# A Poll and Thread About Basements **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 15, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271 "2016-01-15T20:35:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/61 "2016-01-16T16:26:08Z")
Most homes in New Hampshire have basements. Oddly, when I lived in Alaska, I recall only one home with a basement. **Chefguy** , what was your experience? ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/62 "2016-01-16T16:51:54Z")
Yes, Maryland. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/63 "2016-01-16T16:55:15Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Common around here. Also called a ‘down-cellar’ because people here are strange. Wait, is it _called_ a down cellar, or do you just _go_ down cellar? Here it’s a cellar, but you do go down cellar in the same way you go down stairs. It’s uncommon for a house not to have basement around here. There are some houses built on slabs, but that’s pretty unusual unless it’s a manufactured house and a lot of those also have basements too. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/64 "2016-01-16T17:31:25Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Northern Virginia, yes. Ditto. (And hi, Falls Church neighbor!) > [@usedtobe](#): > > I suspect the great post-WWII housing boom made people accepting slab construction, even if the soil/conditions allowed it. > The small town I called home for too many years had older homes with basements, but the newer (1960’s) tract-style houses were slab. I never thought about it before, but the house I’m living in now was built in 1953 as part of a large neighborhood designed for returning soldiers: it’s a 1-level rambler with no basement and an unfinished attic. I believe that all of the original houses in the neighborhood were like mine. (The lots are a decent size and there is no HOA, so over the years many of the original houses have been knocked down and replaced with larger homes; even today there’s always construction in some part of the 'hood.) ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/65 "2016-01-16T17:47:09Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > It adds to the initial cost of a house, but the space you get from the basement costs you less per square foot than above ground. That’s largely because it’s unfinished space though. Plus, great spot for your mechanicals, electrical panels, furnace, hot water heater and such. Good space for storage as well. I miss mine. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/66 "2016-01-16T22:34:50Z")
Middle parts of Sweden, countryside. Most houses here have no basements. Older houses are usually built of timber resting on a few stones set deep in the ground (below the frost line) with a crawlspace. Modern houses are generally built on concrete slabs, cast upon layers of coarse gravel, styrofoam and sand. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/67 "2016-01-17T00:38:50Z")
Chicago area - most definitely yes. Weird, because it always seems a little odd, maybe cheap as well, for a house to be built on a slab. Just what I’ve been used to all my life. I’m a big fan of the unfinished basement for workroom and storage. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/68 "2016-01-17T00:53:58Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Wait, is it _called_ a down cellar, or do you just _go_ down cellar? Here it’s a cellar, but you do go down cellar in the same way you go down stairs. What I can find is that _go down cellar_, turned the cellar into the _down cellar_. So buying a house someone might ask “Does it have a down cellar?”. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/69 "2016-01-17T01:04:49Z")
Southern Maryland, yes. Ours is walk-out on the back side. In CA, where I grew up, no. Very old houses might have them, but they were rare. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/70 "2016-01-17T05:28:32Z")
Yes, most houses have basements where I live. Full deal, cement floors and cinder block walls. I’d say about 40% are fully finished, and the vast majority are finished enough to be used as a rec room. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/71 "2016-01-17T06:53:53Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Chicago area - most definitely yes. Weird, because it always seems a little odd, maybe cheap as well, for a house to be built on a slab. Just what I’ve been used to all my life… This was my experience: Growing up, I was told that a ‘real’ house has a ‘real’ basement. A crawl space was a huge step down, and only the very cheapest, shoddiest houses were built on a slab. Central Valley (North) CA is all slab now; there were some basements in Victorian times. Have not looked at any between Victorian and Post-WWII. When the troops came home, the postponed-due-to-Depression-and-Looming-War switched into high gear - any house was acceptable - even if it was (Gasp!) built on a cheap-ass slab. The kids did not know their houses were cheap-ass, and became quite tolerant of tacky construction. See [Levittown, Long Island](https://www.google.com/search?q=levittown&hl=en&gl=us&authuser=0&biw=1920&bih=985&tbm=isch&imgil=4g4ntcPAmiOdWM%253A%253BSLhx6IwlM9OHpM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fstore.cinemaguild.com%25252Fnontheatrical%25252Fproduct%25252F1323.