Do all Canadian houses have basements?
However, basements are considered standard on all but the smallest new buildings in many places with temperate continental climates such as the American Midwest and the Canadian Prairies where a concrete foundation below the frost line is needed in any case, to prevent a building from shifting during the freeze-thaw …
What does basement mean in Canada?
The basement is the foundation of the home. In most of Canada you want the foundation below the frost line so most homes have cement foundations that extend 8 feet into the ground. This space can be used for furnaces, laundry facilities, storage and extra living space.
What is the point of a basement?
A basement is a useful place to live, work or store items, even today. Some people choose to have a fully furnished basement that functions as a bedroom, while some leave it mostly unfurnished and choose to look at it as more of an additional storage space.
Do all houses have basements?
Some have basements, some don’t. Whether or not a house has a basement tends to be regional, topographical, and stylistic. Basement walls usually form the foundation of a house. On a hillside, a house may have a “partial” basement, and in cold climates the foundation is below the frost line.
Why do houses in rural Canada have basements?
Here, where I live, in rural Canada, there are still plenty of people who remember growing up in old farmhouses with an inch of ice on the water bucket every winter morning. Homes like these needed a basement to keep vegetables from freezing and spoiling.
Does a basement add value to a home?
Instead of an unfinished storage area, basements are a usable space that will be able to bring value to your home, and an excellent spot for your family to relax and unwind. Typically, basements are used as a way to increase the square footage of a home without the need to build up or to extend the footprint of the home.
Where are basements an expectation in the US?
Basements are an expectation in all the states above the Appalachian mountain range. Think about it this way. Basements are a common thing in a cold climate. Where the frost depth is four feet or more.