Rockford, IL
Basements rule. Just because you can't be bothered to do 5 minutes of research about basements doesn't mean they are a bad idea. Also there is the exposed basement which is extra bad ass for ease of game installation.
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Quoted from punkin:See how easy it is to fall into the why trap?
Because, it saves you flooding your neighbour out and just passing the problem from yard to yard. Your yard is not a fucking bog, only the water that falls on the yard is there, rain from roofs goes to stormwater, into the river or ocean.
You already have the hole dug for the sewer/water/power pipes (recurring theme here?) so why not?
The water goes into the ground, not my neighbors yard. Why not? I don't know....maybe because I don't want my yard dug up to get a bunch of roots, leaves, dead critters, roof shingles, ect unstuck from my underground storm pipes? Actually storm drains are extremely common in lots of areas but they generally start in the road. Some people do install underground piping to drain from their gutters to the road/storm drains
Quoted from JohnTTwo:In IL they don't ever switch like a living room outlet where a lamp is going to go or be plugged in? Same for bedroom switches for lamps by the bed or corner of the room.
Quoted from goingincirclez:I've never been a fan of hardwired switched outlets. I generally only see this in older homes (say nothing newer than 70's) as I guess it was once a "fad" to have a swtich by a doorway, that controlled an outlet on some random wall in the room. Ostensibly this was for floor lamps instead of overhead lighting, so I get it: you leave the lamp on so you can see as you exit the room, then swtich it off via the door switch as you leave.
I can see that one specific use case but I HATE them. Because nowadays it's easy to solve the "don't leave the light on all night" problem with a timer. Or maybe an actual overhead was added in later! So instead what happens is you use the outlet for other stuff, and some joker comes in the room and hits what they think is a light switch but kills your TV or snake lights instead.
Or you do like my daughter does in her older room with a switched outlet: she keeps a lamp plugged in, but turns it on/off with the lamp's own switch cuz it's within reach of her bed. So then I go in there and hit the light swtich and "WhyTF isn't the light coming on?! Oh right, she turned it off over there..."
Or if you need to service the outlet, you get lazy and think "ha I can just swtich this off at the wall" instead of turning off the breaker. Better hope nobody switches it on while you're working with bare leads!
Or the damn outlet that's swtiched *isn't* the one you wish was, or vice versa.
But you know what's easy and foolproof? If you have random stuff plugged in to a more typically UNswitched random outlet - say all your snake lights - you can get a nice power strip with its own master power switch. They come in all kinds of configurations: multiple outlets, multiple spacings, some with added circuit protection. Almost all of them are safer than extension cords, and nearly all of them have their own power swtich. Heck you can even get them with switches for each outlet! So if you're inclined to bend over or go to the outlet or whatever, BOOM: there's a switch you added yourself, where you wanted it, only as needed, and it can be removed just as simply and moved elsewhere when you remodel.
YAY for power strips!
Yes we have them in IL, and my house that was built in 96 has them. Granted there is only 2 of them in my entire house. I think overall I agree that they are somewhat annoying. I have one that operates the lamp behind my couch though and I guess thats mildly convenient. Absolutely zero reason to have power switches down in the outlets. This whole thread should be more like "why isn't AUS more like America with convenient outlets and cool basements?" instead of the other way around here.
Quoted from punkin:It's not either way, it's why are our cultures different in the way we build.
It's natural to prefer what you are used to, but it's interesting to consider alternatives.
I hear you, but I can think of all kinds of things from other cultures/countries that I would prefer or wish we had here. Particularly from Japan. I cannot think of an objective reason why not having a basement is better or having power switches on outlets is better so hence my comment.
Quoted from Aurich:We splurged for a nice Toto washlet+, tell you what, that’s something I miss when I travel. Japan has toilets down.
If it’s better it’s better.
I just have a cheap bidet, but I agree totally. Why are bidets not more common in the US? They are absolute game changers! I hate having to "go" anywhere that doesn't have a bidet!
Quoted from rotordave:Ok - here ya go.
They have basements - because that’s what they are accustomed to.
No, plenty of places can and do flood like that in the US and generally you wouldn't have a basement, or you'd have measures in place to keep the basement from flooding, or you just have a basement that floods occasionally and you don't put stuff that can get ruined down there. That said, in most places it would be unusual to experience that type of flooding shown in the picture. That type of flooding I'd be worried about water coming into any area, not just a basement. In the US even in heavy rains, water has places to go most of the time, at least here in the midwest. In other areas its different. It has nothing to do with being "accustomed" to it. The weather and/or land simply allows and/or necessitates a basement. The US is absolutely massive with like every type of biome, environment, ect known to man. What is impossible in one area is absolutely necessary in another. What works in one place, may not work in another.
In my case, my basement would be practically impossible to flood. I live in one of the highest points in my area, plenty of rivers for the water to run down to and even when the rivers do flood it would just take massive flooding to reach my house. Most people I know would have water over their roofs before the water was at a worrying level for me. My yard runs down hill and the whole back wall of my house including the basement foundation is completely exposed. What I'm describing is not unusual or usual. Its just a product of my environment. The people by me who do live on or near the river, they do have to take a lot of extra precautions to keep their basements from flooding (many don't have basements either) or just expect some flooding when the rivers get high. As others pointed out, in many areas basements are just not common. I remember going to visit my relatives in Florida when I was a kid and being blown away that basements were uncommon. Well, when it was explained to me why, it made sense even as a child.
You guys do realize most modern basements are much more than just a concrete filled hole in the ground right? Like there is drain tile to drain water around and away from the foundations, sump pumps, ect. Also is there not hills in Australia? Like OK one guy shows his house on some flat flood plane style ground, could a person that lives on higher ground get away with a basement hypothetically? I'm not saying basements should be everywhere in Australia, just trying to prove my point that different areas have different conditions. Again, I don't understand this "its just what they know" or "its what they are accustomed to" argument. Like no...its just because....we can? Like if you could have a basement, why wouldn't you want one?
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