Kevin L (NKY)
TVWBB Diamond Member
That is old school my home back east basement walls were foam blocks filled with concert added Rebar every 3 layers, these blocks have wood straps built in the screw your wood and drywall to and route your electrical wires through.Too much cost to engineer a home and then build it. Cheaper to do slab with shear walls and no flexing of the floor to drop the roof down onto the home. Homes are wood. Sky scrapers are steel drilled deep into rock.
Except this gem in SF
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New Millennium Tower Fix Approved by San Francisco Will (Hopefully) Stop and Reverse Tilt
Scaled down from the original plan, the revised fix relies on 18 piles — instead of the initially proposed 52 — to anchor the 645-foot high-rise to bedrock on the two sides where it's leaned and tilted the most, helping both prevent future tilt and straighten the building.sfist.com
Now this wall is R13 before adding any type of insulation.
The beauty of a basement is twice the square footage in the same space same idea as a two story home.
Only the basement stays 55 to 60 degress all year round no need to air condition. Only a little heat.
With proper drainage outside of the wall it will last a 100 years. In cities where homes are 10 feet apart it would make sense to have a basement a cool place fo kids and pets to play,extra bedroom or living room space in same foot print without expensive wood structure.