LexusLover, you certainly seem to know your "basement basics!"
1. Column and beam support for ground floor foundation
2. Sealing of outer basement wall to keep out water/runoff
3. Pump system for sewage if bath is installed (remove flood water)
4. Humidity control to remove dampness
5. AC ....
Excavation is done in the DFW frequently .. commercial & public buildings, roadways, tunnels, athletic facilities (football stadiums) ...
.. the issue here is someone trying to challenge someone else's veracity by suggesting there are NO BASEMENTS in Dallas.
Fake News!
Originally Posted by LexusLover
I am neither a contractor nor an engineer, but drilled down into the issue and tried to learn about challenges and risks before starting construction on my Dallas home in 2010. That's a concise rundown of my understandings as well. Mine was the third residential basement my builder had done in the DFW area over the last ten years, so he's more experienced than most.
I assisted in putting in a basement in the edge of the Hill Country and jack hammered the "rock" to dig out the basement, and then jack hammered for the exterior beam around the outside for the load bearing walls on a three story concrete and rock residence ... It's really not the difficult, just hotter than hell in the summer time on the light colored rock and down in the hole. The great thing about the rock is the stability.
My home up there has a basement ... it was built by a German.
Originally Posted by LexusLover
I will be including a full basement under the home I will soon be building in the Llano/Fredericksburg area. Talk about rock! But I'm told that it won't be terribly expensive, since most of these guys have equipment with a "rock bucket" designed for such endeavors. A big plus is that your home's foundation will be
incredibly solid when you build in this fashion and have the structure properly engineered. And, yes, I understand that the Germans built a lot of basements in the Texas Hill Country.
Back to the issue of thwarting dynamic income redistribution efforts:
One way to place a rather serious obstacle in the path of these progressive political activists is to use laminated glass for all your windows and patio doors.
It's difficult to break through, as shown below.
One-Minute Demonstration Video
A less expensive option is 3M window film, which is only about 7 mil thick and clear. You can't even tell it's there.
3M Safety & Security Film (150-second video)
.