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Answers
> Why are there so few basements in California?
This is just a curiosity - I don't see too many homes with basements in California. Why is that? I'm just wondering because I don't want to pay high prices for homes without basements.
Actually, there are some basements in Californian, one just needs to know where they are. Where I grew up in the San Joaquin valley, in a town called Porterville, there were a lot of basements around. Mostly on the coast you may find some, but they are called split level. The house I am in has such a room, which we use as a family room, but it is below the mail level of the house none the less. Basements are expensive to put in in the modern tract house, so one normally will find only a "slab" construction. However, if one were willing to spend the extra money, one could have a custom built house with a basement, but it will probably have problems, such as leaks when it rains, musty, cold, etc., not to mention possible cracks every time there is a nearby earthquake, which why you don't see very many around.
There was a fear of shifting earth, earthquakes. Because the land in CA is so silty, shifting earth is a bigger problem than in areas like the midwest where the ground is much more "sticky" and adheres to itself. This means there was a general feelings building a basement was not as safe here as in other areas of the US.
It could also be that water intrusion was a problem in the design. A problem encoutered in a number of areas is ASR or Sulfite Reaction to poured concrete. A competent engineering firm will advise if a basement can be added after market. You just need to Water Proof the Concrete!
Before 1906, many of the large homes were built with basements. Brick and mortar did not stand up well to earthquakes. However, now the steel reinforced concrete basements hold their own as well or better than the floors above, when there is a shaker like last month.
You will find many more homes built in the last 5-10 years which have a basement.
