Originally Posted By: sleddriver
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
If basements are known to be problematic...
Why build a house with a basement ???
Simple: The footings and beams need to be (far) below the frost line. Otherwise they'll heave, causing major structural problems.
Where you & I live, the ground doesn't come close to freezing, though a basement would be a GREAT place to escape the heat.
While that is true, you can also have footings and no basement, just a crawl-space. Quite a bit less construction cost.
Full basements always have the potential of water problems. Pretty much every basement will have a water problem at some pint. I've never experienced what Al has described above, only minor weeping and leaks, that were easily rectified.
Worst issue I had was a plugged drain tile that required popping a hole in the floor and replacing a section of cracked/plugged drain tile. The outfit that did the repair for me, also attached a 4'x8' plastic panel on the wall in that spot, that extended below the floor level. They pumped grouting goo through the wall to the outside in that spot as well. That repair was close to a grand ~15yrs ago.
KDO's water-proofing job is awesome. What I don't like about those is, you'll never see the whole picture of what's going on behind the panels covering the concrete walls.. Then again, in a finished basement, which is what this is all about, who cares. As long as it stays dry for a lifetime.