basement or no basement-- help us settle the argument

[Anonymous]

We live in a house in nova with no basement. It isn't a huge problem. We have decent space on two levels. Now, I'd love a mud room and a space for just exercise, but we do ok without it. Our garage is an oversized 2-car with an attic for storage and we have plenty of backyard space for a decent sized shed for yard tools and such.

Our house is a little lower priced than surrounding neighborhoods, but in good condition, they sell quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My spouse and I are fighting because I prefer no basements (no problems with leaks/flooding--plus i really don't like the idea of being below ground anyway. If anything it will just be storage space (which i think we could get for much cheaper with a shed). He thinks it affects the home's resale value and a must have in case we get tornadoes (he is from the midwest). What do you guys think of basements....

I would never move to a house without one.

We love ours in close to DC suburbs.
It used to leak we fixed that (sump system). Put in a nice window and a door.
Totally worth it. Laundry is down there. Kids do art projects. Fish tanks down there
We finished a playroom and put in an extra shower which is used frequently.
Put a basketball hoop down there.

Neighbor's filled theirs in. Now that they have kids they live on top of each other but don't have the funds to move.

Don't fill in your basement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just built a new house and we decided we don't want a basement. Plenty of space in the house for storage, and a huge whole-house attic we plan to finish in future for teen hangout, game room, escape space etc. I didn't want to mess with the waterproofing issues plus the attic is just nicer than a basement.

Builder is required by law/code to put the waterproofing elements at the time of the build.
Cheap cheap cheap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only reason not to get a basement is if you live in an area where the water table is too high to have one. Northern Virginia does not have this problem.

Team husband.

Not a high water table but springs cause problems. Many houses do not have basements in these areas because those who built years ago understood springs cannot be stopped. Newer builders ignored the springs and tore down old houses without basements and built new houses with basements and multiple sump pumps which never stop running because they are trying to drain springs. In the winter we have problems on our street because the constant flow of water being discharged from new houses creates a wide band if ice along the gutters. The County is trying to come up with a solution and the owners of those houses are royally annoyed.

We have a spring under our house - I used to see it through the hole in our basement floor at the time.
We sealed that up and put in sumps and they are not on all the time - only when it rains.

[Anonymous]

We don't like basements either. Got a house without one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never, ever buy a house without a basement. I grew up without them in the south. But in an area where 99% of the houses have a basement, it would be a deal killer.

And my basement doesn't leak and isn't underground fully. It has 3 windows and walk out french doors.

Same here. No basement, no buy.

I am in the process of buying a house with 3 walls underground. First update I will be doing is access windows (the kind you can climb out of) and a walk up staircase.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in a place without basements, so I can envision living without one. I think the key thing is having enough living and storage space.

FWIW, when we house-shopped in our current neighborhood, the only houses without basements were smaller and more cramped, so we bought a house with a basement. Part of it is unfinished, and I appreciate the storage space. Part of it is finished, and we've worked to improve the aesthetics (brighter paint, nicer windows, improved window wells outside) so that it does feel like a nice part of the house.

[Anonymous]

No basement was a dealbreaker for us. We only have an unfinished one (with low ceilings, so not truly finishable), but our main desire was to have it for storage and shop space. I also don't like underground living space, so I don't mind not having a finished basement (although now with kids I realize it would be nice, especially since our house is only 1,400sf). We're in upper NW DC.

[Anonymous]

If you are planning on having children, you will definitely want a basement!

[Anonymous]

I think as people get older and age in place, a basement is less and less of a utility. Most new builds these days put stuff like the washer and dryer on the bedroom level for easy access.

Sure, it is great to have space to store things but I do that with overhead storage hung from the ceiling in the garage, and my woodworking stuff is in the garage too - how do people have woodshops in the basement? Hauling all the lumber into the house and having to clean out the sawdust would be a no go for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think as people get older and age in place, a basement is less and less of a utility. Most new builds these days put stuff like the washer and dryer on the bedroom level for easy access.

Sure, it is great to have space to store things but I do that with overhead storage hung from the ceiling in the garage, and my woodworking stuff is in the garage too - how do people have woodshops in the basement? Hauling all the lumber into the house and having to clean out the sawdust would be a no go for me.

huh? We have a walk out basement. I've also seen walk up basements. Only toured maybe one house that didn't have any outdoor access to the basement (like a cellar?). DH is a big woodworker and he even has industrial air intake systems in his workshop that blow outside. he's in love with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only reason not to get a basement is if you live in an area where the water table is too high to have one. Northern Virginia does not have this problem.

Team husband.

Not a high water table but springs cause problems. Many houses do not have basements in these areas because those who built years ago understood springs cannot be stopped. Newer builders ignored the springs and tore down old houses without basements and built new houses with basements and multiple sump pumps which never stop running because they are trying to drain springs. In the winter we have problems on our street because the constant flow of water being discharged from new houses creates a wide band if ice along the gutters. The County is trying to come up with a solution and the owners of those houses are royally annoyed.

Springs are effectively the same thing as the water table. A 'spring' is generally just a spot where the water table intersects the ground surface. You can also have springs where a confined aquifer meets the surface, but since most folks aren't generally familiar with the distinction between a confined and unconfined aquifer it may not be necessary to get into the weeds like that.

We hope Arlington County does get into the weeds with the two houses because whether it is springs, as their hydrologist described it, or a confined aquifer, the problem persists. Of interest most of the area was settled as dairy farms because of the presence of springs whether the cows could find water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think as people get older and age in place, a basement is less and less of a utility. Most new builds these days put stuff like the washer and dryer on the bedroom level for easy access.

Sure, it is great to have space to store things but I do that with overhead storage hung from the ceiling in the garage, and my woodworking stuff is in the garage too - how do people have woodshops in the basement? Hauling all the lumber into the house and having to clean out the sawdust would be a no go for me.

I don't have a wood shop bc I'm not handy but the former owner did have one. the basement in my house is walkout and 1/2 is unfinished, It's actually quite easy to bring large quantities of lumber around back of the house and into the basement. Sweeping out the sawdust would be about as simple as sweeping the garage.

[Anonymous]

Love our basement. Not having one was a deal breaker.

We have:

Walkout to backyard, 4 windows
Shop / work bench
Exercise equip. / hanging storage for bikes
1/2 bath
Laundry / utility sink
Kitty litter box
Storage! Lots and lots of storage! (No closets in our old house.)
Deep freezer
Washer & dryer (actually moved from the top floor, where we didn't want it)
Mechanical / electrical / plumbing / gas, etc.

Even with the occasional leak, it's a treasure. I would not want a house without one.

[Anonymous]

16:00 - sounds like the lack of closets in the rest of the house is the biggest problem.

Some houses have decent storage space above ground.