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=4g4ntcPAmiOdWM%253A%252CSLhx6IwlM9OHpM%252C_&usg= __O_byH4iatuJD0BlrPEmf3f7QikY%3D&ved=0ahUKEwi3goWrobDKAhUGSiYKHRzgB2gQyjcIQg&ei=PDqbVrf0LIaUmQGcwJ_ABg#imgrc=4g4ntcPAmiOdWM%3A&usg=__ O_byH4iatuJD0BlrPEmf3f7QikY%3D) Malvina Reynolds’ “Little Boxes” was rumored to target Daly City CA - where there really were “pink ones, yellow one, green ones”. (do your own search) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/72 "2016-01-17T07:31:52Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > Middle parts of Sweden, countryside. Most houses here have no basements. Older houses are usually built of timber resting on a few stones set deep in the ground (below the frost line) with a crawlspace. Modern houses are generally built on concrete slabs, cast upon layers of coarse gravel, styrofoam and sand. Same for the southern parts 🙂 Spain varies by region and type of building. In general, apartment buildings or similar built after 1960 are likely to have a basement that houses the garages and storage rooms; if rowhouses have one, it’s more likely to be the garage than anything else; other houses may have a cellar but only if they’re on high ground. Between locations where the default weather is “raining with a chance of showers” (the northern seaboard), others where when it rains it’s blinding curtains (any other location that’s between the sea and the nearest mountains), and those where there isn’t much visible water but the soil is positively wet once you dig a meter, inhabited areas tend to not really favor cellars. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/73 "2016-01-17T08:54:11Z")
South Africa, no basement - houses don’t have them here, they’re either on slab or trenched spread footing . High rises will have basements, often with car parking etc, but I think that’s a separate category because they need such deep foundations anyway. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/74 "2016-01-17T12:44:35Z")
Another MN – most houses have basements, but not most commercial buildings. Also garages usually don’t have basements. My house’s basement is half finished (carpeting, paneling, celling), the other half is concrete and you can see the joists for the main floor. This where my furnace, water heater, and laundry is. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/75 "2016-01-17T17:34:22Z")
Central Indiana and very common. Mine is finished with nice carpet, pool table, sectional leather couch, 50" LCD tv, cabinets/counter for some crafts (and the popcorn machine). Behind the doors are the furnace, water heater, and storage. Adds about 1,000 sq ft of usable space and I can’t picture not having it. As far as the frost line thing though… my first house in this same area was on a slab. Never was an issue. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/76 "2016-01-18T04:25:19Z")
NE Ohio. Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/77 "2016-01-18T13:58:05Z")
When I moved to central Illinois thirty years ago, few homes had basements. By the time I left, though, most new homes were being built with basements. I understand new construction methods were better able to prevent water in the basement. Now I’m back in northern Illinois where most homes have basements. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/78 "2016-01-18T15:23:34Z")
We have a full basement under our house. A few years ago [I fixed up half of it](https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dgi3vx7qwy89eiv/AACBuF-X79v54x8jLhzasJzBa?dl=0). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/79 "2016-01-18T15:27:40Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > We have a full basement under our house. > > A few years ago [I fixed up half of it](https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dgi3vx7qwy89eiv/AACBuF-X79v54x8jLhzasJzBa?dl=0). Very nice, well done. Your contractor may get in trouble for the child labor though. ---
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271/80 "2016-01-18T15:34:15Z")
Yes, Kansas and Missouri, tornado alley. I’ve only lived in one single-family dwelling that didn’t have a basement in my entire life. Even the apartment buildings I’ve lived in had basements. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-and-thread-about-basements/743271.md?page=5)