Hey...

Firstly, congrats. Building while fought with some perils, is a fab adventure. If you accept there will be hiccups along the way and you manage you expectations you will be fine.

I will give you my two cents as we just finished building. We went with an unfinished basement, a bonus room above our 3 car garage (actually its our master bed) and a partially finished attic (heated/cooled space of around 400 sq ft) of a total finished space of 4200sq ft.. That will enable you to take your time on the basement, and allow ensure it does not have any leaks after a few years. Just IMHO....

Thank you so much for your advice. I really appreciate that especially coming from someone who just built and can offer the after we built opinion. I think I like that idea. We could always finish out the basement later. Thanks! I will keep you posted on what we do I meet with the builder sunday.

Thank you so much too for the well wishes.

I'm really scared and nervous at the same time :)

Exciting! We built in NC...and don't have a basement. You are correct, there aren't all that many here. That said, more and more are being built all the time, and are considered very desirable. In our neighborhood of custom homes, the lots with the correct topography for a daylight basement were popular. It seems odd to call them "basements"....the owners tricked them out as amazing entertaining spaces that open to pools. Although, like you, I was a little prejudiced against below grade square footage, I must admit that if we had a pool, I would totally want a basement. :)

Best of luck to you...don't be scared! I really enjoyed our building process. Just read and learn as much as you can and try to have a clear vision for what you like.

I'm currently building in upstate SC, and we have a walk-out basement. Due to the slope of the land, we would have wound up with a very tall crawlspace, so a basement made sense. Might as well have usable space!

Properly built, basements should NOT be wet! Unless you build in the path of an underground stream, the basement should be dry if it is built right. There should be a perimeter drain system to collect water and conduct it to a sump pump or down hill. In addition to waterproofing, you want a drainage plane (usually referred to as dimple board). Backfilling should be mostly gravel except for at the surface. Add to that properly sloping of the ground around the house, and a good gutter system, and you can have a good, usable basement.

If you have a good slope, you should be able to have a walk-out basement, which is kind of halfway between a basement and a ground floor.

I love having a basement. A suspended wood floor is much easier on your knees and back than a slab. Accessibility to plumbing and other utilities and mechanicals is a big plus. Around here, there have been a lot of frozen pipes lately in uninsulated crawlspaces. A basement will stay above freezing if it is properly sealed up. It's also cheap square footage should you ever want to convert it to living space.

We intentionally built into a southern facing slope so we could berm the lower level from the cold northwest winds and lack of sun, and open it to the south to capture solar gain. Also, when you build, you can curtain drain which will be gravity drained down the slope to ensure the basement stays dry. Also, basements are some of the least expensive sq ft you can finish in a home as you are building the walls and floor anyway.

Perhaps some pics of our house will help illustrate.

North side is one floor...dormers are unfinished attic space.

South side has walk out basement level and lots of glass to capture the solar gain in the winter.

Because we built into the slope, we were able to put a garage under...workshop area. We didn't want it to look like a garage so we used french port doors but it is a regular lift garage door.

And because we designed the lower level with 9' ceilings and put the deck behind the garage and not over any of the lower level rooms, from the inside, you'd never know that you were in a "basement".

Moreover, we designed the house so lesser used rooms are located below so we don't heat or cool the lower level...though we have facility to... as it maintains temps between 60 and 78 all year long....another cost savings.

I'm in NC, and you're right -- I don't know half a dozen people who have basements -- we just don't do basements here, and for a couple good reasons:

- Land is inexpensive here, so we can afford to build "out" instead of "down". Building "out" also has the benefit of providing better lighting ('cause not all sites are suitable for walk-outs).

- Up North they have to dig deep to get past the frost line, so they're forced to dig out most of a basement already. Thus, for them, going a little deeper for a basement is inexpensive. In contrast, here in our more moderate climate, we don't have to go so deep for our foundations, so that means digging deep enough for a basement isn't just a little add-on cost here -- it's a lot more work. So a basement in the South isn't particularly cheap.

- Last, we have red clay, which is difficult to dig. It is also a soil in which it's more tricky to keep a basement from leaking years down the line.

AnnieD. I've read your postings for years.
this is the first time I've seen pics.
great looking house...esp the back.
not crazy about huge roofs with
un-used attic space, but you sure got
your $$ worth with that basement!

OP, can't say much about basements
too high of a water table here in south
central La. but...with rooms over garage
the room is surrounded on sides top and
botton by extreme attic temps.
just using insulation in walls isn't enough.
in my hot humid climate we often foam
insulate the roofline. or foam seal walls and
under floors of these rooms.
otherwise oversized hvac systems are
needed, and costs to install & operate
are not cheap.

best of luck.

We are in central NC and we built a walk out basement. Our backyard faces south, so the basement rooms on that side have lots of sun. It is not dark and clammy in our basement. Have you looked into using Superior Walls for a basement? I thought they are pretty common.

Congrats on deciding to build. May I ask what part of NC you are in? I live near the Piedmont Triad. I grew up with several friends and families that had basements in the area, both walk out and not. It may just be coincidence.

I would go 2, but that's just me. I love the possibilities of basements, and it could save space from the rest of your house if you adding areas there for storage, laundry, guest space, etc.

Mushcreekâ¦can I ask where in the Upstate you're building? We just bought land in Anderson County and are talking to buildersâ¦If you're close, I'd love to know who you went with and if you'd recommend him! Thanks!

We are out past Travelers Rest, in north Greenville County. Our contractor specializes in ICF- do you want to go that route? I'm doing about 90% of the work myself; my contractor did the grading and concrete work (plus lots of advice). He does build turn-key homes, though.