![]() So, there are more materials, more stages of construction and more labour with a crawlspace than a slab. The comparable stages of slab-on-grade construction would be laying down insulated forms, adding rebar plus mesh and then pouring concrete into it. A crawlspace requires a concrete footing, then a short foundation wall, all the insulation on the walls and floor (or crawl-space ceiling), drainage, exterior damp-proofing membranes and weeping tile, then you need to build a floor over top of it. A crawl space is like building a mini (and dysfunctional) basement, so you get most of the cost, all the durability issues and potential hassles of a basement, PLUS a sore back and bruises on your head if you try to make any functional use of it. What’s cheaper to build – a slab on grade or a crawlspace?Ī slab is cheaper. Read more about our Wakefield house solar air heated slab floor here. We recently built our new Wakefield concept house on expansive clay soil, and by building a raft slab we saved money by not requiring any soil remediation. A raft slab distributes the weight evenly over the whole surface instead of resting on an edge-loaded footing, so the risk of differential settlement or shifting is greatly reduced.Ī raft slab requires almost no excavation so high water tables are not a problem, and they can also eliminate the need for a costly soil remediation. To avoid flooding or moisture damage, or shifting due to soil quality, you would be better to build a raft slab on expansive soils or high water tables instead of a slab with a thickened edge footing. Remember – a crawl space is a mini basement, aka a hole in the ground that will one day be filled in by nature, one way or another. Is a slab on grade or a crawl-space better on poor soil or high water tables? flooded crawlspaces are another great reason to choose a slab-on-grade foundationĪ slab foundation is better. So if an apocalyptic invasion of termites should happen, don’t worry about your slab grab your beads and head to church for confession. If termites DO eat into your foam foundation, it would likely take an infestation of biblical proportions to remove enough insulation to cause a structural issue or any significant heat loss. In high risk areas additional protection can be required by code, and having said that – a termite has no real incentive to dig into your insulation if there is no food source to attact them, so always build homes with durability strategies.
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