Better Home Vastu Tips -Vastu for Homes with Basements

Practical Vastu for Homes in USA - Scientific Vastu Shastra Tips for Houses in America. - Part 9 - Vastu for Building Basements

Continued from Part 8- Vastu for Swimming Pools,  15 + practical tips for better Vastu Compliance for homes in USA

# 9 - Vastu for Houses with Basements in USA

In the last section, we discussed the water element placement around a building.

In this section, we will review how Vastu Shastra principles affect homes or houses with basements in USA and how we can make them better. (Published - Aug. 29, 2021)

Vastu Compliance for Basements in USA

There are mainly three kinds of basements in USA and Canada.  Let us check each of these types and corresponding Vastu compliance issues.  Most basements will be slightly smaller than the floor above it where the attached garage portion is missing in the basement. The stairs or staircase will usually run from basement all the way to the top floor of the house.

Vastu for Walk-Out Basements

The first type of basement is a walk-out basement, as shown in below image.  In this construction, the lowest portion of the house or building will be partly buried in the earth with just enough space for a (walk-out) door and/or a couple of windows visible at the ground level. You can literally walk out of the house through this door and basement, and hence the name of walk-out basement.

What are the Vastu compliance issues with walk-out basements?

Consider an East facing house or a North facing house. By nature of design, the walk-out door will be in the opposite direction of the front entry. That means the West or South sides of the house will be at a lower level than the front of the house by as much as 10 feet or more.  This is a clear violation of one of the fundamental principles which says that South and West sides of the plot should be higher. This will be acceptable for a West or South facing homes as East or North side will be at a lower level. And most homes with walk-out basements along the East cost, North East, Mid West, and North West regions have houses where the walkout basements exit to a valley or much lower back yard.

Many Vastu Shastra followers from the Indian sub-continent have a mental aversion to homes facing South direction. There is nothing wrong with having a South facing house as long as you can get the floor plan or layout correct for the direction and the residents, as explained in previous section. 

If you end up with buying a property like above, you should get services of a qualified Vastu Consultant in USA to discuss possible remedies. There is no silver bullet solution for this problem as each house will be different based on topography.

Vastu for Walk-Up Basements

The second type of basements is the walk-up basements. As the name suggests, the door leading from the basement will go up a flight of stairs to the ground level. Most houses with this kind of design will have basement at or below ground level or as a combination with Sunlight basements (third type).

If you end up buying or living a walk-up basement house, ensure that the walk-up exit is in the right paada of the house. As always, contact an expert Vastu consultant before making one of the biggest purchases in life.

Vastu for Sunlight Basements (and Cellars)- USA

The third type of basement is the Sunlight basement in USA, where a couple of windows are above the ground level allowing sunlight to the basement and also acting as fire exits. More than three-fourths of the basement height will be below the ground level.  There is a related kind of basement or cellar, where there may not be any windows and are smaller in size.

Vastu compliance check for sunlight basements are relatively easier compared to the first 2 types.

Pooja Room in Basement

A common question that we get is "can we put a pooja room in the basement?". The answer is you should avoid having a pooja room in the basement unless that is the only viable option in the entire house. Seek experienced Vastu consultation with your floor plans before you finalize the location of pooja room or meditation area in the house.

Is Basement Good for Office as per Vastu Shastra ?

An occupant in the office space or study area will benefit greatly from direct or diffused sunlight and probably fresh air with windows open. If the house does not have a space for office room above ground level, you can set up an office space in the basement. 

Ensure that there is adequate lighting in the office room. You can use 5000K light bulb or similar to mimic the sunlight along with adequate ventilation or air circulation.

Where should you put AC unit or Water heater in Basement, per Vastu? 

Ideally, all heat producing equipment should be kept near the South East area of the house, if possible.  The same applies to basements also.  We have seen so many houses where the airconditiong (AC) unit, furnace, and water heater are in South West corner or North East corner by design due to placement of garage on first floor.  In that case, there is no cost-effective way of correcting these non-compliant implementation. 

If you are remodeling the house or building one, you will get a chance to place these equipment in the right location.  From a practical perspective in USA, we would advise you to ignore this, if everything else about the house is of acceptable Vastu compliance.

Laundry equipment (cloth washer, cloth dryer), exercise equipments, and home gymansium  can also be placed at the right location. Seek professional Vasthu Consultation when in doubt.

Vastu for Basement Stairs

Usually houses with basements in USA and Canada will have the stairs in same location going up and down like scissor staircase. In some designs, the stairs to the basement from first floor (ground level floor) will be a separate structure at a different location.

Regardless of the design, it is advisable to have the stairs away from the center of the house or not in the North East corner of the building. Check with an expert Vastu Consultant firm with vast experience serving USA and North American clients for detailed review of your house.

Basement Parking as per Vastu Shastra

We had an opportunity to do Vastu consultation for a very big house with 16 parking spaces below the ground in the basement in USA.  Everything about the house on upper levels was good except that this basement made it a walk-out design tapering to the South.

The reason we discussed this example is, there is nothing wrong with having an underground parking or basement parking. For a small house, a parking space in the North East corner may not be desirable while for a house with a larger foot print or a big commercial building is acceptable, based on the overall space. You should seek professional Vastu consultation for your specific problems with basement parking designs.

At VastuTruth, we are not in the business of up-selling products as remedies. After every consultation, you will get a customized report explaining what you need to do to achieve the deserving level of vastu compliance for your property, which you would implement on your own.   It costs you a tiny fraction of the cost of a building / property, to avail of our expert consultant services, to make the right choices in your most valuable investments of a lifetime.