Basement facts for kids

Wine cellars are a type of basement used for storing wine.

A basement is a part of a building that is mostly or entirely below the ground. Think of it as the lowest floor of a house or other structure. Sometimes, there's even a subcellar, which is a floor even deeper than the main basement!

Basements are usually built with strong concrete or stone walls to hold up the rest of the building. They often have lights, and sometimes even windows, especially if part of the basement is above ground.

What Are Basements Used For?

Basements are super useful spaces! People use them for many different things.

Storage and Utilities

One of the most common uses for a basement is for storage. It's a great place to keep things you don't use every day, like holiday decorations or old toys. Basements are also often where important house equipment is kept. This includes things like:

• Washing machines and dryers for doing laundry.
• Furnaces or boilers that heat the house.
• Water heaters that provide hot water.
• Electrical panels and plumbing pipes.

Extra Living Space

Many people turn their basements into extra rooms for their homes. This can be a fun way to add more space without building a new floor above ground. Some ideas for basement rooms include:

• A cozy family room for watching movies.
• A playroom for kids.
• An extra bedroom for guests.
• A home office or study area.
• A game room with a pool table or video games.

Protection and Safety

In some areas, basements can offer a safe place during bad weather. If there's a tornado or a strong storm, going into the basement can provide protection because it's underground and has strong walls.

A Brief History of Basements

Basements, or "cellars" as they were often called, have been around for a very long time.

Early Uses of Cellars

For centuries, people used underground spaces mainly for food storage. Before refrigerators, cellars were cool and dark, which was perfect for keeping food fresh. Farmers would store vegetables like potatoes and carrots, and people would keep wine and other drinks there. These early cellars helped families save food for the winter months.

Basements in Modern Homes

In the 19th and 20th centuries, as homes became more complex, basements started to be used for more than just storage. With the invention of central heating and indoor plumbing, basements became the ideal spot for furnaces, water heaters, and laundry machines. This kept noisy and hot equipment out of the main living areas.

Later, especially after the 1950s, basements became popular for creating extra living space. As cities grew and land became more expensive, using the basement for extra rooms was a smart way to expand a home without needing a bigger piece of land.

Types of Basements

Not all basements are the same! Here are a few different types you might find:

Full Basements

A full basement is the most common type. It's usually as big as the house above it and is completely underground. These basements offer the most space for storage or extra rooms.

Partial Basements

Sometimes, only a part of the house has a basement underneath it. This is called a partial basement. The rest of the house might be built on a crawl space or a concrete slab.

Walk-Out Basements

A walk-out basement is found in homes built on a slope. One side of the basement is completely above ground and has a door that leads outside. This makes the basement feel more like a regular floor, with lots of natural light and easy access to the yard.

English Basements

An English basement, also known as a daylight basement, is partly above ground, usually with windows that are at or just above ground level. These are common in older townhouses in cities.

Crawl Spaces

A crawl space is a very shallow basement, usually only a few feet high. It's not tall enough to stand up in, but it provides space for pipes, wires, and air ducts. People can "crawl" into them for maintenance.

Images for kids

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  An unfinished basement used for storage and exercise

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  Chillon Castle (Château de Chillon) basement

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  A former Stasi basement hallway

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  Cellars are often used in pubs to keep beer barrels connected to the bar at ground level.

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  Old Town medieval basements in Warsaw

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  Townhouses with English basements

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  A walkout basement

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  A typical crawl space showing crawl space vents and concrete rat-proofing. Rat-proofing is a thin, irregular concrete covering applied over the soil to prevent rodents from burrowing under the foundation wall and entering the crawl space.

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  Basement of Diocletian's Palace

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  Measured drawing showing basement plan and structural foundations of the Amoureaux House in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri

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  Floorplan of Church of Tithes, Kyiv, prior to 1828 rebuild

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  Grocery department in basement of T. Eaton's company, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (1929)

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  Water can seep into a basement from elevated places nearby, such as a raised driveway. Solutions include re-mortaring bricks, putting silicone in cracks, elevating areas next to exterior walls, and sloping gutters so water flows away from the house.

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  Example of the result of houses constructed in the beginning of the 20th century in Dawson City (Yukon Territory) without a basement

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  A finished basement

See also

In Spanish: Sótano para niños