Basements: History, pros and cons

I am from South Carolina. To have a basement in the Palmetto state is honestly unheard of. I never knew what the justification for having a basement was. I just knew that as a child, we always lived in a house on a slab or with a crawl space.

In the past week, I have helped 2 families look for a home in Grove City. One is looking for a condo, the other is looking for a single family home. The very first thing that they mentioned when I asked what they were looking for in a home was:

A basement.

Neither cared if it was finished off, if it was half crawl space and half basement. But both wanted a basement.

Why?

It seems like such a simple question. If you have always lived in a house with a basement, I am sure that you wouldn't even think twice about it. You just want a basement. Even after living in Ohio for 7 years, I can't imagine living without one. The storage space is wonderful, plus it is the perfect spot for our heating/cooling system, hot water tank, electrical panels, etc. Where else would we store our 9 foot Christmas tree? Or how about all of those baby items that I just can't seem to let go of?

So with all this talk of basements, I couldn't help but wonder why? Why do people in the south typically not have basements and people in the midwest/north have them?

The answer lies in the history of basements. Homes are anchored to the ground with footings. Homes in heavy freeze/thaw areas would be compromising the structure of their home if the footings of the home were above the frost line. To avoid this, builders started building the homes deeper into the ground. It only made sense to make use of this area by adding another floor to the home.

Since homes in the south typically do not endure the colder weather than people in Ohio or New York, they tend to not have basements.

There are, however, pros and cons of having a basement. (In my opinion)

Pros-
-Storage! All of those holiday decorations, outdated clothing that you cannot seem to let go of, and just things that you do not want sitting around on a daily basis in your home.

-Added square footage, which, in turn, adds more value to your home. For even more value, have a bathroom installed in the basement. Here is an article about adding bathrooms and value to your home:
http://consumerist.com/consumer/home-improvement/adding-a-bathroom-can-add-20-to-your-homes-value-298592.php

-A nice cool area in the warm summer months. The temperature is always lower than the rest of the house and you do not have to pump expensive air conditioning costs into the area.

-Safe shelter for homes that are situated in tornado alley. There is no place better than below ground if you are in the path of a tornado.

Cons-
-Lack of natural light. Because the area is underground, the number of windows are minimal and they are typically small.

-Moisture. The cool, damp climate provides a cozy home for mold and mildew. Dehumidifiers help, but you always should be aware of the moisture level because the most healthy option is to keep the basement (and entire house for that matter) dry and moisture free.

As you can see, my list of pros is longer than my list of cons. Although I lived without a basement for 20 years, in the past 7, I have found that they are completely worth it. We currently have a half excavated basement and half crawl space. The half excavated area has been my craft room for the past year. We are currently upgrading that area and finishing it off into one room with a bathroom. We hope to make the basement a tv room and recreation area. So in the coming weeks, please check back to find pictures of the renovation. We are quite excited!

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