Slab foundations minimize the risk of damage from flooding or gas leaks, such as radon, from a basement or access space to the house. Slab built homes are sometimes considered cheap and can negatively affect the resale value of the home. Heating, air conditioning, and other systems with a slab can also be difficult to access. If repairs are needed under the house, gaining access can be a challenge.
Sometimes it is necessary to remove the tile. In addition, the finishes can more easily access the wood, since the house is closer to the ground. Monolithic slab foundations are an economical, strong, durable and easy to install option. But if something goes wrong, it's not easy to fix.
However, the rewards of a slab foundation tend to greatly outweigh the risks, which is why it is such a popular option. Installation is simple compared to other types of house foundations, making slab foundations popular with homeowners for their relatively low price. In reality, there are a lot of advantages to building a house on a slab. A major benefit of a concrete slab foundation is that it dries quickly.
Basically, you can pour the tile in one day, you won't have to wait many days for the concrete to cure. Concrete slabs are also incredibly strong and durable. In addition, they effectively protect against insects and can hold heavy furniture. A level slab means there is no basement, no basement walls, just a concrete slab on which you build your house.
They are not suitable for all construction sites, which we'll talk about later, but for now let's assume you can build on one. Low-space foundations have concrete exterior walls that raise the bottom of the home 18 inches or more above ground level, providing an accessible area to reach plumbing and wiring should you need future maintenance. To begin with, contractors will pour feet of concrete between 24 and 48 inches below the projected finish level (or deeper if the frost line deepens), which in simple terms is the elevation of the ground surface after all the work is finished. However, in a house in a confined space, the location of the kitchen and bathroom can be moved from one side of the house to the other, and the pipes can be reconfigured within the access space below.
Bricks, cinder blocks, or poured concrete raise the elevation, and log walls extend from the footings around the perimeter of the foundation to support the house. If you found this page, you should at least explore the option of a slab, assuming you can get an engineer's approval on site, it's likely to be your best bet for avoiding flooding but also for avoiding stairs. Today, and specifically at Reinbrecht Homes, they are all built with poured concrete walls, which has virtually eliminated most of the house foundation problems related to structural integrity and moisture permeability. Typically, builders must install the drain pipes and ventilation grilles that connect to sewer or septic tank pipes, much of the water supply lines, and sometimes some of the electrical ducts before pouring the final layer of concrete.
Because it is part of the interior structure of the house, a basement can be part of the house's heating and cooling system. By doing so, it greatly reduces the risk of internal condensation and maintains concrete walls as a thermal mass to help balance temperatures. For a humid climate, a concrete slab foundation is best, but if your home rests in an area prone to flooding or sees a lot of rain, a low space is ideal. In a slab foundation, pipes are located within the slab, so less labor is required during installation and less labor costs are incurred.
Typically, there is also a layer of gravel between four and six inches thick under the final layer of concrete, often with a plastic sheet a few millimeters thick to seal in moisture. Raised slab foundations are moisture resistant, tough in harsh weather conditions, and ideal for coastal properties. We have many pages on how to build a slab on the slope, but this page addresses your dilemma specifically:. Would there be notable cost savings if the garage slab were extended to this living room, with a standard poured concrete basement area underneath the rest of the house?.
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