How come building floors are numbered from the bottom up

[lxskllr]

Why? Is it cheaper to dig a big ass hole and put in a basement rather than building another floor up or something?

I would guess it's cheaper. Also, you sometimes have height restrictions on houses. Also, they make a good unfinished space for hvac and shop type activities. IOW, it's *typically(historically) a big unfinished space.

*in recent years finishing basements to add livable space has gotten popular, but I distrust below ground furnishings. Too easy for water to get in, especially with the climate getting unpredictable, with some hellacious storms and rainfall.

 

[IronWing]

A basement provides shelter from tornadoes and also the water pipes come in well below grade in colder climates so having a basement for the water heater, washing machine, and furnace (for hot water systems) makes sense.

 

[Malogeek]

Why? Is it cheaper to dig a big ass hole and put in a basement rather than building another floor up or something?

Most residential locations have height restrictions.

 

[Darwin333]

I would guess it's cheaper. Also, you sometimes have height restrictions on houses. Also, they make a good unfinished space for hvac and shop type activities. IOW, it's *typically(historically) a big unfinished space.

*in recent years finishing basements to add livable space has gotten popular, but I distrust below ground furnishings. Too easy for water to get in, especially with the climate getting unpredictable, with some hellacious storms and rainfall.

I guess the height restrictions make sense. I am probably still biased by my area, you couldn't dig half of a basement without it filling with water around here but it still seems a bit odd to me. If we want shop space we build a cheap shed/building in the backyard with a window unit in it and our HVAC systems take up absurdly little space in either our attics or tiny closets designed specifically for them. We don't have big heaters though, not sure how big yalls heaters are up north and the biggest part of our very large AC's are outside.

 

[rh71]

Because you ENTER at the 1st floor.

 

[freeskier93]

I guess the height restrictions make sense. I am probably still biased by my area, you couldn't dig half of a basement without it filling with water around here but it still seems a bit odd to me. If we want shop space we build a cheap shed/building in the backyard with a window unit in it and our HVAC systems take up absurdly little space in either our attics or tiny closets designed specifically for them. We don't have big heaters though, not sure how big yalls heaters are up north and the biggest part of our very large AC's are outside.

When you live in desirable places where land prices can easily hit $100,000 an acre you make the most space of what you have. A basement is a relatively cheap way to just about double your square footage. Especially where basements are considered standard they cost practically nothing.

When you live somewhere where you can buy 20 acres and build a 5,000 sq ft single story for a couple hundred thousand a basement is probably pointless.

 

[dullard]

Why? Is it cheaper to dig a big ass hole and put in a basement rather than building another floor up or something?

It is much cheaper. A basement costs roughly $10 to $35 per square foot. The average house is $84/square foot in the US (although you can pay far more to build if you want to). Even a shed tends to run more per square foot than a basement and that is even before considering that you would likely want to run utilities to the shed which adds more to the cost.

Considering that most people use the basement for utilities, storage, and cheap entertainment spaces, why pay 4x more to have that space upstairs? Plus basements require no air conditioning and almost no heating, so that savings keep on growing over time.

 

[Mike64]

How come you ask so many silly questions, is the real question.

Feeling ironic and self-deprecatory today, are we?

 

[Darwin333]

It is much cheaper. A basement costs roughly $10 to $35 per square foot. The average house is $84/square foot in the US (although you can pay far more to build if you want to). Even a shed tends to run more per square foot than a basement and that is even before considering that you would likely want to run utilities to the shed which adds more to the cost.

Considering that most people use the basement for utilities, storage, and cheap entertainment spaces, why pay 4x more to have that space upstairs? Plus basements require no air conditioning and almost no heating, so that savings keep on growing over time.

Wow, thanks for that. Why is it so much cheaper to build a basement than adding more SF above ground, discounting land cost?

 

[dullard]

Wow, thanks for that. Why is it so much cheaper to build a basement than adding more SF above ground, discounting land cost?

It is two-fold.

