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There are some very cold areas where nobody builds a basement for this reason, they dig in footings or drive pilings to get below the frost line. where water table is not an issue though the cost to dig out a full basement isn't much more than just the footing and you get some semi-usable space.

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To slightly contradict my original statement, cabins (or recreational use homes) are an example of buildings in colder climates where a foundation may be pier and beam rather than basement. Part of this has to do with the fact that mountains are literally raised areas of bedrock with some tiny amount of topsoil on them so it's likely you'll dig and hit solid goddamn limestone.

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