Basement construction.

[klove]

We are getting our new home built in Maine. We live in Texas so I have only seen a basement maybe twice and they are very cool. What I do not understand is why have a basement? Is it code to have it; mandatory for homes up north?
We have picked a really nice house plan, but the only thing I am wondering is how does a basement work? I mean the construction of it. I understand here in the South (Texas) things are on slabs... I can picture this, but I wish if someone had a great picture of basement being built. (the process from start to when they start putting the framing on) Is it a slab on top, or wooden floor joist that run across the top part of the basement walls? Sorry for the noobness, but I am very visual so if possible, could someone provide pictures. Thanks

[RTF]

This link will show you before and after photos www.mortechcomputers.com/Basement.html

[tooltroll]

If you have freezing temperatures, the water in the first few feet of ground freezes, [and the colder it gets, the deeper it freezes.] This causes the ground to 'heave' or shift, in unpredictable ways. A basement goes down below the 'frost line', [which is the depth that the ground freezes,] so your footers and foundation are sitting on ground that won't freeze and shift. If you build on a slab up here, the first winter will crack your slab to bits, your house will be out of level every which way, your doors will all jam, and in extreme cases, you could have pipes and wires pulled loose or broken.

As for construction, there are a few different methods, but the following is fairly typical:
The ground is excavated below the frost line, usually about six feet deep. Then the footers are formed and poured on undisturbed soil. The footers are thick, heavy slabs about 16" wide by 12" deep that run around the perimeter for the foundation [basement] walls to sit on. Once the footers have set, the formwork is removed, and formwork for the walls is erected and the walls are poured [if the walls are concrete; If the walls are CMUs or 'cinder blocks' then they are laid on the footers- no formwork is needed.] When the walls have set, the forms are stripped off, and the main floor is framed on top of the basement walls. Eventually, the basement floor gets poured, waterproofing and drainage systems are applied to the exterior of the foundation walls, and the soil is backfilled around the basement.

I've skipped some details, but that's the basic idea.

[klove]

Thanks for the website. The basement really looks nice, and they did it themselves. Thanks for the walkthrough of the basement. I understand why it is needed for those cold weathers. I learned something I never knew before and it is very interesting.