# basements or lack of,



## MrNeal (Apr 7, 2017)

I grew up in the northeast, and we all have basements in our houses.
If the water table is not very close to the surface, and the earthquakes are usually mild why are there so few basements? 
Is it a cultural thing? We're planning to build in a valley, Zaachila, and I'd like to know if it's going to be difficult or if it's just not done for some other reason.


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## horseshoe846 (Feb 8, 2017)

We happen to have a basement - well actually a wine cellar - at 5800 ft. It is maybe 30 ft X 30 ft. We almost never go down there - except for the cats. It is empty except for the empty wine racks. The walls are painted brown (maybe wine prefers that color ?). I intend to paint it all white - time permitting.

Edit : it is definitely the coolest place in the house.


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## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

MrNeal said:


> I grew up in the northeast, and we all have basements in our houses.
> If the water table is not very close to the surface, and the earthquakes are usually mild why are there so few basements?
> Is it a cultural thing? We're planning to build in a valley, Zaachila, and I'd like to know if it's going to be difficult or if it's just not done for some other reason.


Great question, one I never gave much thought to, just accepting that I've yet to see any subterranean construction outside of the centro of large cities, and not even much there except for Metro stations. Where I live the with a high water table it would be impractical, unless I care to raise fish in the basement. My guess is that it's partly due to a milder climate. Sure it gets cold in higher elevations, but nothing like large parts of U.S. or most of Canada. I used to think it's because everything is made out of cement here, but that would make basements more common, come to think of it. Far as culture/tradition, maybe.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Basements were for furnaces, coal bins, oil tanks, etc. Cellars; for root vegetables, pickle barrel, etc.
Then, they morphed into places for all the junk we bought, but really didn‘t need.
It is different in Mexico: No furnaces & fewer frivolous purchases, perhaps. Even closets are rare in some homes & some kitchens only have shelves & hooks.
You will probably adapt. Then, you will change. Eventually, you will appreciate.


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## TurtleToo (Aug 23, 2013)

MrNeal said:


> I grew up in the northeast, and we all have basements in our houses.
> If the water table is not very close to the surface, and the earthquakes are usually mild why are there so few basements?
> Is it a cultural thing? We're planning to build in a valley, Zaachila, and I'd like to know if it's going to be difficult or if it's just not done for some other reason.


Welcome to the forum, MrNeal! Basements are not common in areas where it does not freeze in winter, because they are not necessary. Foundations can be shallow in mild climates. In places where the ground freezes, the foundation has to go below the frost line, so that the building does not move about as the ground freezes and thaws. 

How exciting it must be to already have land to build on as you plan your move to Mexico. Again, welcome!

.


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## horseshoe846 (Feb 8, 2017)

TurtleToo said:


> Welcome to the forum, MrNeal! Basements are not common in areas where it does not freeze in winter, because they are not necessary. Foundations can be shallow in mild climates. In places where the ground freezes, the foundation has to go below the frost line, so that the building does not move about as the ground freezes and thaws.
> 
> How exciting it must be to already have land to build on as you plan your move to Mexico. Again, welcome!
> 
> .


You have me confused. There is never frost here - we do get a few chilly nights and from time to time a cold front comes though - but the ground certainly never freezes.

I think this is another case where people mean well but they comment on their own experiences - rather than what one might find elsewhere,

I'm not trying to beat you up - just my honest response.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

Even the southern USA didn't have basement like in the North. In my years of living in Dallas, I never saw a basement nor a cellar.


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## TurtleToo (Aug 23, 2013)

horseshoe846 said:


> You have me confused. There is never frost here - we do get a few chilly nights and from time to time a cold front comes though - but the ground certainly never freezes.
> 
> I think this is another case where people mean well but they comment on their own experiences - rather than what one might find elsewhere,
> 
> I'm not trying to beat you up - just my honest response.


Of course anyone can build a basement for any reason if they want one. But that is different than needing one for structural reasons (or at least needing a foundation below the level the ground freezes.) That doesn't necessarily require a basement, but by the time you've done the work for deep footings, you might as well just have yourself a basement. As RVGringo said, in northern climates, you will also need space for a furnace, and so forth. 

