In what US cities do houses not have basements?

Question

I currently live in St. Louis and was planning to move to Dallas, when I was shocked to find that houses there do not have basements. So it made me wonder how many other cities have houses with no basements.

Answer 1

Many in the Southwest don't, but there's always an exception.

Answer 2

We live in PA, and most of us have basements. We like them. Some call them a "root cellar", for produce and canning food. Also, our pipes are under them usually as said above.Also, as said above, you can store you coal and wood in a basement for heating. Alot of people use the xtra space in a basement to put an extra living space. We have major limestone rock here. They blast it out, but it doesnt cost much more. Some block basements may shift, but they have a lot of poured concrete basement walls now. They wont shift,except maybe an earthquake. I personally was in a tornado in PA,and we ran to the basement and lived because of it. If i lived outwest, i'd have to have something. I've seen those concrete bomb type buildings/shelters. They should have some of them. I think if a developer wanted to develop a large piece of ground for a neighborhoood, they should have to put in an emergency storm shelter. We lose too many precious lives each year due to tornados. Its so sad and heartbreaking.

Answer 3

The structural reason for having basements it to get the foundation of the house below the freeze line. The more south you go, the higher the freeze line to a point it isn't necessary. Building a house with a basement costs a lot more than building one without.

Therefore the "cheaper" the home the more south you are, the less likely it is to have a basement.

Answer 4

You have to dig a foundation to below the frost line. If you do that in a place that gets cold, you might almost as well go a bit farther and put a basement in.

Cleveland OH area-- most houses have basements, but not all. In some towns, you can't build a basement legally without a sump pump for floods.

Answer 5

No basements in Phoenix, AZ and I assume other desert cities in AZ as well.

I think any place where they don't have to bury the plumbing 6 feet down to keep it from freezing you won't find basements.

I've lived in Phoenix - no basements
Seattle - they have basements, but not all houses have them. One house I owned there was just built on footings around the perimeter of the structure - dirt under the actual house.
Ft. Collins Colorado - most homes have basements, central air conditioning is mandatory for new construction for some weird reason.
New England - homes have basements.

Answer 6

Many states as a whole do not have basements...Nevada for instance does not. It depends on the soil they have too. If it is clay or hard soil, it is more for them to dig or blast the hole for the basement, and if you want it, it is going to cost you an arm and a leg. I'm from Iowa, so I was used to having a basement as well...I now live south of Dallas, no basement:(

Answer 7

Homes built without basements are generally located in areas with shifting soil and a high water table. Most any place where there is an exposure to radon may preclude the use of basements, as well. But you might be able to locate homes with crawlspaces that can be converted to basements.

Answer 8

Alot of houses here in the southeast don't have basements. I've heard that people that want houses built have to pay an extra $50,000 - $75,000 to have a basement. I came from New England where most houses have them, then moving to Atlanta, there aren't any. My parents live in Virginia and nobody seems to have them their either.

Answer 9

I live in the southeast and it is rare for a house to have a basement, Some do but the majority do not.

Mine has a crawl space which is exactly what it sounds like. Simply enough room to crawl.

Answer 10

In flood areas, and in areas where there is high ground water and it could easily seep into a basement. Also in areas where the bedrock is close to the surface and digging down would be almost impossible.

Answer 11

I dont believe so. You could ask any local police officer just to know for sure. I only know if a dog is left in the care for along time, you could then get cruelty charges. im from nyc, and ive seen people do that just to run into a store. I think its a lot safer leaving the dog in the car then tied to a poll where someone can steal it.