When we moved here, the first thing that struck me about homes in Dallas, was the dearth of basements. Most homes up north have them, with footings below the frost line. I grew up in homes with basements, including the split level. That house actually had a crawl space under the main floor (with a concrete floor, so I used to play in there, which is why I now have claustrophobia) and then a half-buried lower floor with a bedroom, bath, and huge laundry room. It was six steps to the next level. Someone recently told me they hated split level homes. They can be so “sixties”, like an aluminum Christmas tree, but in fact, the split level home we had was my favorite.
But so few basements in Dallas. And crawl spaces? That’s the dirt below the house, where inspectors and workmen have to get into “crawling” suits to get under and crawl around. If your kid played in your Dallas crawlspace, someone would be calling Child Protective Services!
So I asked a couple prominent home builders and an architect why we don’t see more basements in Dallas.
“A basement is really a swimming pool in reverse,” says Allan Ross, architect & urban designer. “But you must build it well to keep the water out in our expansive soils.”
That means proper waterproofing, thick walls re-inforced to handle soil expansion and contraction, and a proper perimeter drainage system of sump pumps and drainage basin. No wonder it costs more to build a home with a basement.
“The average price per square foot of luxury new construction is $350 . The cost of basement is going to take that substantially higher,” says Joe Kain of Joe Kain Custom Homes. “It will be the most expensive area you will build.”
That’s why Kain advises clients to first consider other space in the structure. Utilize an unused area on the second floor that would have been unfinished attic and just build it out, adding a fifth bedroom, bath and study area. You will accomplish that for $125 a square foot, he says.
“It’s much less expensive to use space under your roof,” says Kain, ” than it is to build a basement.”
When you see those huge basement excavations going on, know the owner is paying out the nose, about 25 to 50% more than building without one.
“Even the cost of building out a third floor in an attic is less than the cost of building a basement,” says Kain.
Why is it so expensive? Excavation, creating the “reverse swimming pool”, and drainage for one, plus back-up drainage systems. With one of his custom builds, Joe says he recently hit solid rock two or three feet from the surface.
Not only does building a basement jack up your bill, they can also can add many months to a project just in site excavation and multiple foundation set ups and pours, says Michael Munir of Sharif-Munir Uncustomary Homes.
“Walk out basements could be beneficial from a use of home site in a given situation,” says Michael, where there is severe limitation as to the amount of space on the lot, and your goal as to what you want to build on it.
“But that would be a case by case circumstance with still some added costs over traditional home construction.”
Certainly a wine cellar makes more sense in the basement, though I know of a second floor wine cellar in The Mayfair that has rock walls, blacked out windows, and if I took you there in a blindfold (as Mr. Grey certainly would) you would swear you were in a cellar. Just crank up the AC.
Joe Kain says he has built several residential basements in Glen Abbey, Old Preston Hollow and Highland Park. He is doing one now to be a home “underground” garage.
So a garage or wine cellar. What would you rather have in your basement, your Ferrari collection or all your Napa Valley wine?
