Why do most Irish gaff not have basements?

iamstop · 17-06-2019 10:57pm #1

Practically every house in Canada has some sort of basement. Some are just for storage that you can hardly crawl in but most are decent a lot have a full rooms and even jacks down in them.
Why is such subterranean living not so common in Ireland?

jcorr · 17-06-2019 10:58pm

There's loads in Dublin

*Disclaimer. I'm not from Dublin just rent here. Haven't really seen basements in my county of origin

MrMusician18 · 17-06-2019 10:59pm

iamstop wrote: »

Practically every house in Canada has some sort of basement. Some are just for storage that you can hardly crawl in but most are decent a lot have a full rooms and even jacks down in them.
Why is such subterranean living not so common in Ireland?

Because they're extremely expensive.

There you are. Question answered.

EnzoScifo · 17-06-2019 11:00pm

Radon

punisher5112 · 17-06-2019 11:00pm

They'd be full of rats, damp and just flood or be full of water......

In the US they are widely used as space is a premium but more so for storms as shelter.

Stop moaning ffs · 17-06-2019 11:01pm

iamstop wrote: »

Practically every house in Canada has some sort of basement. Some are just for storage that you can hardly crawl in but most are decent a lot have a full rooms and even jacks down in them.
Why is such subterranean living not so common in Ireland?

Often wondered about this.

Conversely often wondered why those idiots who live in tornado alley in the US don’t build houses out of concrete.

And why they rebuild same spot every year

Makes no sense

Someone please put Maria Bailey on a swing in a tornado.

She would sue god.

ILoveYourVibes · 17-06-2019 11:01pm

Not as many serial killers here.

simongurnick · 17-06-2019 11:01pm

Limestone

jam_mac_jam · 17-06-2019 11:02pm

Expensive and damp

threeball · 17-06-2019 11:02pm

Ireland has a hell of a lot of ground water and high water tables are very common. Waterproofing a basement is hugely expensive so doesn't make economic sense.

soap1978 · 17-06-2019 11:06pm

It's always where the ghost or demon hangout in horror movies,not worth the risk

Glass fused light · 17-06-2019 11:06pm

Tradition eg needing light
Water from rain and water table all year round needs tanking v hot summers and freezing winters.
stone build v wood build foundation

Bobblehats · 17-06-2019 11:09pm

soap1978 wrote: »

It's always where the ghost or demon hangout in horror movies,not worth the risk

Or a hole to hell like in amityville. Fùck that

Stop moaning ffs · 17-06-2019 11:09pm

threeball wrote: »

Ireland has a hell of a lot of ground water and high water tables are very common. Waterproofing a basement is hugely expensive so doesn't make economic sense.

^one of the main reasons the Brits never started their plans for Dublin’s tube subway system. And a problem that still lies ahead for when we do that and try build up

Twenty Grand · 17-06-2019 11:10pm

You only really find basements in areas which suffer harsh winters. Northern US and Canada.

Reason being the house foundations need to go deep to get below the frost layer. You're digging so deep you may as well build a basement.
If you don't dig deep the groundwater beneath your house will freeze in winter and shift and crack your foundations.

No one in Ireland or UK does basements because there's no need really. Cheaper to build a bigger house or add another floor than excavate a basement and pour concrete.

ILoveYourVibes · 17-06-2019 11:10pm

soap1978 wrote: »

It's always where the ghost or demon hangout in horror movies,not worth the risk

I want one now.

ILoveYourVibes · 17-06-2019 11:11pm

Twenty Grand wrote: »

You only really find basements in areas which suffer harsh winters. Northern US and Canada.

Reason being the house foundations need to go deep to get below the frost layer. You're digging so deep you may as well build a basement.
If you don't dig deep the groundwater beneath your house will freeze in winter and shift and crack your foundations.

No one in Ireland or UK does basements because there's no need really. Cheaper to build a bigger house or add another floor than excavate a basement and pour concrete.

That's really interesting!

Odyssey 2005 · 17-06-2019 11:11pm

I blame Brexit

listermint · 17-06-2019 11:13pm

Because only weirdos live underground.

