Give me the pro's and con's of both. Having a 1200 sq/ft house built. I would like to use a package unit for a/c so everything's outside but wouldn't be able to with a slab.

Well you can build on a solid, practically troubled free foundation.
Or you can build on a damp, musty, dark bug nest.

tough to fix a plumbing leak under a slab house. Been there done that. Also can’t raise a slab house if it’s later determined to be in a special hazard flood zone. Nothing like stuck with the slab dream home.

The accessibility is nice with a crawlspace.

Great points but I chose a slab. I'm on the side of a hill, no chance of flooding. I have a bout 10 feet of underground pipe. The rest of the plumbing I put in the walls. I was a lot of work, but I did it myself.

IF I were to build with a crawl space, I'd do like a buddy of mine and have a crawl space on a slab, wired with lights and outlets. He can ventilation fans, heaters, dehumidifier, etc...whatever he needs, plus it stays clean. Gives him access to all water lines and such, extra storage and gets his house up off the ground in case of a 6" rain fall.

Most special hazard flood zones are arbitrarily determined by some incompetent FEMA moron, based solely on the proximity to a body of water.
A surveyor can easily prove them wrong.
It's just another scam to create FEMA jobs for idiots.

less flexability with a slab you can't add plumbing or a dishwasher later. but it is cheaper. I like crawl better, I just wish mine was a little taller.

FEMA creating jobs for college graduates. You aughta see how many third party engineers are needed to design and inspect stuff the original architect and engineer have designed on building construction.

Why can't you add plumbing or a dishwater later? The only problem I would see adding a dishwasher is if you wanted to add it to an island that didn't have a sink already. Otherwise, you simply plumb everything (water supply and drain) to the kitchen sink.

To add plumbing, simply go overhead, then down through the wall.

I've been seeing ads everywhere for crawl space encapsulation. Seems interesting.

I've never owned a house so I have no idea on the slab/crawl space thing.

Thats my take and all crawlspaces should be at least 36" tall with a package unit and its ducting and spray foamed under floor joists IMO.

My grandparents added on to their home years ago. original part was crawlspace, add on was slab to save cost. The slab side I can remember as a kid the floor staying super cold during the winter even with the padding and carpet. If I did a slabhouse id have to look into radiant floor heating.

hunterbuck, true on the dishwasher but Id like to see him add a toilet. blumsden, I don't know your age, but alot of older folks like slabs because theres no steps to get in the house.

I have owned both. Slab all the way. Crawlspaces are your worst nightmare when you go to sell. The mold paranoia/panic is very real and mold remediation is a very lucrative business. BTW every craw space in AL has mold somewhere

I've had both before..last one I built has crawl space

I have a house on a slab and the only thing I would have done differently would be to have built on a raised slab. Gives the same appearance as a house with a crawl space but I would not have to worry about old squeeky floors, fiberglass rat beds or damp moldy crawl spaces and with today’s plumbing I haven’t heard of a lot of leaky pipes with slab houses. I’m sure that’s a fear of a lot of people but my house I built new 22 yrs ago and not one issue with anything in the slab.

Crawl spaces are natural habitats for mold, rats, snakes, spiders. If you’ve never seen them under your house, you’ve not crawled in to deep .

Well, about 50/50 on the crawl space versus slab. I'll give more info. I already have a flat pad scraped off where the house is going. I'm 55 and my wife is 57, so yes we're wanting this house to be old friendly and don't want a bunch of steps. I can't see us ever making any changes to the house, we're real simple. 2bd/2bth house, it will already have a dishwasher. My thought, was install spare pex water lines where they come up into the house, so if there was a leak you could abandon that line. Doesn't concrete pads sweat? I've also heard of horror stories of people living in old slab houses that the walls sweated and they had mold issues inside the house. Does any of this info change any minds?

I built on a raised slab/stem wall. I (my wife) got the appearance of a raised floor. I wanted a slab since I have never been in a 2-story crawl space house that didn't have cracks in the drywall around doors and windows.

So far so good.

I like a slab for the sole reason that when I walk past the China cabinet, the dishes don't vibrate.

Good point.

Well, after much research and talking to the wife and builder, I've decided to go with a slab foundation and with the money I save, do stained concrete floors inside the house and stamped concrete on the front patio.

