Discussions

Just curious if anyone ever builds a flat anymore. As in a house without a basement.  
Have seen some nice house plans without a basement in our search and wondered if it would be more cost effective to go this route when building, or if builders even do this?  

Slab homes are still being built. The cost savings would be you don't have to dig for a basement and pay for all the cement.

Houses on slabs dont seem to be the thing here, could be our ground and the building codes, IDK but lots of shops are built on slab floors. I have seen some houses without basements but they still put piles in and from what ive been told the piles cost almost as much so people usually choose basements instead because of the added square footage

maybe its a storage thing. Seems we all have so much "stuff" now that it needs to go somewhere.

My cousin just had a house built with no basement, so some people still do it, just preference

I can certainly see that people want the extra square footage because people have so much "stuff" it seems, but when I think about how our current house is set up, we hardly use our basement it seems, and it really has just become a dumping ground for storage and extra stuff that we should not need to keep. We seem to be on our main floor most of the time, so really if we just had the space of one or two extra rooms for storage, etc. we would be fine.  
Just looking in to it, as if it were going to be something that would save us a good chunk of money, it seems worth it.

now that I have a walkout basement with enire wall with windows to look outside as if you are main floor so I would never go to house with regualr basement if I build a house with no options of walkout I would build a slab house: my basement ides would be on second floor.

in the long run would you save in heating cost tho? the basement gets some heat in the winter and some cooling in the summer from the ground plus if its only for storage you can save for finishing costs. whats the average sqft price for up stairs compared to cost to build a basement to store crap and put hot water and furnace type stuff in? taking away the price of the slab? IDK fo sure but more exterior wall space seems like it lose more heat, especially if you add a window  
 
anyway just something to think about but years ago when my dad built houses he said adding a basement was the cheapest way to double your square footage, and now a days if that is still true then with all the nice finishes you can still enjoy the extra room in the basement, maybe the thing is we are just building our houses bigger then we actually need and use

traveller said "in the long run would you save in heating cost tho? the basement gets some heat in the winter and some cooling in the summer from the ground plus if its only for storage you can save for finishing costs. whats the average sqft price for up stairs compared to cost to build a basement to store crap and put hot water and furnace type stuff in? taking away the price of the slab? IDK fo sure but more exterior wall space seems like it lose more heat, especially if you add a window     anyway just something to think about but years ago when my dad built houses he said adding a basement was the cheapest way to double your square footage, and now a days if that is still true then with all the nice finishes you can still enjoy the extra room in the basement, maybe the thing is we are just building our houses bigger then we actually need and use "

That's the thing....most people think that bigger is better. We by no means own a large home, but there is a lot of wasted space it seems. Eg. We use our family room upstairs mostly, so why do I need another family room downstairs? I would rather have more space in my garage, or have a mudroom instead of our tiny front entrance, etc. I would rather have less square feet but have a more functional home.

The problem with slabs is that they have half the square footage of the same home with a basement. HALF. When you look at buying slabs the square footage price is very high. Not a good deal.

bigmoe said "The problem with slabs is that they have half the square footage of the same home with a basement. HALF. When you look at buying slabs the square footage price is very high. Not a good deal. "

Yes, but without the cost of having to di a basement and pour the concrete and finish a whole basement, you could build more sq. ft. on 1 level.  
Eg. If you could afford a 1200 sq. ft. home with a finished basement, but the basement didn't get the use, why not just add some extra rooms or space, maybe a larger garage, etc. on to one level. Would it not be cheaper to add on some useful sq. ft. on to the one level rather than digging a whole basement?  
We have friends that are building a house with no basement right now as well, and although I have no idea about cost factors, they said that they would not choose a basement over what they are able to build all on one level.

to dig and build a basement, or to add a floor and second floor walls to build a two storey house on a slab? Also, a slab will not have problems with water table as a basement may. I know a guy who built a two storey on a slab out west of Kemnay and is very happy with it - all his neighbors with basements had 4' of water in them in 2011.

Jellybean said "    bigmoe said "The problem with slabs is that they have half the square footage of the same home with a basement. HALF. When you look at buying slabs the square footage price is very high. Not a good deal. " Yes, but without the cost of having to di a basement and pour the concrete and finish a whole basement, you could build more sq. ft. on 1 level.   Eg. If you could afford a 1200 sq. ft. home with a finished basement, but the basement didn't get the use, why not just add some extra rooms or space, maybe a larger garage, etc. on to one level. Would it not be cheaper to add on some useful sq. ft. on to the one level rather than digging a whole basement?   We have friends that are building a house with no basement right now as well, and although I have no idea about cost factors, they said that they would not choose a basement over what they are able to build all on one level. "

It would be interesting to compare/contrast a 1200 sq. ft house with a basement to a 2400 two storey on a slab.

