ᐅ Basement or not with a large building plot?

Basement or not?

Hello,
we are currently planning our single-family house.
Like many others, we are debating whether to include a basement or not.
Our plot is 380 sqm (about 4,086 sq ft)
Floor area ratio (FAR) 0.4
Two full floors allowed
Our architect and builder recommend skipping the basement.
Reasons:
1.) The building envelope is quite large: 12.9 m x 14 m (42 ft x 46 ft)
2.) Instead of a basement, use the attic space (eave and ridge heights will be respected)

Originally, we wanted a house with 140 sqm (1,507 sq ft) of living space (70 sqm (753 sq ft) per floor) plus a basement of 70 sqm (753 sq ft).
Additionally, a standard garage with one parking space.

To save costs, we are now planning as follows:
A house with a footprint of 8 x 12 m (26 ft x 39 ft). After deducting exterior wall thickness, this results in about 80 sqm (861 sq ft) of living space per floor.
That makes a total of 160 sqm (1,722 sq ft) of living space (20 sqm (215 sq ft) more than originally planned) plus a double garage measuring 6 x 9 m (20 ft x 30 ft).
The attic would have a knee wall height of 30 cm (12 inches).

It feels like we would have the same amount of space as with a basement. However, our office and pantry would be on the ground floor (instead of the basement as initially planned) along with a garage adjacent to the heating room.

What do you think about this idea?
Basically, we are shifting our space requirements above ground.
Many build basements because the building envelope is more restricted, which is not the case for us.
Has anyone built something similar?

Hello,

whether to build with a basement or without, in my opinion, depends on the following factors:

- Personal preference
- Size of the plot
- Location of the plot
- Available budget

Our key data are quite similar to yours:

- Plot size 369 m² (3970 ft²)
- Building footprint approximately 9 m x 11 m (30 ft x 36 ft)

Since our plot is slightly sloped (2.2 m (7 ft) height difference over 25 m (82 ft)), it was clear to us from the start that a basement would be built under the house.

This primarily has the advantage that all our building services are located in the basement, so there is no noise from the heating system, washing machine, dryer, etc. in the main living areas.

Part of our basement has also been converted into living space (guest room), which led to additional requirements from the building authority:

1. Emergency escape window in the basement
2. A light well suitable as an escape route with a maximum 45° slope

With your 380 m² (4090 ft²) plot, and a house footprint of 8 m x 12 m (26 ft x 39 ft) plus a garage of 6 m x 9 m (20 ft x 30 ft), there are still 230 m² (2475 ft²) left. After subtracting terrace, driveway, and front yard, there isn’t much space left for the garden. It’s similar for us as well, but worth considering—those extra 20 m² (215 ft²) of garden can actually make a difference.

Personally, I wouldn’t build without a basement, but of course, like many things, it comes down to personal taste.

Best regards,
Dirk

Hi Dirk,

Thank you for your feedback.
Our plot is flat. As of today, our plot is 80 cm (31 inches) below street level.

If we build an 8 by 12 meter (26 by 39 feet) house, we would have about 9 meters (30 feet) of depth from the house to the end of the plot and approximately 14 meters (46 feet) in width. It’s not much, but it is enough for a garden or terrace area. Better than any apartment.
I am a bit concerned that the costs for a basement could increase significantly.
There is probably no perfect solution.
Even if we build with a basement, the minimum width is 8 meters (26 feet). Even with a basement, we will hardly gain any more practical garden space.

It also depends on the items you need to store.
We are building without a basement, BUT we have an almost 1000 sqm (10,764 sq ft) plot, so we can create enough storage space outside the house.
Additionally, we don’t have any hobbies that require a lot of storage space. The only exceptions are the paintball gear (which will go into the attic) and the markers (which will be mounted on the wall).
Everything for the garden will be kept in a small garden shed, and all tools will go into the garage.

Keep in mind that you probably don’t want to climb up to the attic regularly for items you use often.

Whether the storage spaces in your house will be sufficient can only be roughly assessed once we have seen the plans.

mikiliki1232 schrieb:

I'm a bit worried that the costs for a finished basement might skyrocket.

You're probably right – a finished basement really costs a lot. We had an additional charge of around EUR 20,000 for the construction company's work upgrading from an unfinished basement to a living basement.

This included raising the floor height, underfloor heating in the guest room and hallway, an emergency escape window in the guest room, a complete interior plaster application (except in the utility room), floor covering in the hallway, interior doors, wallpaper, and paint in the hallway.

We finished the other rooms (hobby room, basement, guest room) ourselves by wallpapering, painting, and installing laminate flooring – which also cost us a fair amount.

As @Evolith already mentioned, having storage space in the basement is very valuable to us.

For example, I wouldn't want to carry our garden furniture through the narrow hatch to the attic twice a year. Also, the garage isn’t always suitable for storage – because of condensation and the salt used on roads in winter, some items tend to deteriorate faster than desired.

Best regards,
Dirk

Access to the attic would be via a regular staircase, not a roof hatch. I agree with you on that. I wouldn't want to deal with that either.