Common Pros and Cons of Living in a Slab Foundation House
1. Slab Foundation Houses Cost Much Less to Build
By the time you add up the costs of hiring contractors to dig a hole in the ground, pour cement footers, lay blocks and pour a cement floor, you’re going to arrive at a figure of several thousand dollars for a basement. Build a house slab foundation house instead, and there will be minimum digging. Compared to a dwelling with a basement underneath, slab foundations also require much less brick or block laying, and less concrete being poured, according to repair-home.com.
2. Slab Foundation Houses Eliminate Valuable Storage Space
Homes built with full basements have double the space of a home built on a slab. Some of this space is used for housing water treatment systems, furnace/central air conditioning units, washers and dryers, ductwork, plumbing and electrical systems, et cetera. The extra space can also be used for storage. The space a basement provides can also be finished and used for a family room, an extra bedroom, an office, and more.
3. Plumbing, Heating Ductwork, and Even Electrical Wires in Slab Foundation Houses Are Hard to Access
In a slab foundation house, some of the heating ductwork, plumbing pipes and the electric wires are often installed in the concrete. That means, when any of these items need maintenance or repair, it’s going to be difficult to access them. To put an addition on a slab foundation house, it’s going to be harder for the contractors to connect to the existing pipes and lines.
4. Living In a Slab Foundation House Can Be Hard on the Feet, Back and Joints
Since concrete is rock hard, it doesn’t flex or give. That means, when you walk on concrete, the shock of every step is absorbed by your feet, knees, hips and backs instead of the floor. That constant impact can lead to pain and fatigue, and possibly even chronic health problems.
5. The Main Floors in Slab Foundation Houses Are Sturdier Than Wood Floors
If your dwelling is a slab foundation, you don’t have to wonder if the main floors will safely hold a heavy item like a piano, a waterbed, or even a floor safe. Another advantage of cement floors is that they don’t rot and deteriorate like wooden floors do. Nor do they sag or creak and squeak.
6. Slab Foundation Houses Can Be Cold and Difficult to Heat During the Winter Months…
unless they have radiant floor heating, sufficient insulation and energy-efficient doors and windows. A radiant floor heating system is either hot-water tubes or electrical wires embedded in the floor. According to thisoldhouse.com, famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright sunk copper pipes in the concrete floors of his Usonian homes and heated them with hot water. However, concrete floors stay cooler in the warm weather months because of the colder temperature of the ground below.
7. Slab Foundation Houses Can Be Damp; Moisture Can Be a Real Problem
Because they are cement, the main floors in slab foundation houses are sturdier than wooden floors. Still, though, cement cracks. And the cracks can allow water and moisture to creep into the house. This can create foundation problems such as upheaval, or moving from its original position.
Additional Resources
http://www.repair-home.com/how_to/home_construction_foundations.htm
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,559048,00.html
http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/2007/09/11/10-tips-for-buying-a-residential-rental-property-part-6-beware-of-houses-built-on-a-cement-slab/
