S
snowman*150*
Well-known member
Concrete last way longer than 30-40 years there bud.
Did you know there is still working concrete from the roman empire. So if you do your math right then Im 100% sure that its over 40 years
Wood or Concrete Basement
- Thread starter 06 RMK 900
- Start date
Concrete last way longer than 30-40 years there bud.
Did you know there is still working concrete from the roman empire. So if you do your math right then Im 100% sure that its over 40 years
It is popular down South. I have personally done it to a barn I have on the one side 13 years ago. It is holding up perfectly but If i had my choice it would be concrete.
OMG.... are you kidding me? There used to be homes in Sioux Falls with wood basements but almost none of them are still standing. Would you like to know why that is? If you haven't noticed the majority of SF is built on a pseudo-island. And water in basements is not uncommon here. (read the paper much?) So as if moisture in basements wasn't enough to keep people from building them the soil here is also very acidic and will eat away at wood. That is why wood basements are not allowed here... not some govt conspiracy
im talking the new houses in the Yukon since the U.S and Canadian army houses of the 50s...yes the concrete still is structually sound..
im talking the Europeons building in the Yukon
im talking 20000 new homes in the past 60 years primarily wood basements built in the Yukon
if ya didn;t get that from my posts then i apologize...but if your trying to put words in a fella;s mouth to forward your objective...well...i have something to stick in your mouth
and of course some areas are suitable for only concrete and admittingly for the most part in the Yukon is a dryer soil with generally low water tables..im just stating that wood is the way to go if the soil / water table is suitable imo
Last edited:
i have never seen the Titanic...did it exist??
they will not build a wood basement in WA and you might not of seen one because of the moisture levels Im guessing. Some parts of the country you can build wood basement because of dryer climate and certain kinds of soils but if your not a believer look on the internet they are for real and I think the titanic is also.........Or is it????
I understand that wood may not be the best choice in all applications, and around here you would want to pick and choose where to use wood vs cement. Myslef, i would never put a 2 story on a wood foundation, but a ranch i would feel comfortable doing so. So why can you build with wood in Tea, Brandon, Harrisburg, ect...but not Sioux Falls? I also asked the city inspectors and none of them gave me a straight answer. A builder thats been in the area for 30+ years told me the whole cement guys/code guys bit. Also, a wood basement is going to have a membrane that keeps the soil off the wood, the wood will never come in contact with the soil so soil acidity shouldnt matter. This would also keep water out so concrete wouldnt have an advantage in that aspect either. If your using drain tile I dont see why cement would be any better than wood. Now if you flood thats a whole different story since cement will dry and retain its strenght, wood...not so much. Also, my parents home is 6 miles outside Sioux Falls, and like i said, almost 20 years without a problem. The home accross the road is 35+ years old with wood basement and also no problems.
S
snowman*150*
Well-known member
Haha haha You know your right the titanic was a GREAT idea too! And look how it turned out...
ok... so I feel like my last post was a little snarky and it prob wasn't deserved so I'll start by saying that this is all just in my experience... Nothing personal... just so ya know.
first let me say that a builder is just that, a builder. He never was and probably never will be an engineer or a geologist or a chemist or anything else. Most of the builders I know are real nice guys but the builder that lives across the street from me is barely smart enough to tie his own shoes and didn't even graduate high school. Basically my point is that if a builder tells you anything other than what his specific line of work is about... I would be cautious.
I actually wasn't aware that those other cities had a flexible building code that allows either concrete or wood basements. but if you think about it, it makes sense that SF would only allow concrete... we have a very high water table in certain parts of town and for SF to allow it some places but not others would be a pain in the rear.... one city... one code... no exceptions... easier.
My buddy that lives in tea has two sump pumps in his basement and they almost never stop running except in the winter... a friend of mine in harrisburg has two also... one keeps up fine but he is worried about having a back up.... to me it just feels risky to use wood in a wet area. my house on the other hand doesn't even have a pump in the hole... the most water that I have ever had in the hole is like maybe 3 inches deep... but I live on a hill.
I feel like using wood is a pay a little less now and maybe pay a lot more later. Unless you live in a desert
S
snowman*150*
Well-known member
ok... so I feel like my last post was a little snarky and it prob wasn't deserved so I'll start by saying that this is all just in my experience... Nothing personal... just so ya know.
first let me say that a builder is just that, a builder. He never was and probably never will be an engineer or a geologist or a chemist or anything else. Most of the builders I know are real nice guys but the builder that lives across the street from me is barely smart enough to tie his own shoes and didn't even graduate high school. Basically my point is that if a builder tells you anything other than what his specific line of work is about... I would be cautious.
I actually wasn't aware that those other cities had a flexible building code that allows either concrete or wood basements. but if you think about it, it makes sense that SF would only allow concrete... we have a very high water table in certain parts of town and for SF to allow it some places but not others would be a pain in the rear.... one city... one code... no exceptions... easier.
My buddy that lives in tea has two sump pumps in his basement and they almost never stop running except in the winter... a friend of mine in harrisburg has two also... one keeps up fine but he is worried about having a back up.... to me it just feels risky to use wood in a wet area. my house on the other hand doesn't even have a pump in the hole... the most water that I have ever had in the hole is like maybe 3 inches deep... but I live on a hill.
I feel like using wood is a pay a little less now and maybe pay a lot more later. Unless you live in a desert
Your right. People now days are always looking to save a quick buck. But if you actually think about (in the long run) will it actually save you money or just cause total chaos for you and your family. I would say if your building a home for you and your family always 100% hands down spend the extra money to make it last. Sure it may hurt your wallet at the beginning but in the end it will totally be worth it.
