As a general rule, few California homes have been built with basements. Most all of the tract houses built in the past fifty years had foundations of slabs or crawl spaces. But in the past ten years, a larger percentage of California architects and homeowners have been showing an interest in basement lower-level living. Expensive Homes – Typically this has been the case with “high-end” homes built on expensive parcels where land is at a premium. With the ever increasing restrictions placed on building permits, many of the planning departments require building “footprints” to a specific percentage of the building lot.

Such floor-area-ratio restrictions often make it impossible for designers and owners to have the floor space they want. At the same time, height restrictions designed to preserve existing views may prevent them from designing and building multiple stories. Building “down” is the logical solution. Side-hill Homes – Because level lots in many areas are running out of numbers or because the home owner desires to live in a scenic mountainous area, side-hill construction becomes the necessary method of building.

The typical designs can be; 1) use retaining walls to hold back the hill-side to create a level spot on which to construct the house, or 2) design and build the foundation into the hill-side which does double duty, hold back the hill and support the new home. More and more home owners are opting for the second method where the home “fits” the landscape and, in many cases, reduces the overall cost per square foot of construction. This type of foundation construction is normally referred to as a “walk-out basement”.

Proven Design – A basement, after all, is not a new concept. In many areas of the country it’s just standard practice. Typically, the requirement for a basement has been cold weather. Severe winters in the Mid-West and Eastern U.S. require homes to have a foundation that extends down past the frost-line. This prevents “heaving” of the footings caused by the earth freezing. Through the past 40 to 50 years the basement has evolved into practical living and storage area. Today, with relatively inexpensive, yet effective methods of waterproofing and insulation, the lower-level living area is very desirable.

A few reasons: 

• Stable Temperature – Below grade, the earth varies only a few degrees in temperature. In Northern California one can expect it to be around 60 degrees. This is cool for the summers and warm for the winters. To maintain a comfortable temperature zone is fairly easy along with proper ventilation.
• Energy Efficient – Properly designed and constructed, the stable soil temperature and solid “thermal mass” of the concrete foundation makes the cost of heating or cooling to the “comfort zone” considerably less than the “above grade” portion of the home.
• Cost / Square Foot – Since the home already requires some form of foundation, making the supporting concrete walls higher (to provide adequate room height) and an access (or egress) staircase is the major cost difference. All-in-all, properly designed and constructed, the added square foot cost is typically 50% less than that of above-grade construction. In many jurisdictions, the unconditioned (unfinished) area is not subject to real estate taxes (check with your tax assessor).
• Quiet – The mass of the concrete walls and the redirection of sound typically protects this area of the home from suburban noises. Ideal for a study or media room.

Practical Uses – Below-grade foundation designs are not only attractive in the landscape, but they also provide practical space for:

• storage
• wine cellar
• furnace
• water conditioning equipment
• laundry
• recreation
• work shops
• theater
• exercise
• car parking
• bedrooms
• bathrooms
• sewing / crafts
• or about anything else one can think of

Pacific Foundation Systems – PFS has introduced a cost-effective solution to building foundations and retaining walls to Northern California.  Since March of this past year, dozens of contractors have experienced first-hand the cost savings by using the EZ-Ply concrete wall forming system. This system typically reduces labor costs by 50 – 70% and wall forming material costs by 30 – 50%. PFS has adapted a proven wall forming system to the mountainous areas of California. This “evolutionary” system combines the unique forming hardware, formally only found in the Eastern parts of the U.S., with special 11 layer plywood manufactured in British Columbia. This hardware, mounted to the special plywood, produce a straighter and smoother wall. The exclusive design allows any EZ-Ply forming component to attach quickly to any other EZ-Ply forming component. This means that they can be assembled to virtually any height and any length wall, with practically any angled corners. Wall thicknesses can be from 4 inches up to 72 inches. Because of the sturdy design, the system can be reused hundreds of times. Conventional forming materials, plywood and dimensional lumber, can be used only 1 to 3 times before ending up in the landfill, or worse, used in the construction of the home. EZ-Ply, faster, better, and lower costs.

More Information – See what Northern California contractors and home owners are all excited about at the Truckee Home & Building Show May 27th and 28th, 2006. You can find more information about the EZ-Ply system, along with pictures of projects, at www.ez-ply.com or call 1-800-510-9055. At the website you can calculate the EZ-Ply rental and/or purchase costs as well as comparisons to conventional methods of concrete wall forming. Pacific Foundation Systems has Northern California locations in Colfax, serving the Sierra Nevada’s, and San Carlos, serving the Greater Bay Area.

David P. Martinson, President of Pacific Foundation Systems located in Half Moon Bay, CA. Pacific Foundation Systems P.O. Box 250 – Half Moon Bay, CA 94019-0250 Phone (650) 712-1698 Fax (650) 726-0508