That'll look really good it might be cold tho not sure just a thought

I have a house like that insured, daaaang it's sweet!! The current owner doesn't know the story, they just bought it that way. It's totally level, 4-5 blocks high, super clean and lighted. I wouldn't ever do it simply because of the unnecessary cost, but I would've bought that house simply for that reason!

I also like the look of a slab house, I like the windows being closer to the ground.

True, but you can get the same thing from upsizing your floor joists. That being said, it's hard to beat a slab.

Many years ago I watched my Aunt and Uncle dig through a slab in their den to get to a leak and hope they had the right spot before busting more concrete. I was maybe 10 and I thought to myself...I will never put pipe under a slab. Fast forward a couple years ago and the inlaws have piping running up the walls and through the ceiling due to an addition to the home some years back. The extra hard freeze we had last winter popped a water line in a spot where a critter had eaten through the insulation. It ruined the ceiling some of a wall and the couch. I thought to myself.... I was a smart 10 year old!

I want my nest above the ground not a part of it. Cheaper for a reason.

No, not if it’s done right and encapsulated correctly, you will not have any issues

Actually for the southeast, it's the preferred foundation, due to the humidity. It's cheaper because of less labor. No piers, it's more solid than a crawl space and the horror stories everybody has heard about slab foundations are the ones where people didn't use plastic and gravel under the pad and it was before pex was invented. My builder builds them all the time and says he pulls in an extra pex water line. Keeps out rats and bugs, spiders like it dark and damp.

Builders prefer it because it is easier and less cost variables. A properly built house on a crawl space with mechanical ventilation will alliveate moisture issues.

Correct...id avoid a crawlspace like the plague so long as my concrete guys know how to build a slab or rather a good base.

That's what we did when we built our house. Are the floors cool in winter? Yes. Are the floors cool in the hellish summer? Yes. With 9 months of infernal heat and maybe 1 month of real cold, it is a no brainer.

Just know that everything you drop, will break. Glasses, plates, tv remotes, pocket knives... there is no give in stained slabs.

Pulling in 90% humid air shouldn't alleviate issues it will make it worse, according to the people I've talked to.

I'm in houses, under houses all the time with my work. A large % of my work deals with water intrusion and construction defects.

If a home has foundation water issues you will have problems, period....crawl or basement. Slab houses simply don't have as many of THOSE types of issues. All foundations have pros and cons and are very site specific and owner "wants" dependent as variables. To me the best foundation is a elevated slab on a poured concrete wall foundation, concrete floor with built in drainage...either crawl or basement.

90% humidity isn't the real culprit. 90% humidity is common many places, not just the south. Stagnant humid air without circulation/transfer-exchange is the real problem causer in a home without other water intrusion issues.

Slab all the way. I am in the real estate business and I see mold issues more often than not under pier houses. I built mine on an elevated slab a block and a half high at the lowest point with extra large footings w/rebar. Not a single issue in 28 years! I will also never own a two story house.

Winner^^^ if you only have foundation vents in your crawl space without mechanical ventilation the air will be stagnant and cause the mold/mildew issues.

Just know that everything you drop, will break. Glasses, plates, tv remotes, pocket knives... there is no give in stained slabs.[/quote]

Ha, everything you drop on any floor is gonna break 99% of the time.

Build on a basement, best of both worlds.

If you build on a crawl space, just make sure the crawl space is plenty high enough for what you may want in the future. A new house could easily have the space encapsulated from the get go, that way you wouldn’t have that musty wet bugs nest that outback was talking about.

Winner!

True. This is the best answer.

Please explain the elevated slab.

It is a slab that is elevated.

Write a check and add extra zeros if you want an elevated concrete slab house.

It's blocked up to a certain height then backfilled and packed. Slab is poured over the backfill. Looks a lot better because it's not built right on the ground like most slab houses.

So you pour concrete on back fill? I'm not doing that, I could see it settling and cracks forming. I thought it had an advantage with access to pipes. Thanks.

You are going to have some backfill (mine is gravel red clay base) anyway on a slab. If its packed correctly and tied into the block wall correctly you should have no issues. No issues with mine after 27 yrs and looks so much better raised up some and NOT built on grade and it should be a lot drier than one built right on the ground. If you do use a slab be sure to put a vapor barrier under it EVERYWHERE including the carport if you have one. You may want to enclose it one day.

BTW I personally don't like finished concrete floors for a home. I would tile my whole house if I had it to do again.