In the US you will find that basements in northern regions are ubiquitous. They are much less common in the south, because they are not required. That doesn't mean that basements are never built in warm climates, because they sometimes are. For one thing, they can provide a cooler space, moderating above-ground changes in temperature. If you want one, you can certainly build one; you just don't need it for structural reasons.

.


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## TurtleToo (Aug 23, 2013)

I should have added that areas of the US South have a very high water table which would make a basement impractical (extremely expensive) or impossible, even if you did want one.

.


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## MrNeal (Apr 7, 2017)

TurtleToo said:


> Welcome to the forum, MrNeal! Basements are not common in areas where it does not freeze in winter, because they are not necessary. Foundations can be shallow in mild climates. In places where the ground freezes, the foundation has to go below the frost line, so that the building does not move about as the ground freezes and thaws.
> 
> How exciting it must be to already have land to build on as you plan your move to Mexico. Again, welcome!
> 
> .


Thank You for the welcome TurtleToo 

In many ways, it changes everything, looking to the future, knowing there's a place for us, seems like a million decisions to make, I like the idea of starting out with a small seed home, that morphs into something else as the house expands, modular, expandable. It is, very exciting

I'm really enjoying looking at designs and photos of homes and buildings.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

You're in for an adventure! Welcome.

I'm from California. What's a basement? 

Just for chuckles: I live in the the middle of town, jampacked against my neighbors.
My neighbor on the left got rid of the one storey house existing there and built two stories and a mirador. There went half the light. The neighbor on the left tore down the one storey, narrow little tienda and proceeded without permits to build three stories and a
BASEMENT, which he called the "media room". We're near the lake, and the inevitable happened to his media room. Subterranean swimming pool. It's been pumped out three times already. Since he's a real jerk, all the neighbors are enjoying the scene.

Moral: He who wants basement had best consult an Easterner on the right way to seal it.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

My dad was faculty at a small institution on in the DC area that provided faculty housing. They built their houses with basements, whether it was needed for the frost line or just because they thought all the faculty deserved basements I don't know. 

We moved into a house that had just been built on campus from living off campus. They must have anticipated the problem to some extent, because the basement had a little well in one room, a 3' diameter hole about 4' deep with a gravel bottom. During heavy rains this would fill with water and then I think the idea was that the water would slowly seep down into the ground between rains. But the well wasn't big enough to handle the heavy rains in the spring and fall, it filled up and overflowed and the floor of the basement got covered with water.

Very shortly they had to install a pump to keep that well pumped out, they called it a sump pump. It pumped the water from the well to a place outside the house about 20' away from the building where it could run off down to the street. We had to keep an eye on it to make sure the pump didn't choke on a piece of gravel and stop, which happened a couple of times before they got a proper screen put over the intake.

The basement never truly flooded, but we had an 1/8" of water all over the floor quite a few times. Even once the sump pump was squared away, we never trusted the basement. Anything we stored down there had to be up off the floor on pieces of scrap lumber.

So it wasn't so much an issue of the walls of the basement being not watertight, they were. The problem was when the ground outside the house was saturated to a depth below the bottom of the basement and that created upward pressure on the water under the house. There were cracks in the foundation, and water would seep up through them if the sump got full.

Contributing to the whole problem was that the natural ground was high in clay. The ground around the house was raised with fill dirt, but the clay below that provided very poor water absorption.

Moral of the story: basements can be had almost anywhere if you're stubborn enough, but the result isn't worth it because it won't ever be truly dry. You need a plan for where the rain will go that takes into account drainage, ground absorption and saturation.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

I suspect that Chapter Two will be entitled, “French Drains“.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

A second story will keep your 1st-floor cooler


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## dwwhiteside (Apr 17, 2013)

I grew up in Texas and, as others from the southern U.S. have mentioned, I never saw a basement. No need for one where the climate is warmer. But, I moved to Chicago in 1990 and we definitely had a basement there; with a sump and sump pump to keep it dry(er). 

I am certain you could build one here in Mexico if you wanted. I am not sure how much the average Mexican architect or engineer knows about building a basement. So, in my opinion, a basement in a house in Mexico would be an unnecessary expense and an unnecessary risk (based on the lack of knowledge and experience of designers and builders). But, if you just want to spend the money and assume the risk, no reason not too.


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