ᐅ Is a Basement Practical for a Single-Family Home or Usually Too Expensive?
Created on: 30 Jun 2018 21:56
A
Abzug86
Hello everyone,
I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself briefly: my name is Michael, I’m 32 years old, married, (currently) no children, employed at an insurance agency in northern Bavaria, and my wife and I are planning to build a new single-family house in 2019. I will share more details in a separate thread once the concept is worked out in detail.
At the moment, we are getting inspiration from the catalogs of several general contractors and are considering which "type" of house is right for us. This raised the question: do we need a basement? And if so, for what purpose? I’ll explain this further with an example (both plots are level):
Single-family house 1: basement, ground floor, usable attic, footprint 100 m² (1,076 sq ft), living area (according to the Wohnflächenverordnung) 140 m² (1,507 sq ft).
Single-family house 2: ground floor, usable attic, footprint 130 m² (1,399 sq ft), living area (according to the Wohnflächenverordnung) 185 m² (1,992 sq ft).
Both options would cost roughly the same (~375,000 EUR turnkey). Single-family house 1 has a basement; single-family house 2 does not but offers significantly more living space. Both are heated by a heat pump.
In my understanding, there are three main reasons for having a basement: 1. as storage space, 2. for the heating system, and 3. for the utility/laundry room. Step by step:
1.) I can’t really think of much that I would need to store down there—at least not on a total area of about 50+ m² (540+ sq ft)...
2.) Since heating is provided by a heat pump, the "heater" itself would be located outside anyway. The basement would only house the controls (and the hot water tank?). I assume these could also be installed on the ground floor, right?
3.) If the utility room is in the basement and the bedroom is on the upper floor, my wife would have to go up and down two levels. Also, ventilation would be difficult when air-drying laundry. For these reasons, it might even make more sense to move this area to the ground floor.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts on basements—perhaps I am missing important points or have a wrong understanding regarding the "heating room." Thanks in advance for your help!
I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself briefly: my name is Michael, I’m 32 years old, married, (currently) no children, employed at an insurance agency in northern Bavaria, and my wife and I are planning to build a new single-family house in 2019. I will share more details in a separate thread once the concept is worked out in detail.
At the moment, we are getting inspiration from the catalogs of several general contractors and are considering which "type" of house is right for us. This raised the question: do we need a basement? And if so, for what purpose? I’ll explain this further with an example (both plots are level):
Single-family house 1: basement, ground floor, usable attic, footprint 100 m² (1,076 sq ft), living area (according to the Wohnflächenverordnung) 140 m² (1,507 sq ft).
Single-family house 2: ground floor, usable attic, footprint 130 m² (1,399 sq ft), living area (according to the Wohnflächenverordnung) 185 m² (1,992 sq ft).
Both options would cost roughly the same (~375,000 EUR turnkey). Single-family house 1 has a basement; single-family house 2 does not but offers significantly more living space. Both are heated by a heat pump.
In my understanding, there are three main reasons for having a basement: 1. as storage space, 2. for the heating system, and 3. for the utility/laundry room. Step by step:
1.) I can’t really think of much that I would need to store down there—at least not on a total area of about 50+ m² (540+ sq ft)...
2.) Since heating is provided by a heat pump, the "heater" itself would be located outside anyway. The basement would only house the controls (and the hot water tank?). I assume these could also be installed on the ground floor, right?
3.) If the utility room is in the basement and the bedroom is on the upper floor, my wife would have to go up and down two levels. Also, ventilation would be difficult when air-drying laundry. For these reasons, it might even make more sense to move this area to the ground floor.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts on basements—perhaps I am missing important points or have a wrong understanding regarding the "heating room." Thanks in advance for your help!
Is a partial basement still a viable or practical option nowadays? The items you mentioned obviously need to be stored somewhere – just the bicycles alone require space. But I still don’t know what I would do with the remaining 40, 50, or 60 m² (430, 540, or 650 sq ft) of the basement... I mean, the basement level represents €80,000 in costs for this building. Using it as a (half-empty) storage area seems like a real waste to me.
It’s a tricky topic because strong opinions often clash here, the search function returns thousands of results with different use cases, and everyone should know their own living needs. Maybe a special use idea as input is fine, but the question is: what can a basement actually be used for?
Regarding laundry: the basement is cooler and less ventilated. Where should the moisture from the laundry go if it doesn’t condense on the walls? We currently have the ventilation system integrated in the basement as well, which can help.
Regarding laundry: the basement is cooler and less ventilated. Where should the moisture from the laundry go if it doesn’t condense on the walls? We currently have the ventilation system integrated in the basement as well, which can help.
