# Larger and larger basements



## EatenByLimestone (Feb 21, 2016)

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/going-under-iceberg-basements-let-011555635.html


This isn't a bad idea.  I like it.


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## EatenByLimestone (Feb 21, 2016)

EatenByLimestone said:


> https://www.yahoo.com/tech/going-under-iceberg-basements-let-011555635.html
> 
> 
> This isn't a bad idea.  I like it.




The problem is its harder to show people your rich if they can't see it.  Many will have a hard time with that.

But it would be much easier to condition these spaces if the ambiant ground is 50F.


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## vinny11950 (Feb 21, 2016)

Looks nice.  I always thought with better original designs (taller basement walls, better drainage, outside wall insulation and waterproofing) basements would be good living spaces.  Otherwise, you are just asking for trouble later on.

But having to retrofit all these things is really hard and expensive.  But like the article says, they are rich.


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## DougA (Feb 21, 2016)

I was working on some rough drawings for a new, smaller home and was planning on having the bedrooms on the lower level and kitchen/dining/living on the upper level. In winter, I want the day living spaces warmer and since heat rises, that means on the upper floors. Most people prefer their bedrooms slightly cooler, which works for the lower floors. A few centuries ago, everything was designed opposite because the entire house was cold in the winter and what little heat they had, needed to go to the bedrooms. 
In the summer, heat still rises and you want the bedrooms to be in the coolest part, which is on the lower floors. In all seasons, you want the living areas to get maximum light and that's not a priority for bedrooms.

The problem is with local and national building codes - at least here in Canada. I know when I built our house 30 yrs ago, there were minimum codes for bedroom window sizes in new houses. Part of this was to ensure more daylight but part was to ensure emergency escape through large enough windows in the event of fire. Two of my bedrooms were at the minimum limit and those windows were decently large. 

I bought my stove from a guy who owned a monster house. Four people living there with over 4,000 sq ft of basement. People have gone completely off their rockers on the size of new homes IMHO. Still, I can't see living underground until rigor mortise sets in.


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## blades (Feb 22, 2016)

Combination- earth home- some what popular back in the late 70's- not all areas would allow code wise and of course whatever subdivision ( if that is to be location ) rules  might be enforce at any particular time.  Recently just seen one set specifying minimum first and second floor sizes besides all the setbacks,  drive material , exterior finish and on and on.  Reminds me of the subdivisions built just after the Korean war- which gave rise to the line in a popular song " all the little houses made of ticky-tacky".


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## DougA (Feb 22, 2016)

Our county has had a minimum size of 2000 sq ft for 4 decades now. I think that the growing trend in minimalist homes mayforce that to change. I listened to a radio interview about a local architect who uses shipping containers for all his projects.
I was contemplating an earth home 35 yrs ago. We went to see one being constructed. The guy had pre cast concrete slabs installed for the bedroom floors and the roof. The problem was that there were a few inches difference in height between some slabs after installation. Not so easy to fix.
My wife said, how do you repair a leak with a foot of soil on the roof?  I couldn't give her a good answer to that so the idea got dropped.
I ended up building a berm wall 4 ft high on the north side. It has worked very well. The design with the lay of the land allows wind to blow over the house, not blow against it. Unless of course the wind comes from the South or East. South wind are almost always warm but ice storms are almost always from the east. Not so much fun!


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## velvetfoot (Feb 22, 2016)

EatenByLimestone said:


> The problem is its harder to show people your rich if they can't see it. Many will have a hard time with that.


Perhaps a good thing as far as the tax man.  Hey, it's just a basement!  You can't tax me on that!


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## EatenByLimestone (Feb 22, 2016)

velvetfoot said:


> Perhaps a good thing as far as the tax man.  Hey, it's just a basement!  You can't tax me on that!




That's an interesting thought when you consider what they can do with stamped and dyed concrete.   I wonder what makes a space qualify as finished.


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## drz1050 (Feb 22, 2016)

EatenByLimestone said:


> That's an interesting thought when you consider what they can do with stamped and dyed concrete.   I wonder what makes a space qualify as finished.



In order for a basement to be qualified as living space up here, it needs at least 2 egress routes, so bilco doors, a big dug out window or separate entrance. 

To Doug- 2000 Sq ft as a minimum??? That's crazy.. how rich is your county??


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## Circus (Feb 23, 2016)

Basements here in the northern climates are from the need of footings to be below the frost line. Might as well use it instead of back filling it. Sub basements may seem cool or even sneaky but they're very expensive, cold, wet and miserable. Believe it or not soil wicks heat away worse than air.


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## begreen (Feb 23, 2016)

If I was building new and wanted a heated basement it would be well insulated on the outside or poured with styrofoam block forms so that their is no thermal contact with the soil. Preferably this basement would be located on south sloping property that would afford a daylight side facing south to allow solar warming during the winter.


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## blades (Feb 23, 2016)

There are expanding foam products now available that were classified material in the 60's and 70's. I have type at home  that could be used completely by it's self for exterior shell construction( closed cell )  Sorry I do not have MFG or spec on it.  At the time it was used between the inner and out hulls of the first nuke powered subs. Likely even better stuff around now do to the advances in polymers.


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## iamlucky13 (Feb 24, 2016)

DougA said:


> People have gone completely off their rockers on the size of new homes IMHO.



My neighbor just tore down the 3200 sq. ft. home on his property (which was admittedly a terrible design), and is almost done building the 4500 sq. ft. replacement. It's just him and his wife in a 3 bedroom home. 2 of the bedrooms are identical master suites, so they can live upstairs and have the nicer view for now, and move downstairs as age catches up with them.

I pale just at the thought of trying to find enough furniture to make a 4500 square foot home not feel empty.

I think our 1800 sq ft will start to feel a bit crowded as our family grows, but right now it's a nice size. Yeah, some of the rooms could be a little bigger, and a full utility room would be great, but I couldn't imagine living in the monster next door.


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## begreen (Feb 25, 2016)

iamlucky13 said:


> I pale just at the thought of trying to find enough furniture to make a 4500 square foot home not feel empty.


And thus Walmart was invented to clad the sheet rock palaces of the masses.


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## mass_burner (Feb 25, 2016)

begreen said:


> If I was building new and wanted a heated basement it would be well insulated on the outside or poured with styrofoam block forms so that their is no thermal contact with the soil. Preferably this basement would be located on south sloping property that would afford a daylight side facing south to allow solar warming during the winter.


...and would be located under  paid for 2 acre lot in Tahiti.


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## mass_burner (Feb 25, 2016)

EatenByLimestone said:


> That's an interesting thought when you consider what they can do with stamped and dyed concrete.   I wonder what makes a space qualify as finished.


Bingo! The last thing I want is a "finished"  basement. That's why I'm doing industrial modern on my 1500+ space. Its all open concept, so it would be a shame to start putting up walls.


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