It isn't always an option depending upon the area, the water table, or even your finances, but a basement of almost any kind is of incredible benefit. In the course of doing this blog I have collected many pictures of many things, and I noticed that my collection of basement interiors shows a lot of different types of basements. Some basements were built with high ceilings and with the intention of perhaps completing them as living space someday. Some have windows. When a basement is properly finished as living space, it often is a way of obtaining extra square footage , which can be cheaper than adding an addition later.
It is particularly important that a basement be dry enough to prevent mold growth, to prevent damage to mechanical house systems which are stored there, and to allow the storage of food, furniture, and sometimes even off season clothing. When we built our last two homes, we selected the location on the acreage to permit a basement, and then we paid particular attention to its height and its design so that it would be very dry. Sometimes, if you have a basement in a house already, B-Dry or a similar company can make changes to the exterior foundation and to the drainage from the house which can make a damp basement much dryer. This makes storage there, or completion much more possible.
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| This is an example of a low ceilinged basement which was never intended to be finished as anythng other than storage. It allows access to essential systems, the potential use of a freezer and bookcases for emergency food. |
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| The other side of this basement is heated in winter, and could be used as a hobby room or a place for a game room. I could imagine a pool table or table tennis table here too. |
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| This basement also has lower ceilings, and support poles. Some basements are built so that support poles are unnecessary. (They were built using walls in the basement as supports.) Many basements do have poles. |
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| This is a basement that was finished as an informal Family Room and with couches that can pull out when guests come to stay. If this is your intent, make sure you build your basement with sufficient courses of block to complete the ceiling without its being too low, and that you give some thought to the location of support poles, and where mechanical items such a tanks from the well, electrical boxes, furnaces, plumbing, and security system control boxes, when planning your project. |
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| This smart homeowner picked a cool section of the basement, installed lighting, and then placed lots of different sizes and heights of shelving which is well secured. To the left there are shelves built to help in the chore of can rotation, as they can be loaded from the back, and cans taken from the front. Todays nailguns can complete a task such as this, after planning, very very quickly. |
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| Some basements are truly below ground, and are hidden, but most are below ground perhaps in the front of the house, and the rear has a portion above ground to accomodate windows. The house above has an entire house below ground which could be used during tornado warnings or some other emergencies. |
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| This is very similar to one corner of my own house when it was first built. The basement walls in this house are made of concrete and were installed by Superior Walls. Superior Walls create a very solid secure system for tornadoes and for earthquakes, but do require some special tools, strategy and care when the basement is finished. |
If you are building a home, I urge you to look into the possibility of adding a basement. Even a small one makes your home safer, more liveable, more spacious, and provides a place to hide during certain emergencies. However, places with high water tables may not permit basements or they may be wetter than would be constructive. Basements also may enhance a radon problem, although this can generally fairly easily be solved using todays technologies. If you are buying a home, then consider one with a basement. The storage alone can be very valuable.
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| Basements fashioned to be a workshop can not only be valuable in terms of having a place to store and protect tools, but from a standpoint of winter repairs. A basement need not be huge to be utilitarian. |
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| Utilitarian basements can be useful also from the standpoint of providing locations for battery banks, solar modifications and other technologies which can help to make your home more efficient in future. |
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| Another picture of a high tech, organized basement. |
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| Plenty of storage in this basement. |