Should not matter if the builder across the street graduated high school, only if he actually knows how to do his job and can do it in a timely manner and do it right the first time. I know a guy that thinks he is the best builder in the whole valley but in reality he does not listen to what the home owners are telling him to do and builds it to the way he would like it, and most the time half asses the job and it looks like crap. And the builders I woked for went over there too see this million dollar house he built and were ashamed to even be in there because of the way things looked. the people i worked for were in custom home building and they were actually one of the best people to work with and really really good at there job!
well like i said..very interesting thread...in each in its own place both sides of the arguement is correct with mitigating factors..
an interesting tidbit...Japan has huge logs imported from Canada
store in bulk..hundreds of thousands of them..the have been stored for decades...
where are they stored...anchored to the ocean floor off their coast..
and snowman..at 22 if you have renovated tons of houses....then you started when you possibly should have been learning to read..and getting potty trained..the world is more then just leggo and concrete...
an interesting tidbit...Japan has huge logs imported from Canada
store in bulk..hundreds of thousands of them..the have been stored for decades...
where are they stored...anchored to the ocean floor off their coast..
and snowman..at 22 if you have renovated tons of houses....then you started when you possibly should have been learning to read..and getting potty trained..the world is more then just leggo and concrete...
ok... so I feel like my last post was a little snarky and it prob wasn't deserved so I'll start by saying that this is all just in my experience... Nothing personal... just so ya know.
first let me say that a builder is just that, a builder. He never was and probably never will be an engineer or a geologist or a chemist or anything else. Most of the builders I know are real nice guys but the builder that lives across the street from me is barely smart enough to tie his own shoes and didn't even graduate high school. Basically my point is that if a builder tells you anything other than what his specific line of work is about... I would be cautious.
I actually wasn't aware that those other cities had a flexible building code that allows either concrete or wood basements. but if you think about it, it makes sense that SF would only allow concrete... we have a very high water table in certain parts of town and for SF to allow it some places but not others would be a pain in the rear.... one city... one code... no exceptions... easier.
My buddy that lives in tea has two sump pumps in his basement and they almost never stop running except in the winter... a friend of mine in harrisburg has two also... one keeps up fine but he is worried about having a back up.... to me it just feels risky to use wood in a wet area. my house on the other hand doesn't even have a pump in the hole... the most water that I have ever had in the hole is like maybe 3 inches deep... but I live on a hill.
I feel like using wood is a pay a little less now and maybe pay a lot more later. Unless you live in a desert
No offense taken. Oppionions are like a*sholes and everyone has got one. The whole "city cement guys are in bed" was his oppionion. In his defense though, he graduated as a civil eng from SDSU two years ahead of me, he went to college on full academic ride (unlike me, which you can prob tell by a number of spelling errors in my post that I'm too lazy to fix) so he's a smart cookie, he got into building because his dad was/is in the biz. I havent compaired cost but if you had a framing crew frame a basement (not doing it yourself aka free labor) i would imagine cost have to be damn close to a wash. If you quote out a walkout and a flat lot, subtract out the window wells your at about the same cost which tells me framing labor eats up the difference in material cost. The spot I'm eyeing to build is on a hill and if I flood or even have water in my basement thats the least of my worries because by that time 90% of Sioux Falls will be underwater. It would just be nice to have the option to build with wood. Honestly I feel cement is a much better material to use, but its also a giant ice pack that surounds your basement in the winter time. With my parents having a wood basement it just felt like a more comfortable, inviting living space. To combat my winter woes I will be doing in-floor heat...prob solved at the cost of $9k i guess!
S
snowman*150*
Well-known member
Thanks for the random tidbit but that does not make wood stronger than concrete
ya your right I have only been doing construction for the past 6 years and I have seen a few houses in that time. So why dont you go get on google again and look up some more information so maybe you will start sounding like you might know what your talking about. Since your not fooling any one here city slicker.
HAHAHA He called m8magicandmystery a "city slicker". The Yukon doesn't have much for cities. Largest city Whitehorse population about 21,000, 2nd largest Dawson City about 1,300 people.
Well, there is another option that is becoming very popular in BC...Insulated Styrofoam Block Foundation. The foundation is built with reinforced styrofoam blocks and filled with concrete after they are errected. The blocks act as the forms and the insulation and the concrete is, of course, the strength. A lot of new homes in my area are going with this and it SEEMS to be very efficient and popular. Personally, I would never build or buy another house with a wooden foundation....it is wood...buried in the ground....eventually it will rot...it's wood!!!!! My first home had a wood foundation and it was a nightmare to sell. Price had to be lowered and just getting people to look at it was a chore. I would have used the styrofoam in my new home but my builder is old school and we used concrete....very happy. I have been told that the only time you should use wood is in an area with excellent drainage so that no water lays against the foundation.
Good Luck.
Good Luck.
S
snowman*150*
Well-known member
S
snowman*150*
Well-known member
There was a house built up here with foam blocks, not sure who the builder was but it looked like they did a great job. Just out of curiosity if anybody knows... Wouldn't the foam eventually start to crumble and flake off?
I have seen foam do that in the sun and I am just wondering if it does the same thing over time under ground.
I have seen foam do that in the sun and I am just wondering if it does the same thing over time under ground.
S
snowman*150*
Well-known member
And I'm just messing with you m8magicandmystery
and maybe if he stopped acting like one I wouldn't be forced to call him one
lol...you can call me whatever you want..i don;t think its forced though..lol..
you and i are at different spectrums of our lifes..
Your slowly getting old enough to have your independance and see whats on another street
Im slowly getting old enough to wear depends...lol..
Anyway..another day tomorrow..if its like most days running wood or propane or pellet or boiler stove pipe out from basement installations i sure hope i don;t have to do it in a concrete basement..lol...have had a few of them...dang 6 to 9 inches of old concrete with rebar is tough for sure...can;t argue that...but its sure nice to go through the wood..
