FLW on basements:
A house should-ordinarily-not have a basement. In spite of everything you may do, a basement is a noisome, gaseous damp place .From it come damp atmospheres and unhealthful conditions. Because people rarely go there- and certainly not to live there- it is almost always sure to be an ugly place. The family tendency is to throw things into it, leave them there and forget them. It usually becomes- as it became when I began to build- a great furtive underground for the house in order to enable the occupants to live in it disreputably. Also, so many good housewives, even their lords and masters, used to tumble downstairs into the basement and go on insurance for some time, if not make it all immediately collectible.
-THE NATURAL HOUSE
We have had basements and have NOT had basements. Although we did use it as a junk room, we've also used it as a safe place to learn to roller skate, a quiet place to watch tv, an artists's studio, a workshop and at one time a horse or two made it in there to have it's mane trimmed. I like basements as a safe refuge against storms, and have never purposely fallen down the stairs in order to collect insurance.
He was spot on about the gas though, if you think about Radon. Basements are a good place to stick the stuff that makes up the physical plant for a house. Water heaters, pipes, extra fridges and freezers. In our usionion, we needed a large storage tank for the solar heated water, and so opted to build a small shed, which will also serve as a nice privacy barrier so we can have our morning coffee and not be on display before we've had a chance to comb our hair.
"In spite of everything you may do, a basement is a noisome, gaseous damp place...It usually becomes- as it became when I began to build- a great furtive underground for the house in order to enable the occupants to live in it disreputably." - Frank
ReplyDeleteAt last we know, from the horse's mouth, where Frank engaged in his extramarital trysts. Ah, romance.
To no one in particular:
ReplyDeleteThe random verification word which must be input as a spam defense for the preceding comment was "undette".
I take it that this is a type of French, geriatric thong.
To no one in particular:
ReplyDeleteThe random verification word which must be input as a spam defense for the preceding comment was "calisp".
Obviously this is the current vernacular for a San Francisco dialect.
I believe we have stumbled upon a new game. Time to roll again...
An additional thought -
ReplyDeleteThe timing is about right. My guess is that Olga put a stop to basements.
I just now saw this comment! If Olga was who I think I remember she was, I think she was too late.
ReplyDelete