Why dont homes in Texas have basements? How far North do you have to go to find houses with basements?

Question

Please provide links and sources if possible.

Answer 1

Apparently, it's more rare to find basements in Northern Texas because of the soil and flooding issues.

Answer 2

Another reason is the cost of land over the past 60 years or so kept the need for building additional space into a basement unnecessary, compared to the cost of property up north. where you got as many square feet of house on a lot as possible, you also needed a place to store large amounts of fuel for the harsh winters, The boiler was in the basement, as was the hot water boiler. Weather not being as harsh in the south this wasn't necessary. As you move farther north you will start seeing basements in Arkansas, Missouri. The standing joke in some of those states was if you had a house with basement for sale you looked for a buyer from the north, because they expected a basement. They are becoming more popular in those states for the same reason, cost of property, and safety from tornado weather, bonus space.

Answer 3

Why? Because it's cheaper to build above-ground storage if you don't need a basement. You will find some older homes in Texas with basements; but that's typically because they used a northern design.
The deep foundation requirements that are required by code when the soil freezes to a certain depth allow for basements in northern homes.

Answer 4

Basements are only viable in colder places which have a low frost line. The frost line is the level in the ground below which the temperature remains constant all year. Building above the frost line leaves the building prone to unstable foundation problems. In northern states, you have to dig deep before you get to it, so you might as well create a basement while you're at it. It's simply too warm in Texas.

Answer 5

I did a search on Texas basements, and found this answer:

"The soil in the majority of the North Central Texas region is mostly clay. Clay shrinks and swells way too much w/ the varying conditions. It also is very prone to cracks (right now w/ the severe drought we are in you could probably find cracks big enough to loose a child or animal in). In the few areas that do not have clay it is white rock. This chalky rock, sometimes there are veins of a harder white rock (hence White Rock Lake in Dallas and the White Rock Creek) that run thru the area are not ideal to dig into. It is done for pools and such but not good for basements.

In East Texas you will find more sandy soil. And in West Texas you will run across more desert. Neither of these are "ideal" for basements. "

it makes sense to me!

Answer 6

I have lived in Houston and along the Gulf Coast area. It is highly unusual to find a house that's been around for any length of time without a crack in the foundation, foundation damage or foundation repair. It's just the norm in the area. I found that out when looking to buy houses. They call the soil "gumbo soil" in theses areas of Texas. You could not have a basement in this kind of soil.

Answer 7

We live in the Panhandle area of Texas and we have a full basement in our home. The total sf of our house is 2800 sf and about half of it is basement. It's for sale - $164,900.00.

Answer 8

water table and alot of rain from what i been told.