108,016
Earthquake country brutha...
I found this als:
"Until now, basements in the United States have largely been a Midwestern or Eastern concept, and for good reason. Where it freezes in the winter, the land contracts and expands and will literally heave the foundation of a house up. Builders in those areas have to take the foundation well below the 4-foot frost line level to anchor it. Basements there are cheap to construct, so builders dig just a few feet deeper and create a full basement."
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Ryan Huggins - Thousan...
Thousand Oaks, CA
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Nina Hollander, Broker
Charlotte, NC
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Debbie Gartner
White Plains, NY
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John Meussner
Fair Oaks, CA
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Kathleen Daniels, Prob...
San Jose, CA
21,291
Three reasons:
1. Because we don't have tornados in California (okay, we get them, but they're small on the Fujita or "F" scale).
2. We have earthquakes instead and basements would require different engineering for lateral movement.
3. Californians and our lifestyle don't really mesh with basements. I've lived here all my life...how often are YOU at home? We have such great weather that we're ALWAYS outside of the home. We don't need a lot of interior living space because we're simply not there. Back east and in the midwest, weather gets nasty and they can be inside all day long--in which case more living areas is needed to accommodate long hours stuck inside your home!
That's my answer...Viva California's No Basement Housing!
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Ryan Huggins - Thousan...
Thousand Oaks, CA
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Susan Laxson CRS
La Quinta, CA
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Nina Hollander, Broker
Charlotte, NC
2,707,721
John, basements came from the necessity for foundations to fall below the frost line when building. We don't have basements here in Texas either.
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Jessie Cochran
Panama City, FL
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Nina Hollander, Broker
Charlotte, NC
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Debbie Gartner
White Plains, NY
5,772,575
John,
I agree with Sam. A
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Nina Hollander, Broker
Charlotte, NC
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Pete Xavier
Pacific Palisades, CA
1,239,901
It stopped around early 1930s for cost savings. Land in CA was always more expensive so builders cut the corners. In fact, many homes were built with no insulation other than stuff newspaper inside.
Modern homes with basement are used as wine cellar and theater. They come with elevator also.
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Nina Hollander, Broker
Charlotte, NC
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Pete Xavier
Pacific Palisades, CA
1,026,993
In Florida it was the water tables. Not sure if it's as relevant in CA.
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Pete Xavier
Pacific Palisades, CA
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Nina Hollander, Broker
Charlotte, NC
3,345,111
John, Many of the older homes in San Jose do have basements. I wrote offers on several for one of our mutual clients but the offer was not accepted. As others have mentioned ... think earthquakes.
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Jessie Cochran
Panama City, FL
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Nina Hollander, Broker
Charlotte, NC
1,503,018
I love Grace Morioka's answer. I've only seen them in multi million dollar homes out here and they were more bunkers and wine cellars than anything and added after the fact.
With earthquakes, I can't imagine having one. Even our harshest winters, there is no snow and we can still go out and do everything (even go to the beach in a dry suit). No real need for that extra play space.
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Grace Hanamoto
Sunnyvale, CA
823,579
Purely economical reasons. Builders didn't need to put them in because land is more expensive than construction and builders wanted to save money on their construction costs.
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Pete Xavier
Pacific Palisades, CA
989,652
Earthquakes!
I lived there for 20+ years and would have loved a basement
We don't have basements in Florida either!
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Jessie Cochran
Panama City, FL
5,104,931
I have no idea... but I do know we don't have them in theCarolinas because of our red clay earth... very unstable.
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Pete Xavier
Pacific Palisades, CA
4,572,464
Hi John -- it depends on the age of the house. Many of the older homes in my market have what is known as a "California" basement. It's a laughable term for many relocating clients although I have seen some very large basements over the years.
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Nina Hollander, Broker
Charlotte, NC
4,319,419
John Meussner - surprisingly, I discussed this with my wife (after coming back from San Diego)!
And answer is - I guess - earthquakes.
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Nina Hollander, Broker
Charlotte, NC
1,771,867
You have some good answers here John. I cannot do any better.
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Nina Hollander, Broker
Charlotte, NC
953,717
Rare, but I've been in a couple basements in the Newport Coast section of Newport Beach, large ones at that. Not sure of the "why basements are not common in California" myself, even with knowledge of the earthquake concern.
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Nina Hollander, Broker
Charlotte, NC
1,683,912
Much of California is desert, which means a lot of sand. I think it would be a problem with the foundation. The earthquakes could be another issue.
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Nina Hollander, Broker
Charlotte, NC
3,986,258
1,513,143
Most of the answers are what I would say.
Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On Lyrics - Jerry Lee Lewis
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Nina Hollander, Broker
Charlotte, NC
4,936,716
375,087
One family in our neighborhood had a sunken living room and that was the closest thing to a basement I'd seen in Southern CA. When I moved to WA, almost every house here has them. Boy, it took a while to get used to!
I'd always assumed it was for structural integrity during earthquakes as well.
4,883,260
1,466,207
John Meussner The homes in California don't need the extra space to put in that big coal burning furnace like in the Northern states. (LOL) I really don't know, but I do like the extra space we have in our home here in Northern Virginia.
2,781,293
1,726,096
All cost related. Much of the cost would be to dig in areas of solid stone. Blasting anyone?
3,071,489
4,434,127
1,157,785
7,836,431
2,817,671
Well I learned something new about the foundation/frost level, etc.
I was going to say that in many of the warmer climates, homes are just built on slabs...but now I know why.
This, BTW, means that most in warmer climates have concrete subfloors vs. here they are built on plywood. This has big implications for type of flooring used...colder enviroments have a strong preference for hardwood as it's warmer and they are contructed well for solid hardwood (as you nail into plywood). Warmer environments accept tile more (as it cools the place down). Now, hardwood is often preferred but much more expensive to install solid hardwood wo/ plywood subfloors.
The earthquake thing just wouldn't make sense to me at all.
6,393,609