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Are basements not common in Oklahoma? This is the first time I can recall there being a lot of discussion around these sorts of purpose-built shelters. I was su
by jordan0day 13y ago
Are basements not common in Oklahoma? This is the first time I can recall there being a lot of discussion around these sorts of purpose-built shelters. I was surprised when the video showed the photographer inside a purpose-built shelter, with a nice-looking house across the street -- I would presume a home like that (and others in that neighborhood) would have a basement?
- ghshephard 13y agoFrom: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/28/tornado-storm-shelters/ http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/28/tornado-storm-shel... == SNIP == Fewer than one percent of newly-constructed homes in Moore and surrounding towns extend underground, largely due to the high water table and the red clay that most of the area's homes stand on, which absorbs moisture easily. In the heat, the clay tends to dry out, causing a cycle of contraction and expansion that adds pressure to concrete-reinforced basement walls, causing leaks. But NPR noted that even after improvements in building technology mostly solved this problem, people avoid basements largely because of a "psychological hangover for people that are used to seeing houses from the '40s and '50s, when the technology wasn't quite as good for waterproofing." == SNIP ==