Factors That Affect Ability To Have A Basement When Building A House
If you want to buy land to build a brand-new house and want a basement with the house, there are several different things you should look for when choosing property for sale. While a basement can be put in almost any house, there are factors that can affect the costs of adding a basement. Here are several different factors to evaluate.
The Water Table
The water table refers to the depth of the water in the ground on a piece of property, and this is vital to consider when putting a basement in. If the ground is really high, the water table is likely to be a lot lower than the ground, and this is a good thing if you want a basement. If the ground is low, the top of the ground is probably near the water table, and this can result in several problems.
The level of water is important because it tells the builder how far he can dig into the ground for the basement. With a really low water table, there is more ground to dig into, which means adding a basement will be less costly. When the water table is high and near the top of the ground, the builder will not be able to dig as deeply into the ground. You could still have a basement; however, there would be added costs to bring fill (sand) to the lot to build up the ground.
If the land you are looking at is near a river, swamp, or any other type of water source, putting in a basement might be risky. If it rains a lot and the house is not built up high enough, you are likely to get water in your basement.
Rock Underground
The other factor that is important to evaluate is if there is rock under the ground on the property. If so, it may be costlier to put in a basement, simply because digging through rock is not easy to do. The contractor will have to take extra steps when doing this, in order to dig out the rock, and this will take a lot of extra time and effort. The result will be extra expenses if you want to put a basement in.
These are just a couple factors to evaluate as you look for the right property to buy. To find out more about property for sale, talk to a real estate agent today.
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