Any grounds for dearth of basements in Texas?
Basements in Texas? They’re not unheard of, but they’re rare to find in homes across the Lone Star State.
As more people from the North move to the South, though, North Texas Basements owner Tom Werling says the preference for basements continues to grow.
“People from the North are just used to having basements, and they want them because, No. 1, they’re the most stable foundation known to mankind and they’re just used to having all that extra space,” Werling said.
Dictionary.com defines a basement, not to be confused with a cellar, as the floor of the building partly or entirely below ground level.
Werling created North Texas Basements in 2007 and has seen his fair share of business over the years. An Ohio native, Werling said his company filled a void in the area, affording not only Northerners a taste of home but also giving Southerners a new outlook by adding a basement into their dream homes.
“When people found out I was from Ohio, the first thing they would say is, ‘Why (are) there no basements?’ ” Werling said. “‘I’m from Michigan; why are there no basements? I’m from Pennsylvania; why (are) there no basements? I’m from Montana; why (are) there no basements.’
“They were frustrated, because they were being told that they couldn’t have a basement down here and there is no reason whatsoever to not have a basement down here.”
But that’s where critics will disagree with Werling and say
there’s valid reasons why some opt to not have a basement in their home.
In a 2023 report from the Regional Foundation Repair, details such as climate, soil type, basement flooding risks, and history and culture remain important factors when deciding whether to add a basement to a home.
“Across the southern part of the United States, one of the most notable features of the South is the sandiness of the soil,” the report states. “Across the country, there is a rectangle of sandy soil; if you draw a shape, with corners in Maryland, Florida and northern and southern California, you have
drawn a shape inside which the soil is extremely sandy. In these conditions, home builders favor either an outdoor shed or attic storage rather than a basement.”
On top of soil, Regional Foundation Repair found the water table poses a concern.
“In much of the South, the water table is high, making the soil extremely damp,” the report states. “In many parts of the South, this means that there is swampland or wetlands. Where the water table is high, it is simply not feasible to dig too deep underground. In Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Eastern Texas the soil is particularly damp, which explains the minimal number of basements
there.”
The Midwest has the highest number of basements built in homes. The Regional Foundation Repair describes Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota as the “heartland of basements.”
The saying “everything is bigger and better in Texas” can also apply to the homes. In the North, builders don’t have the space to build outward, thus the reason they build upward. In the South, there’s more space to build on land, and with a larger home, the addition of a basement — with storage as one of its primary functions — becomes less of a need.
And then there’s costs to consider when thinking about building a basement.
“In the North, basements are driven by the need to dig deep foundations,” the Regional Foundation Repair report states. “In the rest of the country, they need to be actively (and often expensively) dug out. This provides a major economic rationale for a state-by-state difference in approach to basements.”
Despite those factors, Werling insists that if it’s constructed correctly, a basement will stand the test of time and is worth the investment.
“I’ve never had a leaky basement in 48 years, but they have to be built right,” Werling said.