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Depends on where you are located, but there can be huge problems with slab "foundations".
First of all they are not really foundations. If it's in a warm climate where you don't get a hard freeze this might be OK. Anywhere else, slab foundations often crack and heave, and essentially can never be repaired.
Will the plumbing be ran above the foundation in an accessible space? Older slab constructions embedded the pipes inside the slab, so that there is no way to access then if you have a leak or a blockage. Time to rip your house apart and get a jackhammer.
Will there be a heated floor above the slab? Slab floor homes are notoriously hard to heat.
Selling this home in the future is another issue. Here in the Midwest experienced home buyers will never, ever consider a house on a slab foundation because of all of the above issues.
The bolded is all that really bears saying. They aren't inherently the work of the cheap-contractor-devil. Many places they are the best/most practical way of building the house. If you have expansive clay soils they are a much better solution.
Depends on where you are located, but there can be huge problems with slab "foundations".
First of all they are not really foundations. If it's in a warm climate where you don't get a hard freeze this might be OK. Anywhere else, slab foundations often crack and heave, and essentially can never be repaired.
Will the plumbing be ran above the foundation in an accessible space? Older slab constructions embedded the pipes inside the slab, so that there is no way to access then if you have a leak or a blockage. Time to rip your house apart and get a jackhammer.
Will there be a heated floor above the slab? Slab floor homes are notoriously hard to heat.
Selling this home in the future is another issue. Here in the Midwest experienced home buyers will never, ever consider a house on a slab foundation because of all of the above issues.
Most of what you're talking about has been outdated information since the mid 1980s. Post tensioned slabs and integral beams, plus modern codes about how plumbing is run, have eliminated the vast majority of the issues you're talking about.
There are 100+ year old industrial buildings in New England built on slabs that have no cracking or heaving.
Slab foundations are readily repaired, using several different processes that are commonplace in areas where these foundations are common.
I can easily believe that in areas where slab foundations are rare, that builders don't know how to build them, that codes do not include provisions as I described above, and that foundation repair people don't know how to repair them.
Can you make up for the space you are missing, or at least some of it, with increased length and width of the house?
So this would be a one level? At any rate, less space than you had. And no dedicated level for the stuff usually relegated to a basement. I do know several people who have downsized and got a storage unit nearby. Just recall what you had in basements previously....and where will that go now. Yes, the closets previously mentioned can hold household systems. Our cat liked to explore one of those areas in particular since behind some utilities the area was opened under the stairs in case one could fit oneself and one's stored items under there. We had to be sure appliance repair people were more on the slender side and, yes, check that all pets were outside the utility closets before closing them.
Whether yours is one level or two levels you could explore having a dedicated room for some more typically "basement stuff"...holiday decorations come to mind at the moment, seasonal clothing/sports equipment. I have a neighbor who changes their rugs twice a year for a winter or summer look. They roll up rugs/carpeting that is not attached and put it in the room at the back where they have some things they want to keep.
Last edited by petsandgardens; 01-22-2021 at 09:11 AM..
Depends on where you are located, but there can be huge problems with slab "foundations".
First of all they are not really foundations. If it's in a warm climate where you don't get a hard freeze this might be OK. Anywhere else, slab foundations often crack and heave, and essentially can never be repaired.
Will the plumbing be ran above the foundation in an accessible space? Older slab constructions embedded the pipes inside the slab, so that there is no way to access then if you have a leak or a blockage. Time to rip your house apart and get a jackhammer.
Will there be a heated floor above the slab? Slab floor homes are notoriously hard to heat.
Selling this home in the future is another issue. Here in the Midwest experienced home buyers will never, ever consider a house on a slab foundation because of all of the above issues.
I've lived in the Midwest my entire life. Many of the above statements are ridiculous.
Our first home was on a slab outside of Chicago. We certainly had hard freezes. Footers are built according to codes that consider frost lines. It was no harder to heat than later homes with basements. We had no difficulty selling the house. As a matter of fact we had a contract in a week with the first buyer that saw it. Market conditions were normal or slightly favored buyers. 1000's of houses and townhouses were built nearby with slab foundations.
I was brought up in the north where literally every home had a basement. I have lived in the south for 20 years and have never seen a basement. Realize one reason for basements up north is the frost/freeze line. Water and sewage pipes need to be below the frost line of they will freeze up thus one of the big reason for basements. In the south there basically is no frost line, thus no need for basements.
One of my homes in the south was what is called a raised slab. Meaning the floor (concrete) of the first floor was raised off the ground by about 3 feet. Concrete foundation (3 ft tall) is poured then filled with material (sand and gravel I think) then the slab is poured over the top. The outside of the concrete foundation is bricked.
The only thing I miss about not having a basement is added space and storage. For those reasons alone, I would prefer one but it is not a deal breaker. My home in Andover MA had walk a out side of the basement. That was ideal.
Where is the house? I'm from PA and always had a basement. Now I'm in Austin there they don't exist. The only real problem, other than the obvious loss of space and storage, is utility issues, namely water. Pipes run through your slab. If there's a leak in one, it's incredibly hard to find and incredibly hard to repair, because you literally have to cut out your floor and jackhammer out the slab to get to it. Not ideal if it's in the middle of your living room. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen.
