Pros & cons of a slab vs craw space on a house. HVAC is going up stairs so there would be no duct work in the crawl space. Is there a huge price difference between the two?? I would like to have a full basement but really don't need the xtra room due to 40x60 shop going outside. Thanks

Slab is usually going to be cheaper. I like a crawlspace because it's easy to run wiring and plumbing underneath it

From what I remember, basement space is finished out somewhere around $65 sq ft which is pretty cheap for "livable" space. As Phil mentioned, its very easy to run wiring but I really like it when the tornando sirens start going off.
At a minimum, I would do a 1/4 basement on a crawl space for rest of house. Thats a big shop but I guarantee you it will be full of stuff in 8 months and basement space can be conditioned easily.
Crawl space gives you lots of remodeling options down the road as well.

You might want to check out the 33 Rattlers Under a House thread before you make a decision.

Between the 33 Rattlers and Wolf Spider threads today, I'd go with a slab on my house, shed, hunting camp, treestands, doghouse ...

My experience, I had to drop 6k on moisture barrier for my crawl space. Slab would be a lot easier to maintain.

Slab and be sure they put a moisture barrier under your carport in case you ever want to enclose it. Also be sure it's at least a block and a half high at the lowest point. They look so much better and dryer if they are up some.

This^^^
I made the mistake of not going with a raised slab and have regretted it everyday.

I came in from hunting several years ago with a lake around the front of my house. The copper cold water line that must have been covered in concrete under my house had broke. I ended up having to dig a trench around the house and pegging pvc thru the brick to the hot water, kitchen and bathroom. Was not as easy as it first sounded like it would be.

Even though it's more expensive, I like a crawl space. With a slab you only get one shot at plumbing it right.

Crawl space. From what I'm hearing, last several years slab cost is close to that of crawl space building.

Slab, until you have a pipe collapse under the slab. I don't know how frequently this happens, but it happened to me.

The site has a lot to say about what works best...elevation, drainage, slope, grade, etc.

With that said, if you go slab, do an elevated slab.

My last house was a slab and I really like a slab foundation,my new home is on piers which does make plumbing and wiring easy but the things I don't like about a crawl space is,the thought of snakes under the house,moisture issues and the noise you make while walking in the house,my 50lb daughter sounds like an elephant walking around inside the house

As a builder that builds about 60-100 houses a year I built mine on slab. We used to build on crawl space but now only build slab homes, both monolithic and floating. Floating slabs look a little nicer since they are raised, but if cost is an issue it's much less expensive to build monolithic and just bring in a few more loads of dirt to raise the house site.

You are more likely to have settling issues with crawl space. They will most likely be minor, like hairline cracks in the sheetrock and doors no longer closing properly. Also moisture and everything associated with it like mold and mildew are more likely to be a problem.

As far as plumbing, use pex pipe run through the attic and a manifold. Pex isn't likely to burst as long as you don't have any connections in the attic. Home run each pipe from the manifold to the fixture. It will cost a little more, but it's worth it in my opinion.

Oh as far as price difference, to build on crawl space along the coast and meet current codes would cost you $10-15k more than a monolithic slab for a 1800ish square foot home.

Meeting with concrete guys today to get estimates on full basement with poured walls. If it is within budget, that's the route we are going. I like the idea of slab with plumbing ran up in the attic and home runs back to the manifold. That would eliminate pipes in the floor. Decisions.....
I appreciate all the input. Keep'um coming

If you put pex in the attic make sure it is very well insulated. It will freeze. It won't bust but will freeze and you won't have water to what ever fixture the pex goes to.