A little off topic, but thought those on this site would know. What are the up and downsides of a slab home, other than the storage advantage. My husband and I are thinking of moving and have found some homes on slab. We do not require the additional storage. Have always lived in basement homes. We live in metro Atlanta. Thanks Liz
I lived in a crawl space home for about 2 years. You don't really have access to things like pipes if you have issues.
However its probably less of an issue in Atlanta than in Chicago (frozen pipes)
If you don't need the extra space and don't need a place to hide during a storm, then I can't think of any advantage to having a basement.
Matt
I can't imagine not having at least SOME basement. Where the heck else would the water heater and furnace go? 'course I'm in Kansas, never know when the winds going to blow. A slab surely has to be a challenge for HVAC, plumbing and wiring.
Another respondent, apparently unknowingly, hit upon a few differences. Slab type needs separate rooms for water heater, furnace, and so forth. Not that its a real problem.
Water entry and water waste exit is through the slab. As long as the slab doesn't walk, no appreciable earthquakes, and plumber did his work correctly, should be okay. Natural gas entry is through slab as well.
HVAC ducting is normally primarily through the attic area for slab homes. May cut down on storage space up there.
Electrical entry and routing is through the walls and attic area in slab homes.
basement homes are far more common in northern areas where the frost line is
4 foot or more, since the excavation is required anyway for the the footers.
We built our home on a hydronic radiant slab and absolutely love it - however - I wish I had a basement for a workshop.
In the west, the water heater and/or furnace goes in the garage or an inside closet. In warmer climes, the furnace goes in the attic, or a heat pump goes outside.
I notice that a lot of builders that don't build basement homes say the ground is too (pick something...), but they sure like to build swimming pools.
wrote
Listed in order, are the advantages of a slab, over a basement.
Here on the gulf coast, basements have one major disadvantage:
They flood.
On Feb 27, 11:29 am, " snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com" wrote:
Actually, there are three main types of foundations: basement, slab, and raised foundation. I have a combination of raised foundation and slab in my split level home. We are in earthquake country, and we also live close to the water where settling has been know to be a problem. So, the superior part of my foundation is clearly the raised foundation, where the floor joists are bolted to deep footed walls, and I have a crawl space for plumbing and wiring. The slab is in good shape and hasn't cracked, but I've seen homes were the floor were uneven because of this. The slab part of our house is pretty much fixed in terms of the plumbing. Any retrofit change would not be impossible, but a real expensive hassle. I agree though that a good slab can be ideal for radiant floor heating (which we also have). I recommend though that if you put in the radiant floor heating, it NOT be part of the foundation slab, but instead be layered on top. All things must pass, and even radiant floor plumbing needs fixing. But if it's integral to the foundation of the whole house, it will be expensive and intrusive to the monolithic aspect of a good foundation. So, if you have a choice, skip the basement as they are too expensive, but a good raised foundation is a sign of quality on a new home. As mentioned, in any sort of flooding, at least that 2' space gives some protection against ruin. Also, the ground under a raised foundation can be dried out...
My girlfriend and I just(like 2 days ago) bought a condo with basement vs. the slab. For me - the advantage is, sleeping. I sleep during the day and will be able to build a floating soundproof bedroom down there. I understand most people do not have this need! How about resale. I'm told - this is from the shifty realestate agent - that basements sell first. I can attest that we looked at more homes without basements so I'm wondering if the ones with basements were sold! I don't know. I'm happy we decided with the basement. I'll get back to you in five years and tell you if we have even gone DOWN there.
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