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Beau Brotherton
5 years ago

Thank you Jack for having me on today!

Burger1918
Burger1918
5 years ago

On basements in the South:

I lived in NC for a while and nobody had basements there either. The claim being they couldn’t due to the red clay.

Well, almost nobody. I worked with a guy who’s house was built on top of the old municipal in-ground pool. Still lined with mosaic tile around the edges. Didn’t have any leaks or cracking issues.

So, what’s so different between the construction of a basement and an in-ground pool? How many in-ground pools are all over the South? Certainly the I-beams for support are still a necessity.  Couldn’t we just build a pool and then “O no, the swirling death cloud moved this shed on top of it.”

Just my thoughts based on an observation I made a few years ago…

Great interview Beau!

T
T
5 years ago

My father-in-law is a builder, previously in the midwest, now in Florida.  He’s always said that a basement is the most expensive way to support a house, and that may be why most homes in the south don’t have them.  The depth isn’t needed for frost protection, and it may be cheaper to add square footage above grade than to do a basement.  There are drawbacks to a basement as living space, but they’re definitely helpful when a tornado comes.

Here in the midwest we’re seeing more Frost-Protected Shallow Foundations (Google it) and fewer basements.  My cousin built this way outside of Duluth, mainly because of a high water table in the area.