A Firm Foundation

The first step to any new home is to stake and dig the basement. Seeing your new home staked out is very exciting as it's the confirmation that the construction of your new home is about to begin!

Did you know that before 1950, basements didn't really serve the same purpose as they do today? Before then it was little more than a cellar, or it could be a section of a building containing rooms and spaces similar to those of the rest of the structure. Often there were exposed beams, dirt floors and cinder-block. Not what you would imagine for the extended living spaces of basements today!

There are 3 different types of basements: Walk-Out, View Out and the fully underground basement.

Walk-Out basements are built in a home that is situated on a slope where a doorway actually leads from the basement to the outside without a stairway. From the street this type of home can look like a one-story house when the slope is in the back or it can look like a two story home when the slope is in front.

A view-out basement has windows that are close to regular size or larger and actually look out at ground level. These make the basement feel more like the main level of the home and bring in a lot of natural light.

The standard basement is fully underground with small windows.

At Bob Cook Homes we use poured concrete for the basement. This has the advantage of being more fire and water resistant because of the density of the concrete. It is also able to resist the pressures of water, earth and wind.

Once the home is staked out, the foundation and walls are poured, then we apply damp-proofing to make sure the basement is absolutely dry. It's very important that the basement be very dry before finishing it out to become a living space in your new home.

After the basement concrete has had time to cure, we'll back-fill the areas around the outside basement walls and install any underground plumbing. Then we can put in the basement floors.

At this point you'll know your home is well underway. More on the steps to construction coming in future blog posts so check back often.