Abzug86 schrieb:
What do you mean by "direct basement access"? As mentioned, there is no sloped terrain here. Basement stairs leading directly to the garden, so the lawn mower can be taken straight from the basement onto the lawn without passing through the hallway.
Abzug86 schrieb:
I could definitely imagine a gym down there, but even then I see the disadvantages mentioned earlier. That’s also a common use. The basement isn’t cold, just cooler than the rest of the house, and there are windows with light wells to provide daylight. They let in more light than you might expect. I was also surprised by this.
Abzug86 schrieb:
Is a partial basement still conceivable or practical nowadays? On a flat plot, a partial basement usually doesn’t offer cost savings. It tends to be all or nothing. Depending on the terrain and house design, a partial basement can make sense.
Another common approach: a full basement with part used as an underground garage and the rest as a “partial basement.”
A basement is a "solution" typically used for expensive plots of land or sites where minimal earthworks are needed (such as on a slope). For affordable plots, it is usually much cheaper to place the same rooms on the ground floor. The best part is that you are often allowed to build right up to the property boundary if it is part of a required structure, like a garage.
Having rooms on the ground floor, besides the more attractive price (if the land is cheap…), offers several other advantages:
- Privacy and wind protection for terraces
- Significantly better ventilation options
- Easier access for bicycles and other garden tools
- Direct natural light through windows—this is possible in basements too, but without a slope, basements generally aren’t very bright
A basement is the right choice for those who specifically want one. There is also a geographical trend: the further south you go, the more people build with basements. Here in the north, about 1 in 100 houses has a basement, whereas in the south, the number is much higher. Conversely, about 95 out of 100 houses here in the north use brick facades, while in the south, 95 out of 100 houses have rendered (plastered) exteriors.
Having rooms on the ground floor, besides the more attractive price (if the land is cheap…), offers several other advantages:
- Privacy and wind protection for terraces
- Significantly better ventilation options
- Easier access for bicycles and other garden tools
- Direct natural light through windows—this is possible in basements too, but without a slope, basements generally aren’t very bright
A basement is the right choice for those who specifically want one. There is also a geographical trend: the further south you go, the more people build with basements. Here in the north, about 1 in 100 houses has a basement, whereas in the south, the number is much higher. Conversely, about 95 out of 100 houses here in the north use brick facades, while in the south, 95 out of 100 houses have rendered (plastered) exteriors.
Fuchur schrieb:
Basement stairs leading to the garden, so the lawn mower can go directly from the basement to the lawn without having to pass through the hallway.You carry your lawn mower and other equipment up from the basement every time, even though you specifically made the basement accessible with a staircase and the associated excavation, instead of just putting those items in a proper garden shed for maybe 2,000 EUR (in which the bikes would probably also fit)? Seriously? That sounds more like a trolling provocation to me...
T
Traumfaenger30 Jun 2018 23:40Fuchur schrieb:
- Drinks pre-chilled
- everything else you would normally store in the garage The idea of storing drinks this way is cute, but I’d rather have them easily accessible in the kitchen or utility room than a floor below.
Fuchur schrieb:
- direct basement access, so you can save the garden shed Direct access from the garden to the garage with space for a workbench and tools is even more convenient than carrying things up and down stairs.
Abzug86 schrieb:
Is a partial basement still conceivable or practical today? The items you mentioned obviously need storage space—bikes alone take up a lot of room. Sure, but why would you carry anything on wheels up and down stairs? It makes more sense to provide ground-level storage, so it’s easier to put things away. Do you really carry your bikes down to the basement every day?
Fuchur schrieb:
Regarding laundry: the basement is cooler and less ventilated. Where should the moisture from the laundry go if it doesn’t condense on the walls? We currently have the ventilation system integrated into the basement, which helps. Or you could have a ground-floor utility room with a large patio door for continuous natural ventilation. That doesn’t consume any energy either.
Fuchur schrieb:
Basement stairs leading to the garden, so the lawnmower can go directly from the basement to the lawn without passing through the hallway. Again, why carry something on wheels over stairs?
Fuchur schrieb:
For a flat plot, a partial basement hardly offers any cost advantages. Absolutely true. Because of the more complex structural requirements, a partial basement for us would have cost the same as a full basement—either all or nothing. Plus the waterproof concrete tank (“white tank”) and so on.
Instead of a basement, we planned a 40sqm (430 sq ft) garage with a tool corner and 30sqm (320 sq ft) of storage space in functional rooms, plus large built-in cupboards and additional storage areas, and we hope to manage without a basement. Although I would gladly take a basement with underground garage access and a freight elevator at any time.
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