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I have had two homes built in NJ and PA all with basements. We are now going to build in a +55 community on a slab. What differences will we encounter going basement free?
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.
Good post with accurate info, however some individuals just don’t have the ability to be objective
Less storage space! And no subterranean water intrusion. That’s about it.
Less storage can be a positive. After cleaning out a basement and attic of 30 years accumulation, I am totally happy with no basement and an attic that is too hot in the summer which limits storage.
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. \
Next!
Good to hear they do not run pipes in the slab like in the old days. Even so I would not want a house on a slab for one simple reason - you have no visibility or accessibility to the plumbing or any other utilities that are under the slab (or heaven forbid, IN the slab). Even if the drains and supply are under the slab, it's still a major excavation if you have a leak under there.
Around here, the choices are usually slab, crawlspace or basement. First home I owned was a crawlspace - yes better than a slab, but still a major pain if/when you needed to access plumbing or HVAC for a repair. Every house since then has been a basement, with the major advantage to be able to access plumbing/electrical/HVAC with ease, if and when it needs to be upgraded or repaired. You live and learn.
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.
I'd never go with a slab floor.
I would much prefer to NOT have a slab foundation, but here it is pretty much impossible to find one that is not slab. I don't know what code here is now, but I know people who have had to jackhammer their floor to get to leaks in houses that are 10 years old. "Luckily" that room was carpeted, so the carpet was wet and that's how they knew. If it were tile, I don't know how they would even know there was a leak unless their water bill went up considerably.
Less storage can be a positive. After cleaning out a basement and attic of 30 years accumulation, I am totally happy with no basement and an attic that is too hot in the summer which limits storage.
I completely miss having a basement. Finished would be nice, but just having a place to store the Christmas tree and decorations that is more easily accessible than an attic would be nice. Also, in case pipes through a slab wasn't bad enough, they put hot water heaters in the attic here (against code now, but wasn't until relatively recently). Yeah, you can imagine how that goes when it leaks. Same with HVAC units. Makes them incredibly difficult to replace and service. It's a whole lot easier to just have a utility room in the basement.
No basement? Lack of storage space. No place for things like a workshop, hobby room, rec room for the pool table, etc. So most of those things move to the garage banishing the cars outside. Or you have to build an extra room or building somewhere to accommodate.
Oh, did I mention lack of storage.
The biggest thing I miss having in a home is the basement.
I have had two homes built in NJ and PA all with basements. We are now going to build in a +55 community on a slab. What differences will we encounter going basement free?
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