Why don't homes in Texas have basements even though it is in tornado alley?

Answer 1

I use to remodel some old homes in Fort Worth, TX. ...and a lot of those old homes had basements. The soil here in Texas is not the best to build a flat foundation.....so basements are really a problem. The soil causes house to shift when it rises and settles. Too much trouble for contractors to build a basement. I think we have had fewer homes in Texas destroyed by tornadoes...when you compare it to homes in California destroyed by fire....not even counting earthquakes. So one would ask....why don't they build stone or brick homes with tin or slate roofs there???

Answer 2

Probably a water issue. I grew up in Western Missouri, just east of Tornado Ally and there's too much groundwater for basements.

Answer 3

It's the same problems we have in Oklahoma. In some areas it's too much groundwater or a high water table which easily moves through concrete and floods a basement. In other areas it's too much clay in the subsoil which causes ground movement. The constant shrinking and swelling of clay will crack and eventually destroy a concrete wall.

Answer 4

Most likely the same as Florida. High water table makes a basement impossible.

Answer 5

down toward the coast it would be the water level.but in central texas where i live its the rock.and i mean lime stone.six inches below the dirt is one solid deep layer of lime stone.it would cost more to blast a basement than the cost of the entire house.

Answer 6

HOUSTON,... THE WATER TABLE IS HIGH, BUT MOSTLY DUE TO UN STABLE SOIL THAT WOULD RIP A BASEMENT APART. I HAVE PERSONALLY INSTRUCTED SOMEONE TO RUN A WATER HOSE OVER NIGHT THAT RESULTED IN THE CLOSURE OF A 2" GAP IN A SEPARATING BRICK WING WALL! BUILDER SINCE 82

Answer 7

Water is too close to the surface.I would think the drainage is good,but not for a deep basement....

Answer 8

Texas floods