstate SC (Boiling Springs/Greenville/Spartanburg). Is it a high water-table thing? I've never lived without a basement. Where do you go for tornados (or are there many in this area?) Where does everyone put their "stuff"? Many of the homes I've seen do not have a garage either. OK Carolinians...what's your organizational secret? How will I live without a basement?!

Thanks in advance for your input
J.O.

[Grass Is Greener]

You'll have a hard time finding a house with a basement in California, Florida, and many other parts of the country. Id think this includes SC. I know here in NC I didn't find many (close to none).

Well built housed will have tons of storage space in an walk-up attic or large closets. Or in the (usually large) garage.

[lovethecarolinas]

Originally Posted by sweet-t

Where do you put your stuff?
I've noticed not many basements in upstate SC (Boiling Springs/Greenville/Spartanburg). Is it a high water-table thing? I've never lived without a basement. Where do you go for tornados (or are there many in this area?) Where does everyone put their "stuff"? Many of the homes I've seen do not have a garage either. OK Carolinians...what's your organizational secret? How will I live without a basement?!

Thanks in advance for your input
J.O.

Hey there J.O.....I think having a basement will depend on one or more different factors. For example we happen to have a basement in our home as do many others in our city (Tega Cay, SC)....I believe it is due to the fact that we have what is called "rugged topography" which lends itself well to basements. The other factor might be...that it is easier and cheaper for a builder to build up vs. going down into the ground. Lastly may I suggest you do a google search on what one great wise man (George Carlin) said in regard to "Our" stuff (tiny snippet" A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it!)

Good Luck with your search!

[panamint]

I had a basement in my last house in California. The house we have now in SC has walk in attic space, as did a lot of the house me looked at before buying this one. There are some house that have walkout basements here also, the one my son just bought has one.
Scott

[Marks]

Originally Posted by sweet-t

Where do you put your stuff?
I've noticed not many basements in upstate SC (Boiling Springs/Greenville/Spartanburg). Is it a high water-table thing? I've never lived without a basement. Where do you go for tornados (or are there many in this area?) Where does everyone put their "stuff"? Many of the homes I've seen do not have a garage either. OK Carolinians...what's your organizational secret? How will I live without a basement?!

Thanks in advance for your input
J.O.

Well, a couple of answers come to mind. One, don't have a lot of stuff. and two, have a shed. I'm not talking about those cheap Sears metal sheds I'm talking a shed as nice as a house. Sheds that look nice and placed right on property can be nice. For me when I build my home in SC it will have a huge garage

Mark

[memphisteach]

In Memphis most houses don't have basements, either. I'm told it's because the ground is clay.We adjusted when we moved from MA. Storage is in the attic (as is the furnace and water heater), but I would look for a house with climate-controlled attic storage. We also have large closets and a garage.

[scjj]

Just ride down the street of any suburban neighborhood and you will see all their cars parked in the driveway. Why? Because their garages are so packed with "stuff" (that they never use by the way, but just gotta keep) that they can't even walk in it. Every now and then you will catch one of them on a Saturday pulling it all out onto the driveway to "rearrange" and "discard" it all to make more room. Gonna get that 2 ton SUV in there yet!! Around 6 or so at night all the "stuff" gets toted back into the storage room, umm, I mean the garage and the door closes and the cars get promptly returned to the driveway.

[ihatefonddulac]

We noticed the lack of basements in SC when we moved there being from MN. We built a house with a walk-out basement, and after we built it, we heard that more people were building houses with basements. I'm not sure why there were a lack of basements. We were kind of curious as to why brick is the preferred building material there, though. We built our house with wood and vinyl siding. We thought maybe people there thought brick was more prestigous looking? Then we heard that the reason people build with brick there is because of termites! I don't know if that's true or not. We ended up moving after living in our house for a year due to my husband's job.

[sandy24]

One reason people don't have basements is because of the sandy soil in some areas. You might also note alot of the older homes are built on higher foundations. I've been told this is so you can sit out on your porch and avoid mosquitos. I grew up in SC and go back frequently to visit family. Still know of only a few people who have basements.

[CHRhomes]

There are actually quite a few homes with basements in Greenville SC. They are not quite as common as some of the states in the northern part of the country, but we do have them. I believe the main reason is the high price to build a basement. Most basement homes in the Greenville area are built on a slope so that a good part of the basement is actually above grade in the back so almost all of the basement homes are walkout basements. Here is a quick link to some basement homes in Greenville SC: [url=http://www.carolinahomesrealty.com/greenville-sc-basement-homes/]Greenville SC Basement Homes For Sale[/url]