Are you a weirdo OP

Stovepipe · 17-06-2019 11:13pm

Basements are a brilliant idea and the kind of house you saw in the US or Canada originated in Sweden, where the two-storey-over-basement is very common and Sweden has thousands of lakes and plenty of bogs yet they have built thousands of these houses. As for people living in tornado alley in the US, well, quite often, it's because it's all they can afford, brick houses are very expensive in the US and tornados quite miss hitting houses because the country is so big. It's relatively simple to rebuild a wooden house, especially if the basement is usable. What is very doable in Ireland is the split-level, especially if you build on the side of a small hill, whereby the downstairs becomes a basement and the upper level becomes the ground floor, so to speak. Quite common, actually.

ILoveYourVibes · 17-06-2019 11:13pm

listermint wrote: »

Because only weirdos live underground.

Are you a weirdo OP

I am.

Bobblehats · 17-06-2019 11:14pm

And what would you do down there recant pages from the negronomicon?

Glass fused light · 17-06-2019 11:15pm

Stop moaning ffs wrote: »

Often wondered about this.

Conversely often wondered why those idiots who live in tornado alley in the US don’t build houses out of concrete.

And why they rebuild same spot every year

Makes no sense

Someone please put Maria Bailey on a swing in a tornado.

She would sue god.

I expect that engineering a concrete house would be expensive.
It would have to resist the circular motion of push and pull plus up-draf on 360 as the original point of impact could come from any angle.

Stovepipe · 17-06-2019 11:15pm

As it happens, a lot of modern passive houses require a very deep foundation, so maybe a basement in one of those wouldnt be out of the question.

Oops! · 17-06-2019 11:17pm

Ask any mechanic that ever worked in a pit that did'nt have concrete walls built like a nuclear bunker and you'll get your answer fairly quick...

Bobblehats · 17-06-2019 11:18pm

Stovepipe wrote: »

As it happens, a lot of modern passive houses require a very deep foundation, so maybe a basement in one of those wouldnt be out of the question.

And what if these foundations are destabilised

Thelonious Monk · 17-06-2019 11:21pm

All of the Georgian buildings have basements

gctest50 · 17-06-2019 11:25pm

Stop moaning ffs wrote: »

Often wondered about this.

Conversely often wondered why those idiots who live in tornado alley in the US don’t build houses out of concrete.

And why they rebuild same spot every year

Makes no sense ..... ...

A 3 x 2 will go through a block at about 40mph
A tornado may drive things much faster than that

https://imgur.com/f0NWnba

Stop moaning ffs · 17-06-2019 11:27pm

Glass fused light wrote: »

I expect that engineering a concrete house would be expensive.
It would have to resist the circular motion of push and pull plus up-draf on 360 as the original point of impact could come from any angle.

In the US it was probably about avoiding bears and natives.

Who knows.

Twenty Grand · 17-06-2019 11:27pm

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

That's really interesting!

I would also add that that no one in Ireland has much experience building basements. It's next level damp proofing and sealing. Hence the $$$

If you end up with a leak you're f*cked. Could flood the basement, ruin your foundations etc. Saturated ground and loose soil cause pressure on the basement walls, forcing water through.
You may end up needing a permanent sump pump to clear any water pools.

Conversely often wondered why those idiots who live in tornado alley in the US don’t build houses out of concrete.

You could build your house out of titanium. A tornado will still tear it apart.

Stop moaning ffs · 17-06-2019 11:28pm

gctest50 wrote: »

A 3 x 2 will go through a block at about 40mph
A tornado may drive things much faster than that

https://imgur.com/f0NWnba

That’s amazing.

They should have build all homes underground if they knew this was an annual event. Avoid all the hassle

JohnnyFlash · 17-06-2019 11:30pm

Always presumed some of the AH regulars were basement dwellers. Ineffectual and overweight sorts with BO giving out about things they don’t really understand and certainly can’t change.

ILoveYourVibes · 17-06-2019 11:32pm

THE QUINTESSENTIAL BASEMENT SONG

ILoveYourVibes · 17-06-2019 11:36pm

Bobblehats wrote: »

And what would you do down there recant pages from the negronomicon?

