SultanOfSwing

They should at least be able to see the garage door from the street

This is a long term plan anyway, it'll be years before we even get around to cleaning out all the old crap we have in the basement as it is, so it's not a big concern.

scrubbedexpat091

Basement suites either finished at time or construction or afterwards are common here for rentals, the majority of rentals on the market in some city's are basement suites.

A lot of people can't afford their house without the basement being rented out as housing prices have gotten to such unreasonable and affordable levels.

Downside to this is they almost never build dedicated rental housing anymore, so this has also jacked rents up into high prices as it's created a shortage of rentals since dedicated rental apartments don't get built anymore.

It's the norm in these parts to rent out the basement suite, a lot of our basements though are not technically basements as they are above ground, so leaking isn't an issue.

Pulaski

I had learned as much from some TV shows, notably from Mike Holmes who has spent time fixing more than one or two basements and basement conversions.

scrubbedexpat091

Yes some people don't do it right, try to do it on their own, or just cheap out causing issues.

Legal suites are generally fine, but a large amount of basement suites are not legal but because there is rental shortages and issues in some places, city's look the other way.

ddsrph

There are a few places where basements may not work well but in much of the U.S. It's just an option some want to pay for and others don't. A lot depends on the lay of the land. Flat lots where the basement is fully underground on all four sides can be a real problem keeping dry and will also require a sump pump. On steeply sloping ground a basement is a no brainer and being walk-in on one end drainage is much easier and keeping the inside dry is less of a problem.

I am in the process of building a small retirement home in a fairly upscale lake development. The lot is very sloped and I am building a partially earth sheltered home. Which is basically a basement with a roof on it. The inside slab floor is elevated by gravel backfill and I went with 10 foot ceilings to get it up out of the ground.

My house is the minimum 1200 sq ft but most of the other houses built and being built are on the McMansion scale. I still have a long way to go as I am doing much of the work myself except for the masonary stuff.

Pulaski

Interesting. There aren't many restrictions in the development I live in, though there is a minimum square footage, 1,200 IIRC, but one of the few stipulations is that it cannot be basement, it needs at least one, and not more than two, at/above ground floors.

ddsrph

I am mainly above ground I think the deepest corner is about five foot below grade, but the concrete floor slab is two foot above the footer making the actual floor three feet below grade at the deepest point. The vinyl covered wall is 2 by 6 framing and the other three walls are concrete block with all the cavities filled with steel and concrete. It's a very strong house.

Pulaski

I am not sure how such a house would be seen by our architectural committee, though given the informal nature of the committee, I believe that most likely it would depend on how it looked from the road. If it looks like Bilbo Baggins' abode, mostly roof on an obviously low wall, then I would expect the design to be rejected, but if the full height exposed wall faced the road it might be OK.

If I ever get around to testing the limits of the restrictions in our neighbourhood, it will be in the opposite direction (more floors/levels, not just one), with, per my pipe-dream plan of a lowest floor similar to yours (where our crawlspace is currently situated, for workshop, pool changing rooms, shows, toilets, mudroom), with a "basement" level (home theatre, wet bar, game room) stacked on top. This would bring the structure about level with the road, and would be hidden behind a retaining wall hold up the front yard which would be more or less level with the road. ..... Then on top would be a "normal house" living room, dining room, kitchen, library, office, half-bath, and then upstairs the bedrooms, probably with a couple of master suites. So four floors in all, when the restrictions nominally limit the height of a home to two floors. ..... I do know of one house on our road that has three floors, including a finished walk-out basement.

NoOfficialComment

Sounds like a fun project. I'd imagine that fire regs come into play a bit more with three or four floors. They do significantly in the UK (because they consider it un-jumpable for escape purposes) but I'm clueless on state regs where you are. Typically eaither a protected staircase with added firedoors and detection or, if you're feeling flush: sprinkelers!

What are you doing for water penetration on the earth side? Are you tanking externally or internally?

Pulaski

All interesting things to consider, though there would be exits directly on all three lower floors: from the lowest level at (rear) ground level, onto a deck from the wet bar/ game room, and from the "ground floor" through a front door at (front) ground level, and down steps to the deck at the rear. I'd guess the big question would be: what are the requirements for the top floor?

ddsrph

[QUOTE=Pulaski;11711764]Interesting. There aren't many restrictions in the development I live in, though there is a minimum square footage, 1,200 IIRC, but one of the few stipulations is that it cannot be basement, it needs at least one, and not more than two, at/above ground floors.[/QUOTE

There was a statement in our restrictions that said basements, foundations, and unfinished structures can't be used for residence. I called the guy who developed the property and he said that statement pertained to unfinished projects and not to house design. Our restrictions have no enforcement committee since all the lots have been sold. I plan to plant a lot of trees and scrubs to block any view of any king from street. This development is the steep peaks left over after the large 11000 acre lake was formed in the 1950s. You can drive thru and not see many houses as they are all over the hill down near water. I took some aerial photos of the whole development that came out fairly well.

ddsrph

Here is the back side (street side). The low end gutter level is nearly six feet and the higher end is eight feet or slightly over.

Steve_

My point is that I don't entirely agree that's the reason, because if it was, there would be more houses in Victoria without basements given how mild the winters are there - there are literally zero listings for houses without basements (assuming I'm using this thing correctly). And you can solve the frost line problem without a basement, so there should be at least a few without basements.

Like the architect said in that article, I think it's got a lot to do with custom and what people expect to find when they buy a house.

I lived in houses in the UK with and without basements for example.

I accept there are places where the ground freezes to a fair depth and it makes sense to do it but it's not universally the case.

If I look at Great Falls on realtor.com for example there are 382 single family homes listed for sale under $500,000 and 291 have basements, which is 76%, and it certainly gets very very cold there during the winter, way colder than Victoria for sure.

Er... I'm getting zero listings in Anchorage with basements. Pretty damn cold there.

What's the reason for that then?

I guess they're not big wine drinkers.

Pulaski

I am not sure what more you're looking for. There isn't a mathematical formula that explains why 76% of homes in Great Falls have basements. It is substantially a function of frost line and depth of utilities, moderated by the depth before you reach bedrock, ground water and surface water, cost, custom, and customer demand.

Hotscot

If we're moving to CT I wonder what the chance of having a basement or some sort if split level thingy in a new house...I'd love one.