Why aren't basements built in the south?

[patrickg]

Re: Why aren\'t basements built in the south?

Clint, regarding basements and saferooms. These are both areas fraught with pitfalls for the unwary who rely on "good ole boys" to do the design (if any) and construction. There are a lot of safe room builders NOW but where were they before the BIG ONE? Lots of sharp operators trying to capitalize on fear.

When looking for a safe room door I found a supplier who supplies a lot of steel doors to the safe room trade in and around OKC. While there (near the stockyards in OKC) I enquired about FEMA certification and the sales guy touting them didn't know what a FEMA was. Had to go to the top in the company to find someone who knew what FEMA meant.

Seems the doors they were selling were a LOT cheaper and was what all their contractor contacts were using for saferooms. Needless to say I didn't buy from them.

Similarly, a hole in the ground surrounded by concrete does not constitute a proper basement. To use an analogy: having someone bore a hole in your head and make some knife cuts to your brain may, to the uninformed, look a lot like brain surgery but regardless of the "similarity" it jus' ain't the same!

And oh by the way Clint, what is your major and how far along are you?

Best to you as the inevitability of winter draws closer.

Patrick

 

[Cacinok]

Re: Why aren\'t basements built in the south?

Patrick,

The wife and I went to the state fair a while back and talked w/ some of the "safe room" builders. Some seemed genuine, but with the others all I could think was "snake oil salesman."

We plan to eventually add a garage w/ safe room to our place now and then build a safe room into the master bedroom closet or something to that effect at the new place (when there is a new place). We are still some years away from constructing anything besides a shed or a green house. My wife tells people that my bad habit (of researching things to death) is a good habit, unless you're in a hurry.

Oh ya, my major. I have a BS, MA, some Ph.D. level course work (no degree) and I have a year left on my JD (Dec '03 grad date). The first two are in Psychology and allow me to say officially that I am nuts for going through this much school. Of course, my wife can testify to the nuts part w/o a Psych degree, her's is in Kinesiology. She plans to "retire into Motherhood" (some retirement) in a little over a year.

Thanks again for the info.

Clint.