If you could build a home which would you go with and why.

I don’t know the cost difference. Don’t underestimate the pain of plumbing in the attic and burst pipes (which is usually how slab houses are built).

The big downside to a crawl space is the moisture and creatures that can get down there.

Slab if at all possible for the reasons mentioned above. My son has a crawl space in an older house and getting work done on pipes, etc. has been a PITA.

Slab

Slab. I live in a house with a crawlspace now and hope never to again.

Slab. Lived in a crawl space house and shelled out a bunch of money for foundation work. Most insurance won’t cover foundation damage if it wasn’t from a significant weather even such as a tornado, and will not cover damage made by water from outside the house (like rain, flood, etc).

Crawl space always

Yes , Sir.

Run HVAC under the floor , easy to add wiring and plumbing. Great for wet areas where drainage is important . Put piers under load bearing spots.

Encapsulated Crawlspace

Builder must not have done the footing and foundation correctly .

And doing plumbing work on a slab house is easier, please explain.

Home inspection prior to purchase noted no deficiencies that hadn’t already been addressed…. Still settled and caused cracks everywhere. I’ll not own another crawl space house.

Builder must not have done the footing and foundation correctly.

Slab

I built mine. Plumbed and wired it as well. Until my memory completely fails I know where everything is

I'm going to go you all one better...

Elevated slab.

I have a crawl space but it's a stand up crawl space and if I had all to do over again, I would have an actual basement.

My new one is the first that I’ve built on a slab.

Plumbing, simple, I only put drains in the slab and have a clean out on the outside where the main line exits the slab.

I ran my water supply overhead on the walls (pex, with pipe insulation), you can run pex through PVC in the slab.

We get very few days per year when we have to be concerned about freezing pipes. Warm air rises AND I’ll leave the water dripping, hopefully no problems.

I inspect homes for a living. I like a slab over a crawlspace, but it has it's drawbacks.

Slab. No moisture related mold issues. Less opportunity for pest intrusion, moisture intrusion and mold related issues than an average crawlspace. The downside, when water lines are under the slab (waste lines for certain and more often than not, supply lines as well, when a water line breaks, it's big money. It's harder to remodel and harder to change things in the home.

Crawlspace. When not encapsulated, there will always be moisture intrusion. Ambient air humidity is enough to cause issues. Pests love crawlspaces too. Water lines are much more prone to freezing in crawlspaces, but also easier to repair. Remodel is easy and you can change a ton of stuff relatively easily. A properly encapsulated crawlspace with no air movement to and from the exterior, a dehumidifier in place and properly sealed is a work of art and easy to get around in. These are rare, far and few between. Most crawlspaces suck.

Basement. You get the best of both worlds. Plenty of storage and access to everything. Moisture related problems are easier to prevent and easier to deal with when present. Water lines are easier to access, but in unconditioned spaces they can be prone to rupturing just like a crawlspace.

Proper grading and gutters, along with proper foundation prep work and moisture barrier will prevent many or most problems related to all these foundation types. Grading should slope away a minimum of 6" over 10'. Gutters should terminate and extend a minimum of 18" from the home. Preferably 3' or more. Those things alone will save you a ton of trouble.

As for me, any home I build in the future will have a basement. Concrete. 15' ceilings minimum. There is a lot of other things I'd do, but that's too much typing. I pity the builder if I ever build another home. But, he can tell anyone after that he built the perfect home.

Both have their place really depending on situation and if done properly either will be just fine.

Home inspection can only report what they see that day. They can't predict future settlement. Nobody can. My company is damned good at what we do, but we can't see what the builder did during construction after it's covered up. By the time we get there it's almost move in ready. Regardless of the foundation type, if they build on fill dirt, it increases the chance of settlement drastically.