Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Cohousing units without basements?

[Rob Sandelin (robsan]

Some things about basements:

1. I do not have a garage, there fore my own tool, workbench, paint 
storage sort of stuff goes into one part of my basement.  This could be 
common space, however, I personally like having an assortment of tools 
around my home.
2.  Most my basement is used as the kids "romper room".  Children are 
loud, messy creatures at times, and it is great, especially when a 
meeting is going on in my house, or other adult sort of conversation, 
to be able to send the kids down to the basement to be loud in.
3. Cold air storage.  In the summer, my basement becomes cold air 
storage.  I open a roof skylight, open the two large basement windows 
and in about 15 minutes the temperature of the  main floor of my house 
has dropped ten degrees as the air from the basement is sucked 
upstairs.  My furnace also has an inside air draw and so I can "pump" 
cool air into the bedrooms at night by turning on the furnace fan.  A 
nice alternative to air conditioning.

Rob Sandelin
Sharingwood: a place with lots of basements