(1) People don't usually put high end materials in a basement. They tend to be fairly minimal and sparse. They may use cheap carpet in the basement and plush carpet on other floors. You don't normally see granite countertops in basements, but instead you'll see formica.

(2) Basements lack a whole lot of expenses that other floors would have. You are already going to pour a concrete floor, so there is no real added expense to pour it several feet lower. The side walls are often just cinder blocks or poured concrete--no expensive siding or bricks. Fewer windows. The ceilings are often left exposed or just drop tiles (makes doing wring and plumbing simple; especially for repairs; and avoids drywall, mud, and paint costs). Basements often don't have fancier features (a cathedral ceiling in a basement just won't work out very well). And people don't put the more expensive rooms in the basements (kitchen).

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Wow, thanks for that. Why is it so much cheaper to build a basement than adding more SF above ground, discounting land cost?

To add to what dullard said, basements are also very insulated to changes in temperature (warmer than outside in winter, cooler than outside in summer) so they make solid long-term storage for stuff that might need more moderate temperature ranges, such as bottled joy and children.

 

[dullard]

To add to what dullard said, basements are also very insulated to changes in temperature (warmer than outside in winter, cooler than outside in summer) so they make solid long-term storage for stuff that might need more moderate temperature ranges, such as bottled joy and children.

The thousands of miles of insulation around a basement (i.e. the Earth) works well for temperatures and to keep the screams of those children muffled.

 

[renz20003]

Dammit I was gonna post this, nice job

 

[pmv]

It is two-fold.

(1) People don't usually put high end materials in a basement. They tend to be fairly minimal and sparse. They may use cheap carpet in the basement and plush carpet on other floors. You don't normally see granite countertops in basements, but instead you'll see formica.

(2) Basements lack a whole lot of expenses that other floors would have. You are already going to pour a concrete floor, so there is no real added expense to pour it several feet lower. The side walls are often just cinder blocks or poured concrete--no expensive siding or bricks. Fewer windows. The ceilings are often left exposed or just drop tiles (makes doing wring and plumbing simple; especially for repairs; and avoids drywall, mud, and paint costs). Basements often don't have fancier features (a cathedral ceiling in a basement just won't work out very well). And people don't put the more expensive rooms in the basements (kitchen).

In London there seems to be a fad for basements and they are occasionally distinctly more up-market. Legally difficult to build upwards, and land prices are very high, so you get stuff like this, (up to five stories below ground! - I suspect some of these guys may be Bond villains and those are not so much basements as a "secret lair")

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/24/business/going-underground-london-luxury-basements/

Gonna be interesting if sea-levels rise and central London floods...

 

[Scarpozzi]

Hah...I was just joking about the basement, but yeah...it can definitely be the ground floor. If they weren't in the original building plans, basements are typically built when the structures require the footers to be dug deeper due to poor soil conditions. In some cases, a building will be built where another one used to be....after they clear the land, they have to dig deeper to pour new footers and anchors.

Utilities are typically 10 feet below street level, but can be lower. This is important in multi-story building when you have drain stacks coming down into a utility room...you really want easy-access because clogs do happen.

I've seen quite a few office buildings around here constructed in the past few years on the side of a hill. They'll clear about 15 feet around the planned structure footprint and back-fill one side to have a 2nd or 3rd story entrance and the bottom floor will have an entrance on the other side of the building. These are like large medical buildings, so the 20 foot elevation differential between the front and back of the building is spanned over a few hundred feet of building width.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I can't imagine not having a basement. Need a place to put HVAC, electrical panel, and all that stuff. Then add storage, and some bonus space or exercise room etc. You need to dig deep enough to put in a footing etc, so may as well dig it all out and make a basement out of it.

 

[Darwin333]

To add to what dullard said, basements are also very insulated to changes in temperature (warmer than outside in winter, cooler than outside in summer) so they make solid long-term storage for stuff that might need more moderate temperature ranges, such as bottled joy and children.

Man, now I want a dungeon basement especially since they are evidently so cheap.