Making the Most of Houses with Full Basements

In some parts of the United States, there is not an option to build your home on a full-basement foundation. In still others, it is possible although not required to build a full-basement foundation. Due to rising housing costs, keeping the square footage homes footprint may serve as a good decision when that square footage is augmented with the additional living space provided with the inclusion of a full basement within your home plans.

When building a new home, it is a wise decision to choose home plans that provide the homeowner with the option of including a full basement under their home. Many home plans will include building and design options for utilizing the space provided by a basement. Finished basements are becoming more common across the country, and this increased popularity has lead to greater availability of designs and plans for full basements that are developed not as they were traditionally, into mass storage spaces, but into excellent usable spaces.

Keep in mind that building a full basement type foundation is more expensive than a slab foundation and slightly more expensive than a crawlspace type foundation. It is also much more expensive in terms of time. On the average, it takes twice to three times as long to construct a full basement type foundation from concrete block or poured concrete than it does to construct any other type of foundation for your home.

Home designers in previous years did not make much of an effort to develop basement spaces on floor plans for renovations or new construction due to the downfalls that used to be attached to the building of a full basement. Historically, the problems with a full basement foundation included leaking water, and the resulting mold and structural damage. Advancements in the area of building supplies and technology have decreased this type of problem, and supported the increased popularity of utilizing the living space afforded by a full-basement foundation.

Ideas for Using Basement Space

Often times, people will find uses for their basement space that to which they would not normally dedicate a space in the upper part of their homes. This is yet another advantage to building a home on a full basement foundation.

Some of the examples of the types of uses for basement space are billiard rooms, wine cellars, craft rooms, sauna rooms, hot tubs in the house, media rooms, play rooms and even extra bedroom, office or well organized storage space.

Keeping in mind the fact that the climate may be hard to regulate in basement spaces without the addition of additional insulation or maybe even a heating system, when working with the designer of your floor plans or with your builder you should address the types of uses for the basement space within your foundation and plan the climate control from the very beginning.

This home building article by:
Michelle McClory with BuildingPlans.com

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