ᐅ Is building a basement still justified today?

Lanini schrieb:
Also, as I said, I’m not a fan of basements. I just don’t like the feeling and don’t feel comfortable in basements.

Me neither. My first house had a basement, not even a proper cellar for coal or anything...
But I was reluctant to go down—this atmosphere felt oppressive to me. I had tried to make everything nice, yet I hardly used the storage cupboards. Boxes that went down there were rarely opened again.
Plus, I’m lazy and avoided every trip down the stairs.

Lanini schrieb:
By the way, a basement doesn’t protect your garage from becoming cluttered. As several people here have already said: it’s just a personality thing; some tend to accumulate clutter, others don’t. And those who tend to clutter won’t stop at the garage, even if there is a basement.

Well said!

I’ll admit, I currently have a garage with my husband’s car parked in front of it. But that’s because we need extra storage space for the medium term. That will disappear again in due course, so the car will have space again.
There is a difference in that a garage can be temporarily repurposed to store bulky waste and similar items—whereas you can’t do the reverse with a basement, unless the basement actually includes an integrated garage; but that’s not the topic here.
I don’t know anyone who occasionally tidies up a cluttered basement: whatever goes down there tends to stay until moving out.

If an active, larger family uses a basement to gain additional living space, I think a basement is totally fine.
But to keep extra rooms solely for storing forgotten or discarded items—that I can’t understand.

And when you’re older, it’s nice to have the washing machine and vacuum cleaner within easy reach.

Our cars are also parked in front of the garage, simply because the two single garages (built in 1978) are large enough for a Kadett B but no longer suitable for modern vehicles. You can fit the cars inside, but getting in and out is nearly impossible. When installing or removing child seats or just loading children, it becomes really difficult.

Therefore, we are forced to be hoarders: 120% basement (the terrace is fully cellar space) plus 2 garages—all used as storage for things that are in the way. Half of it could easily be cleared out or stored much more compactly.

But it does have its advantages: there is plenty of space for drying, I can easily set up a wet tent in the basement, and I still have expansion reserves for rebellious teenagers.

About 35 years ago, I was also afraid of the basement. There was always a lot of shouting whenever someone was in the basement and someone else upstairs turned off the light. It was even worse at my grandmother’s house, which had a vaulted cellar from the turn of the century.

But you wouldn’t take such things as evidence, would you?

My experience:

Those who have a basement enjoy its advantages.
Then there are those who don’t want to build a basement, for various reasons.
And the rest simply don’t want a basement and have their own reasons.

Modern basements are now part of the building’s thermal envelope, so they are no longer cool or damp storage spaces. On one hand, this is quite nice because the basement environment now naturally has more of a living-quality climate (apart from the lack of natural light). On the other hand, I still think about my grandmother’s basement: a cellar dug into the ground that you had to access from the hallway with the help of a ladder.

It was a fantastic storage space for potatoes, carrots, wine, and so on—always perfectly temperate. I would personally love to have such an earth cellar. Unfortunately, that probably won’t work for us because of groundwater (my grandmother’s cellar in Middle Franconia was in sandy soil). It’s a pity because it always bothers me when my potatoes start sprouting after about three weeks. And yes, I buy my potatoes directly from the farm, but they don’t sell anything under 5kg (11lbs), so I need to store them.

Does anyone have an earth cellar like that and could maybe share some experiences?

RobsonMKK schrieb:
A garage with 37 sqm (398 sq ft) of built-up area made of solid construction will cost you almost 50,000.

We have these 3 prefabricated garages (1 for a car, 1 for bikes, 1 for a workshop/cellar replacement); it certainly did not cost 50,000 euros.

Climbee schrieb:
Modern basements are within the thermal envelope,

You’re pointing out an important aspect! No idea, we will later try to create good conditions in the garden house...

I know passive houses that have a basement outside the thermal envelope. So it’s definitely possible...

MarcWen schrieb:
About 35 years ago, I was also afraid of the basement. There was always a lot of noise when someone was in the basement and someone else upstairs turned off the light. It was even worse at my grandmother’s, as it was a vault from the turn of the century.

Are you talking about me? I was never afraid! Not even at my grandmother’s.