|
For my area in NW Oregon, most older (pre-'50s) homes > 700sqft have full basements. They're almost universal for homes built from the 30's back, and those often include evidence of an old pantry/cool room. OTOH, it's very rare to find a home from the 50's up with a basement.
As far as how basements work in our climate, it's dicey. During winter, a 75yr old basement is a wet or at least very humid one. If drainage wasn't maintained it can mean foundation problems and bad flooding. They can be rebuilt to be dry and livable but it's an expensive proposition.
Our native soil has a high clay content which fits with BAMF's explanation.
I do know foundations and drainage have come a long way since the old homes were built. I'll bring this up with a couple builders I know.
__________________
There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195
|