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I have a question..how are most home foundations built in the subdivisions in your area...on a slab or crawl space? Is there any special reason to build one way or the other?
Hope this isn't too silly of a question~~Thanks everyone !!
Our subdivision, Knightsbridge, has a mix. This is because our subdivision is a VERY hilly area, so some houses are naturally predisposed towards having walkout basements. Those few that are on relatively level land (like ours) are slab foundations. I know of a few crawlspace homes in there too. So basically, Knightsbridge has everything!! *lol*
I have a question..how are most home foundations built in the subdivisions in your area...on a slab or crawl space? Is there any special reason to build one way or the other?
Hope this isn't too silly of a question~~Thanks everyone !!
thanks for your input..I guess what I am trying to figure out is if there an advantage/disadvantage to having a slab vs a crawlspace (in the south)? DH and I come down Weds to officially begin our "house hunt" and I am trying to do my homework...Thanks so much to everyone who has been ever so helpful with my questions!!!
I can't wait to finally see Lake Wylie, Fort Mill, Tega Cay, etc...!!!
Seriously, it seems to be a matter of opinion and it seems to depend on where you are from. Around here it seems the general consensus is that slab means "cheap". If you ask someone else from another area though, they might say that they would never own a house with a foundation. I am not an expert on either so I don't claim to know the right answer. I bet if you do a poll for the entire country it will be an even split. If you do a poll in the south, the votes will lean toward foundations being better.
We've done alot of research on it though, and this is the best answer I can give from a neutral point of view. I bet you'll get some pretty strong opinions on here thoughh. It has been discussed before as well so you might also want to try a search.
I've lived in a house with an unfinished basement and hated it. I've lived in a house with a finished basement and it was okay, but kind of dark despite being a walkout. I now live on a slab and I love it. I'm not too familiar with crawl spaces other than the fact that knowing my spider phobia I would never want to have to crawl into one to check something out.
When we go to build in 5-10 years we'll be putting in a full basement mainly because the lot is sloped. But my preference would be the grade the lot and put in radiant heat slab.
Coming from the north I was used to a basement so when we found a house with a full finished basement with two guest rooms and a full bath and a living area we jumped on it. The thought of having a storm coming and nowhere to go to really freaks me out- (I do know that this is an irrational fear so please don't yell at me.)
Comments I heard when we were loooking was that crawl space made it easier for some repairs but not having one I am not sure if this is true.
It costs $500 per horizontal foot to dig under a crawl. I saw a homeowner spend 20K to replace the sewer line that had roots growing into it at pipe connections (several places) in a 20 year old home before he was able to sell. This was actually caught on inspection.
I've seen copper plumbing fail due to age I guess, slab shift, as well as lightning strike (pipe in slab).
I guess I'm one of them ignorant folk that will never own a slab built house. I would rather check the crawl every now and then rather than not know what is eating through or growing under the slab.
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