Yup. This. OP, if you don't want a full basement, at least go for a crawl space. You need easy access to plumbing. If you have a steak with a slab floor, and can't find the source of it yourself (checking toilets, sinks), you have to pay for a leak-finding service, and some of them are crooked. They tell you, it's in the pipes going through the slab, and they'll tear apart your floor, only to tell you "oops! That's not where it was after all. So-reee!) and you're stuck with a trashed cement floor and a big bill.
NOT TRUE, guess your not familiar with building code requirements?
Plenty of slab construction throughout the northeast and they require footing depths according to local codes with foundation walls, so the slab is protected from freeze/thaw!
Most all commercial construction is a slab on grade and obviously there’s no movement due to frost or frozen ground.
A slab house does not mean that a slab gets poured on grade without perimeter walls or footings!
That's fantastic that you have building code requirements. Plenty of slab homes around here in the Midwest that were not built like that. A lot of people found that out the hard way.
How about the embedded plumbing? Is that dis-allowed? In many ways that is a bigger problem than a cracked slab. You might be able to live with an uneven floor, but have seen many cases where the whole floor has to be jackhammered out to fix the plumbing.
Had a friend that finally had to shut off their dishwasher, because the plumbing in the slab was blocked, and the cost of tearing out the floor exceeded the value of the property. Hand washed dishes from there onward until they finally got out of that house.
Happy for all the folks here that have had good experiences with slab homes, but I would never in my wildest dreams own one of them. Here's a guy that makes a living from people stuck with this problem.
Well, if you do something really wild and read the first post, you'll see that OP is planning to build a new house on a slab.
So all the issues with slab foundations built in the 1970s will not apply. This is new construction in a 55+ subdivision. It will comply to all applicable building codes of 2021. Pipes will not run in the slab. Proper footings and perimeter beams for the soil type and freeze depth will be used. If post tensioning is applicable it'll be used. \
That's fantastic that you have building code requirements. Plenty of slab homes around here in the Midwest that were not built like that. A lot of people found that out the hard way.
How about the embedded plumbing? Is that dis-allowed? In many ways that is a bigger problem than a cracked slab. You might be able to live with an uneven floor, but have seen many cases where the whole floor has to be jackhammered out to fix the plumbing.
Had a friend that finally had to shut off their dishwasher, because the plumbing in the slab was blocked, and the cost of tearing out the floor exceeded the value of the property. Hand washed dishes from there onward until they finally got out of that house.
Happy for all the folks here that have had good experiences with slab homes, but I would never in my wildest dreams own one of them. Here's a guy that makes a living from people stuck with this problem.
I believe you’re misinterpreting my comments. If a SOG house, or commercial building for that matter, is properly built, the slab will not move, freeze or be adversely affected by the weather in any way, as you have mentioned!
I never stated my opinion regarding SOG houses and personally, I would never own one, however it’s like anything else that’s not properly built, there will be problems.
Regarding embedded plumbing, it is not allowed, plumbing gets installed in the sub grade, not in the concrete slab. When someone is asking a question regarding a type of construction, the assumption has to be that’s it’s properly constructed in order to accurately comment on the specific type of construction that being questioned!
And, plenty of companies and individuals can profit from fixing problems that other people have created. There are no shortages of scammers/bad contractors looking to make a fast buck by taking shortcuts and getting away with shoddy work.
That's fantastic that you have building code requirements. Plenty of slab homes around here in the Midwest that were not built like that. A lot of people found that out the hard way.
How about the embedded plumbing? Is that dis-allowed? In many ways that is a bigger problem than a cracked slab. You might be able to live with an uneven floor, but have seen many cases where the whole floor has to be jackhammered out to fix the plumbing.
Had a friend that finally had to shut off their dishwasher, because the plumbing in the slab was blocked, and the cost of tearing out the floor exceeded the value of the property. Hand washed dishes from there onward until they finally got out of that house.
Happy for all the folks here that have had good experiences with slab homes, but I would never in my wildest dreams own one of them. Here's a guy that makes a living from people stuck with this problem.
I don’t know if I should laugh or cry! Ignorance is bliss.
If there were no code enforcement for the area you mentioned- it all boils down to “buyer beware”.
I went back to some old BOCA code books from the 70’s (no “embedding”). If there was actual embedding, that would only lead to a more probable cracked slab.
I’ll have to call BS on the D/W story- I haven’t seen a D/W plumbed with a separate supply “through” a slab. 99% of time it’s a flex line from the sink hot supply line.
Your link is nothing more than a plumber that vaguely describes how to locate a leak, and the repair process.
I think the biggest problem here is the English language, and the use/context of certain words. Just because a pipe “comes out of a slab”, doesn’t mean it’s “embedded in the slab”. All “slab plumbing” is actually beneath the slab. The stubs (those pipes that stick out of the concrete) are sleeved, taped, and or sometimes insulated from the concrete. Copper supply lines are definitely sleeved because the calcium oxide changes the ph of the concrete making it very caustic.
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