building-a-basement

When making plans for your new home, consider building-a-basement for added living/storage space for the least amount of money.

If you are building using this plan to own your home in 5 years, it's a good idea to build a basement to put your home on. This will accommodate the future buyer who may have a little family, and a basement will give them room to grow. It will also give them storage room which will negate having to rent storage space if they have things to store.

The cost to build a basement is only a few thousand $$'s more, than building on footings and foundation.

The foundations already go so far into the ground, and then practically all you have to do is put in a basement floor, so the cost is minimal for the space gained.

Footings formed ready for concrete

basement foundation

Foundation walls poured

After pouring the footings, the foundation forms are set up to pour the foundation walls.

This includes the window bucks to form the window openings to which the window wells are also attached and is part of basement building.

basement rough plumbing

Rough plumbing before flatwork

After the foundations are poured the rough plumbing is completed.

For more info on Basement Plumbing CLICK HERE.

Flatwork cement is poured

Before you can start building up you have to add the support walls as seen in this picture. You can also see the foundation, and flatwork which have been poured.

In the case of building-a-basement on a slab, you have the additional cost of the footings and foundation. However, slab building may indicate that you can't have a basement because of the water table. In that case you have to go "up" to create more living space, and going "up" means you have to finish the upstairs.

The banks don't require that basements be finished for the construction loan, unless you specify that it will be finished.

Basements have to have large windows in rooms to be lived in such as family rooms and bedrooms, so you don't feel so much like you are in a basement anymore and it is easier to escape in case of fire.