"it's just ridiculous to be that scared"

[soonerbrat]

Last night my coworker and her hubby had to get in the closet because there was a tornado very near their house......now hubby wants to get a storm shelter and she says it's silly. Silly? "oh, what are the chances?"

[OUHOMER]

lets see, how much for a cement hole in the ground that you will probably never use. i think it is silly

[Sooner Born Sooner Bred]

So she just wants to stay in the closet?

[achiro]

lets see, how much for a cement hole in the ground that you will probably never use. i think it is silly
Silly unless you need it!

[proud gonzo]

your coworker is a tard

[yermom]

aren't those things subsidized or something anyway?

[GottaHavePride]

Honestly, when I came down here for college I couldn't believe that most houses don't have basements around here. Nearly every house I've seen in Kansas has a basement.

And if I was going to be living in the house I'm in now permanently I'd sure as hell be putting a storm shelter in.

[StoopTroup]

Safe Room Testing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1mGlfTiIkU)

[yermom]

it has to do with the ground here, they flood a lot or something

i'd like a basement and/or storm shelter as well

[Jimminy Crimson]

it has to do with the ground here, they flood a lot or something

Not completely true... Yes, the water table is high in a lot of parts, but most older homes have a basement in Oklahoma.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

I always thought it was because of the clay.

[BigRedJed]

Here are the main reason that basements are common in, say, Wichita, and uncommon here. In Wichita the frost line is nearly twice as far below the ground as it is in OKC. That is, the ground can potentially freeze further down in winter than it can here.

This means that 1) pipes such as your water supply need to be buried deeper there, and come into your home deeper, and 2) foundation stem walls need to be dug deeper to keep them from heaving out of the ground and causing foundation problems. Due to this, the dirt work/concrete for a home in Wichita without a basement is nearly as deep/expensive as for one WITH a basement. Since you're already down there that far, why not go ahead and build a basement?

Since he's already down that far, the incremental cost for a builder there is far less than it is here to build a basement, so he can increase square footage and perceived value for far less than a builder here can (and yes, I know that basements often don't count as liveable square footage, but there is still intrinsic value).

Since there is less built-in opportunity here for a low-cost basement, and since so many builders began opting not to do them, basement building skill has been lost to some degree in Oklahoma. Not too many contractors here know how to build them, just as most contractors there DO know how to build them, so it's not an option that is pushed here. Also, the lack of qualified basement-building contractors again causes even higher prices for those who want one.

I used to believe the "water table" explanation, but it's actually a BS explanation that's commonly accepted because few people know or understand the economic explanation I just gave. Water tables fluctuate all over this town and state, just like they do in Wichita or anywhere else. I got my explanation from a contractor who is now helping bring basement building back to new homes in Oklahoma as the demand for them is increasing. Natch, he was from Kansas originally.

[GottaHavePride]

That's he first coherent explanation of that I've seen. Makes perfect sense now.

Still goofy, in the middle of tornado country, but oh well.

[BigRedJed]

Heh. "Here are the reason..."

[GottaHavePride]

OK, coherent except for that. ;)

[yermom]

i said or something ;)

i couldn't remember "frost line" i was thinking permafrost and i knew that wasn't right

[OUAndy1807]

Here are the main reason that basements are common in, say, Wichita, and uncommon here. In Wichita the frost line is nearly twice as far below the ground as it is in OKC. That is, the ground can potentially freeze further down in winter than it can here.

This means that 1) pipes such as your water supply need to be buried deeper there, and come into your home deeper, and 2) foundation stem walls need to be dug deeper to keep them from heaving out of the ground and causing foundation problems. Due to this, the dirt work/concrete for a home in Wichita without a basement is nearly as deep/expensive as for one WITH a basement. Since you're already down there that far, why not go ahead and build a basement?

Since he's already down that far, the incremental cost for a builder there is far less than it is here to build a basement, so he can increase square footage and perceived value for far less than a builder here can (and yes, I know that basements often don't count as liveable square footage, but there is still intrinsic value).

Since there is less built-in opportunity here for a low-cost basement, and since so many builders began opting not to do them, basement building skill has been lost to some degree in Oklahoma. Not too many contractors here know how to build them, just as most contractors there DO know how to build them, so it's not an option that is pushed here. Also, the lack of qualified basement-building contractors again causes even higher prices for those who want one.

I used to believe the "water table" explanation, but it's actually a BS explanation that's commonly accepted because few people know or understand the economic explanation I just gave. Water tables fluctuate all over this town and state, just like they do in Wichita or anywhere else. I got my explanation from a contractor who is now helping bring basement building back to new homes in Oklahoma as the demand for them is increasing. Natch, he was from Kansas originally.
teh win.

plus, if you don't have a basement, your basement can't flood when you get 8" of rain in 3 days:mad:

[oumartin]

I can buy that but most cellers and basements are single pours now thus making them less likely to leak. heck, I was home for 7 days after my last job and three times we were in the basement due to tornado sirens and we were the most popular people on the block! 4" of rain and our basement which is 40 years old took on 2" of water in the sump that is 2' by 2'. and that water came down the sump pump discharge line.