Buying A Home
S&KSmith
member
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Slab Homes (no basement)
Does anyone have any experience with slab homes, especially in northern states? I'm a first time home buyer in southern Ohio and my top2 choices in houses have cement slab foundations. I've had one person tell me in passing never to buy one (not even knowing I was considering one) but didn't go into detail. I've googled their pros and cons, but haven't seen much that isn't also a danger in houses with basements. I'm just seeking personal experience opinions!
Re: Slab Homes (no basement)
Our rental is a slab--but we are in the south. Is the concern with freezing/thawing of the ground causing expansion/contraction? I'm just guessing.
My Valentine Bookends (2~13~13, 2~15~09)
Freezing/thawing is a concern. And also if they may be nearly impossible to heat in the winter? And concerns with accessing plumbing and anything else that may be underground and hard to get at or to even tell if there are issues!
I have never lived in a slab, so I have zero first hand experience but I believe they're much harder to heat and keep warm.
We did not consider slab homes. (We live in the northeast.)
- They tend to be cold in the winter. Basements provide insulation from frozen ground.
- You lose a lot of storage/useful space by not having a basement.
- They're harder to sell.
Our house has a basement under all but the family room & garage. The family room will always be carpeted to avoid the chill. The half bath between the family room & the garage is always cold in the winter. The difference is huge between there and the rest of the house.
Our basement houses a chest freezer, a spare fridge, the furnace, sump pump, washer/dryer, workout equipment, sports equipment, Christmas decorations, gift wrap, spare dishes, etc., etc., etc. I can't imagine not having that space.
We lived in west central ohio and our house was on a slab. It was fine. Our heating bills were within reasonable limits and the house never felt cold. There was no issue with the slab freezing and cracking.
I can't say for sure in your area, but if the house is older and currently has no problems with the slab, it most likely won't suddenly develop them. If you're willing to keep carpet down, your house will be just fine. If you prefer the look/feel of tile or laminate, you can install under-floor radiant heat. Either way, I don't see it as an issue, personally.
I'm in Ohio, and our house is on a slab. The tile is a little cooler, especially near exterior walls. However, we have not really had difficulty heating or cooling the house. Our utilities are half of what they were for our last house that was half the size and had a basement.
I was hesitant, especially about losing the storage space, but it hasn't been an issue. We have a large shed and that makes up for it. This is our long term house so we're not concerned much with resale.
The only gripe I have is that the tile in the kitchen and entry is original to the house and we believe it was installed directly on the slab. It has cracked horribly, especially near the exterior walls.
I own a house on a slab. We rent it out so I don't really know any pros and cons about living there.
I do know that resale value in the area I bought the house is lower on a slab, compared to a house with a basement or crawl space.
My dad has one, but:
- he lives on a lake (hard to put in a basement because of the high water table)
- most of his neighbors have cinder block foundations (seasonal properties)
- his house is only 1000 square feet with 7 foot ceilings - he has baseboard heat and it's fine. He has no AC, since he lives in a place where he doesn't need it (and he has large windows along the front of the house)
- he has well water and septic - not sure about how a slab foundation house would connect to sewer, etc, but I imagine there's a work around somehow.
40/112
My grandma had one - she lives in central Minnesota. Hers was a side-by-side duplex. Is that what they call a twin home? Whatever ... it wasn't a single family house. Built in the 1970's.
She didn't have any issues with heating as far as I'm aware.
She did have horrible issues when the foundation cracked. The crack was on her side of the duplex, so her neighbor didn't have issues, but her side of the duplex was super crooked. It was bad. It got to the point where she had a hard time opening and closing doors. There's no simple/cheap way to fix it.
Mr. Sammy Dog
you know most houses built in southern california after the 1950s are built on slab foundations, right? and most of southern california is on municipal water, not wells, and none of those houses have issues with sewer access.
you can run new pipes for gas, water, sewer in slab foundation houses, but it's less convenient and therefore more expensive than raised foundation houses or those with basements. sometimes, they can do it in the walls and attic space. when that doesn't work, they can cut out parts of the foundation to accommodate for them. if you're not planning on any major remodel work, this isn't an issue.
here in southern california, slab foundations aren't an issue since the weather is warm. it has more to do with when the house was built, usually, than anything else. however, i have no idea on colder climates that have freeze-thaw cycles. i'm assuming they'd use a type of concrete that is less susceptible to that.
I actually wasn't thinking of that, since I live in an older home with a crawl space, and my dad lives in NY.
ETA: My dad's house was built in 1984 and as I said, it's on a lake (Lake Ontario), so it's seen its fair share of winters. He didn't build it (his MIL did), so I can't say what material was used. I just know he's really glad that he has a "real" foundation since he uses the house year-round now. He's also considered ripping off the entire roof/ceiling and building up, and he knows the foundation would be fine. But hey, anything is preferable to cinder block.
40/112
For those who've received advice not to buy a slab basement home, are you in an area where they are uncommon?
I'm curious because where we come from, houses without basements are unheard of. Every house has a basement. So, slabs were a non-issue.
Then we moved to Seattle and there are plenty of both. I mean the house we currently live in has no basement because it's built on a mountain. Most of the houses around us, I assume, would be the same. And the neighborhood sells for between $600,000 and 3 million. So, slab must not be a deterrent? But what do we know - we rent and so we don't have a solid handle not he market conditions.
So, I'm wondering if the disposition against slabs is in an area where they aren't common or necessary? And if they are perfectly acceptable in areas where prevalent? Or are they still less desirable?
I would have normally said yes, they're uncommon in our area, but after house hunting I've changed that opinion. There are plenty of houses in the area on slabs, but it's most common to find a basement. We're not in an area where you couldn't have a basement because of sea level or being in the mountains. From what I can gather, the slabs are just cheaper to build and in the less "prestigious" areas there seem to be a lot more homes that have been built the quickest and cheapest route possible.
I live in FL but grew up in the northeast. Boy do I miss basements something fierce!!! Homes here have two types of foundations: slab/concrete or pier and beam (sits on a crawlspace, usually only older homes).
My house sits on a crawlspace and I hate it (that's a whole different topic). My next house will be concrete slab, which MOST people in FL have.
There is one drawback I have heard though, and it's a big one. I'm sure it applies to the north as well. If something happens to one of your pipes - a burst, a leak, what have you: they will have to go through the foundation to get to it. So that's one huge drawback to a concrete slab foundation. Of course, in FL , we don't have to worry about pipes freezing.
I would imagine inaccessibility to pipes and the fact that they will probably freeze in northern states is a big drawback to concrete slab foundations up north. Just my guess though since I haven't lived in the northeast in 12 years.
~L~
Mommy to 2 boys, ages 7 and 5 and a little girl who is 1.5