2006-12-27 09:17:44 · 9 answers · asked by ? 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Other - Home & Garden
Some do - just as anywhere else in the US...basements in homes occur when the water table is low....cities/towns with high water tables RARELY have homes with basements.
2006-12-27 09:21:17 · answer #1 · answered by sage seeker 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
In the north and west where the winters are colder the footings for a house (the foundation) must be dug down below the frost line. Most builders go ahead and dig a full basement since they are already digging down so deep for the foundation.
In the south we do not have to worry about how deep the frost goes - sometimes we barely have frost :-) So the foundations or footings of the house do not have to be dug down into the soil. It costs extra to build a basement and water proof it; so most people do not do it.
If you are a newcomer to the south and are looking for a house with a basement, I advise you to look very carefully at the houses you are touring. Basements in the south often have a lot of problems with moisture backing up through drains (tree roots in the pipes which can slow or stop draining), water leaking through the walls of the basement, yucky camel crickets and lots of mildew and mold. Use your nose as well as your eyes when you are looking at a house w/ a basement. Also spend some time understanding how the water is going to flow around your house. Are you on a hillside and the neighbor's yards all drain through your yard? Is your house lower than the street (this can be a bad sign) Is there a big drain in your yard? (another warning sign).
2006-12-27 09:39:20 · answer #2 · answered by krinkn 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Many southern USA houses do have basements. The water table in many places in the south is too high to make basements impractical. Also, building on a slab is cheaper in some areas of the south.
2006-12-27 09:52:16 · answer #3 · answered by Chris L 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Generally, the water tables are too high. If you were to build a basement in the houses they would flood. You would have to put sump pumps or french drains in the homes and most home builders don't want to pay the extra costs to install those.
2006-12-27 09:27:21 · answer #4 · answered by Colorado Helper 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Cost is one reason.
Another is that northern states have colder winters, such that the ground freezes and any water that gets frozen will expand in winter and slump in the spring-summer. Building footings and foundations are constructed below the level of the freezing ground zone for that area. If you need to put a foundation 8 feet underground, you might as well put in a basement.
The southern states don't have that requirement.
2006-12-27 09:23:27 · answer #5 · answered by Tom-SJ 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Water table- for the reasons stated above
Heat and moisture- would make it so moldy you couldn't use it
Sandy soil
The cows would want to move in when it get cold
2006-12-27 09:27:24 · answer #6 · answered by johnnydean86 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because the water table is so high. If we did they'd be wet all the time. When I first moved here I thought it was strange too.
2006-12-27 09:21:21 · answer #7 · answered by flfox 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Water level is too high. Same reason they put dead people above ground in crypts.
2006-12-27 09:26:12 · answer #8 · answered by beez 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO FROST FACTOR. PUTTING IT ON PIER AND BEAMS WE CAN INSULATE THE FLOOR FOR ENERGY SAVING ON THE A/C, ALSO EASIER TO DO ANY PLUMBING AND ELECTRIC WORK UNDERNEATH
ALSO WE CAN BUILD THEM UP SO WE DONT GET FLOODED
2006-12-27 09:21:56 · answer #9 · answered by john t 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