Sefer Yetzirah, followed by the key of solomon and the sixth and seventh books of moses!

I like my grimoires so i do!

Glass fused light · 17-06-2019 11:36pm

Stop moaning ffs wrote: »

In the US it was probably about avoiding bears and natives.

Who knows.

It would also be about heat conservation and manpower.
The dugout home taking account of a natural hollow and roofing it with wood rafters and sod would be a quicker solution than cutting down trees and milling it into logs.

MrMusician18 · 18-06-2019 12:06am

Stop moaning ffs wrote: »

^one of the main reasons the Brits never started their plans for Dublin’s tube subway system. And a problem that still lies ahead for when we do that and try build up

You generally don't get groundwater flow in Dublin soil because the clay is almost rock hard and impermeable. It's extremely difficult stuff to dig, being two or three times harder than London clay.

branie2 · 18-06-2019 12:31am

We're not 30-year-old sci-fi obsessed fans living with their parents

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts · 18-06-2019 1:38am

Twenty Grand wrote: »

You only really find basements in areas which suffer harsh winters. Northern US and Canada.

Reason being the house foundations need to go deep to get below the frost layer. You're digging so deep you may as well build a basement.
If you don't dig deep the groundwater beneath your house will freeze in winter and shift and crack your foundations.

No one in Ireland or UK does basements because there's no need really. Cheaper to build a bigger house or add another floor than excavate a basement and pour concrete.

I remember watching a Grand Designs episode in which the planned house was going to have a basement. Christ, it was a lot of work waterproofing the basement and for what, I don’t know. It was a dreary room. Not worth the effort.

kneemos · 18-06-2019 2:19am

A lot of country houses have garages bigger than many terrace houses.
Better option than a basement.

ILoveYourVibes · 18-06-2019 2:50am

branie2 wrote: »

We're not 30-year-old sci-fi obsessed fans living with their parents

we can only dream!

NSAman · 18-06-2019 3:47am

branie2 wrote: »

We're not 30-year-old sci-fi obsessed fans living with their parents

Of course we are not, yet here I am in my basement watching tv, on the couch, the fire on, looking across the valley at the lights on the far hills...

Neon_Lights · 18-06-2019 4:50am

Stop moaning ffs wrote: »

Someone please put Maria Bailey on a swing in a tornado.

She would sue god.

Her 10k time is hardly godlike, d4 tw4t

Irish Guitarist · 18-06-2019 6:23am

Why do Americans say "you're still living in your moms basement" as an insult? Why does the basement belong to 'mom' and not the father?

Sky King · 18-06-2019 6:29am

iamstop wrote: »

a lot have a full rooms and even jacks down in them.

Basement Jacks?

Tuco88 · 18-06-2019 7:13am

Sky King wrote: »

iamstop wrote: »

a lot have a full rooms and even jacks down in them.

Basement Jacks?

Where's your head at???

tjhook · 18-06-2019 9:59am

Building houses with basements in Ireland? It would make sense when we're told the price of land is largely what makes houses expensive. But never going to happen. It would interfere with the common practice of quickly throwing up shíte houses made mostly of plasterboard, and flogging them for a fortune.

arctictree · 18-06-2019 10:03am

I'd say that a basement build here would require the services of a rockbreaker which is very expensive.

18-06-2019 10:07am

Sure what would you even use a basement for? It wouldn't work for a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen. No windows, creepy vibe.

Better question is what have those Canadians got in their basements. Very suspicious.

kneemos · 18-06-2019 10:12am

true-or-false wrote: »

Sure what would you even use a basement for? It wouldn't work for a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen. No windows, creepy vibe.

Better question is what have those Canadians got in their basements. Very suspicious.

Storage. Ancillaries,boilers,pumps,etc.

Always think of wine when I hear basement.

Cryptopagan · 18-06-2019 10:13am

kneemos wrote: »

Storage. Ancillaries,boilers,pumps,etc.

Always think of wine when I hear basement.

Isn’t that more a cellar?

Cryptopagan · 18-06-2019 10:16am

The thing I’d like more that US houses seem to have is walk in wardrobes.

Why do most Irish gaff not have basements?

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