God Bless the people of Moore.
Tornados are a part of life in Oklahoma so I need to comment on the basement and storm shelter situation. Yes, you can have basements in Oklahoma. Building a home with a basement is more difficult and creates an additional expense. A basement in an average home could add around $10,000 to the building costs. In financing this is only several more dollars a month over the course of a home loan. A storm shelter in the floor or the garage is between $2,000 and $3,000 extra. The main problems are a high water table and the red clay soil which shifts from expanding and contracting. This causes basement wall cracks and leaks which can cause a barrier to resale. This situations can be prevented by proper excavation, drainage systems and basement pumps. The building codes in Oklahoma require a much shallower excavation so deeper excavation is out of the comfort zone for many builders. Please consider a basement if you are planning on building a new home. There are plenty of builders qualified to build a safe dry basement.
Tornados are a part of life in Oklahoma so I need to comment on the basement and storm shelter situation. Yes, you can have basements in Oklahoma. Building a home with a basement is more difficult and creates an additional expense. A basement in an average home could add around $10,000 to the building costs. In financing this is only several more dollars a month over the course of a home loan. A storm shelter in the floor or the garage is between $2,000 and $3,000 extra. The main problems are a high water table and the red clay soil which shifts from expanding and contracting. This causes basement wall cracks and leaks which can cause a barrier to resale. This situations can be prevented by proper excavation, drainage systems and basement pumps. The building codes in Oklahoma require a much shallower excavation so deeper excavation is out of the comfort zone for many builders. Please consider a basement if you are planning on building a new home. There are plenty of builders qualified to build a safe dry basement.