I'm not sure about the cost today but I imagine it is similar to when we built our house, it was cheaper to go to a second floor than go with the basement idea. If I was building another house at this point in life I would likely go with a heated slab, there's a certain point in life that stairs just seem like a headache. Floor layouts from mobiles certainly make use of every inch of space and could be adopted for a building on a slab. Sometes it is not the size of your house that is as important as the layout of rooms.

wheather yopu choose a basment or not a good floor layout and usable space is a must imo yet something that is not done a lot of.  
 
our last house was a reno but we used the tiny house type mindset, meaning i built in storage and used every space possible all while making the layout functional, the house was only a 100 sqft house but i had no issues with room

bigmoe said "    Jellybean said "    bigmoe said "The problem with slabs is that they have half the square footage of the same home with a basement. HALF. When you look at buying slabs the square footage price is very high. Not a good deal. " Yes, but without the cost of having to di a basement and pour the concrete and finish a whole basement, you could build more sq. ft. on 1 level.   Eg. If you could afford a 1200 sq. ft. home with a finished basement, but the basement didn't get the use, why not just add some extra rooms or space, maybe a larger garage, etc. on to one level. Would it not be cheaper to add on some useful sq. ft. on to the one level rather than digging a whole basement?   We have friends that are building a house with no basement right now as well, and although I have no idea about cost factors, they said that they would not choose a basement over what they are able to build all on one level. " It would be interesting to compare/contrast a 1200 sq. ft house with a basement to a 2400 two storey on a slab. "

Any builders here on ebrandon that could give a price example for the discussion?  
 
Compare 1200 sq. ft. bungalow with fully finished basement to a 2400 sq. ft. slab fully finished. Finishings can be standard/basic for the example.  
 
Definitely would be curious to see the price comparison.

One disadvantage of a slab is that it limits your heating/cooling options. No possibility for ductwork and forced air. You can do in floor water heat with a boiler but will have no central air conditioning.

It is time to chime in on this one! I design thickened edge slab on grade homes all the time for clients. Basements vs. slabs are merely a preference for the client and can sometimes depend on the size of the plot of land that the home has to sit on. Acreages are good for slab homes but city lots not so much. If you have more room to spread out, single storey homes are becoming more preferable. There is less cost and labour associated with the foundation concrete when doing a slab. To an extent. If you spread out too much to increase things like storage you defeat the cost/benefit. There is however more coordination in making sure utilities are run properly prior to pouring the concrete. Future accessibility is also becoming more of an issue. People want to stay in their homes longer and basements and stairs are not desired as we age or become disabled. In terms of structure you don't need piles for a slab home. In fact you don't want to mix a deep foundation with a shallow foundation or you could get differential settling.  
For utilities.......In floor water(hydronic) heating is going to be the most efficient way to heat and cool a slab home. Hot water from a boiler in winter and cool water in the tubing in summer. Forced air is not the most efficient anyway. You still require a heat recovery system(HRV) that will require ducting to make the air exchange and circulation in the home so you can still run central air. These are often run in bulkheads above. Or mini split systems are becoming popular with slab homes to aide in summer cooling and air exchange. I guess the best thing to do would be to talk to a consultant if you are planning to design a home to weigh all your individual factors, wants & needs to see which way to design the home to best suit you today and for the future.

bigmoe  
 
We are building a two storey home on a slab and we will have forced air heat and central air.

Taxes might be one reason why the basement is popular. I believe if you had the two story house versus the equal size house one floor with a basement the two story above ground will be taxed higher. Could be wrong on that though.  
 
Part of it is tradition is my guess. It is the way most homes are built here. The home with a basement will likely be a bit cheaper to heat and cool all things being equal. With the cost of concrete my bet would be the two story being a bit less to build.  
 
If you look at any raised basement new homes they are only 4 feet in the ground anyhow. Must be a good reason for it that we are missing.

who-am-i? said "bigmoe     We are building a two storey home on a slab and we will have forced air heat and central air. "

Do you mind sending me a pm with the cost of the house you are building. Let me know how many sq. ft. and what type of finishings you are using.  
The plans we have looked at are bungalow plans on a slab, but at least this would give me an idea of cost. I know what friends of ours have paid for new houses with basements, but have never priced out a slab home before. The only thing I see to compare to are some of the condo's here in town are on slabs, and they are obviously considerably cheaper than a house with a basement, but I'm not sure what all the factors are in making them cheaper.

Built my house with no basement. I spent last summer helping my friends evacuate sewage and water from their basements while I was high and happily dry.  
 
If you dig a hole, water tends to find it's way in. I'd recommend founding your house at minimum depth, building 2 floors, and berming the house up and entering on floor #2 if you want a basement that bad.  
 
Building a home isn't only about cost per sqft, or heating and cooling costs. It's about having something that you will be happy in, and believe it or not, you can build something you will enjoy that will easily outlast you if you build it smartley, and you can lower the cost of many many things in order to get the home you want.  
 
Highly recommend no basement, Best of luck with your build!

aarman4 said "Built my house with no basement. I spent last summer helping my friends evacuate sewage and water from their basements while I was high and happily dry.     If you dig a hole, water tends to find it's way in. I'd recommend founding your house at minimum depth, building 2 floors, and berming the house up and entering on floor #2 if you want a basement that bad.     Building a home isn't only about cost per sqft, or heating and cooling costs. It's about having something that you will be happy in, and believe it or not, you can build something you will enjoy that will easily outlast you if you build it smartley, and you can lower the cost of many many things in order to get the home you want.     Highly recommend no basement, Best of luck with your build! "

are you in the city here....or on an acreage?  
Definitely thinking of long term here....don't want to have to be forced to move when we get older due to stairs, etc. And we definitely are trying to think more along the lines of a functional house, rather than thinking of the sq. footage. Our house right now has so much wasted space, and it really doesn't work well for our family. A slab home with a good layout just seems to be a good option for us, not only for long term living, but for cost as well. The price of building a house is outrageous.

bigmoe said "One disadvantage of a slab is that it limits your heating/cooling options. No possibility for ductwork and forced air. You can do in floor water heat with a boiler but will have no central air conditioning. "

most slab homes in greenacres have ductwork in the slab,not a problem for forced air heat, but i think infloor hot water is a better option these days