Regrets about your Foundation type?

[USAFpj]

The wife and I are clearing a home site in Upstate SC for a new home; Considering that I want to get it right the first time, the site has what has been called a 'perfect' slope for a walk out basement, along with a level space as well just in case we decide differently.

I have read that if you have to pay for a foundation, that you might as well do a basement due to it's versatility. However, before I spend the extra money on grading, concrete, backfill, windows, stairs, doors, etc, does anyone regret their basement? I'm concerned about water infiltration as one website stated that 90% of basement foundations will have water issues/damage.

So what foundation did you go with, and are you happy with it??

 

[seymojo536]

8 in. poured concrete walls on 24 in footers. Outside of walls covered with sealant and 20 mil plastic. perimeter drains. 2 sump pits with drainage under floor.
Dry as a bone.
Happy wife, happy life.

 

[USAFpj]

And doing it correctly that way, is there a 'rule of thumb' for how much that costs vs. a crawlspace or slab for an 1,800sqft home? As in 3x as much? Twice?

 

[PILOON]

About the only extra would be the depth the footers need be for frost, the upside is a much cooler lower level=energy savings. Depending on the grade rear windows might pose a problem but otherwise it is win-win in my book.
We walk in on the upper level and walk out on lower level. (to the waterfront for a swim as we change into swim togs en route thru the house)
In our build we used 2" foam to insulate the concrete 'walls'.
One advise I would give is to lay flooring over foam board or to pour concrete flooring over foam and membrane under sleepers to keep humidity out.
You need good sealants as concrete will sweat. That is about the only concern and preventable with today's products.

 

[JRobyn]

I HATE having to work in a crawl space for any plumbing/electric repairs, AND Ms. Robyn wanted a basement for tornado safety, AND I like the solidity and leak-resistance of poured concrete foundation walls, so that's what we went with. Absolutely no regrets. I'm not sure how much more $ it was than block or piers and crawl space - we didn't really care since it was a "needed" construction feature. Builder used extra heavy 5" square steel posts and LVLs for 1st floor beams with engineered joists for framing so we have VERY solid floors. I asked for drain systems both outside and inside the continuous concrete footers.

I DID have some moisture issues in the basement the first year or two due to the concrete slowly curing out fully and due to its coolness when we opened the big garage doors on humid summer days. So we run a cheap Sam's Club dehumidifier down there constantly now. No more moisture issues. Very dry.

- Jay

 

[dave1949]

Slab, crawlspace or basement, you still need to have proper drainage for the foundation. A damp crawlspace is just as bad as a damp basement, maybe worse. Even worse is a slab that has water issues.

Unless you are building in flat, poorly drained ground, or at the bottom of a slope that is putting a lot of ground water against the foundation, I wouldn't fear a basement. Done right on a suitable site, as others said, it will be dry.

 

[HEC]

If I were to do another foundation I would want to know where the water table is for one. I just put in one and if I had brought the floor up another 6 inches it would have made all the difference in the world .

2. put your floor , slab whatever on crushed rock or stone
3.use a water vapor material such as poly on top of the stone just under the concrete .
4. drainage pipe inside and out of foundation wall
5. as already mentioned proper protection for the outside of foundation wall

In Maine we have a radon problem which exists in many parts of the country.When we sold our last house they did a radon check and we ended up having to put in a pump to get rid of the radon which runs 24/7 .
It was very fortunate we had crushed stone under the floor with proper drainage pipe so it was easy to get rid of the radon .

 

[dave1949]

If I were to do another foundation I would want to know where the water table is for one. I just put in one and if I had brought the floor up another 6 inches it would have made all the difference in the world .

2. put your floor , slab whatever on crushed rock or stone
3.use a water vapor material such as poly on top of the stone just under the concrete .
4. drainage pipe inside and out of foundation wall
5. as already mentioned proper protection for the outside of foundation wall

In Maine we have a radon problem which exists in many parts of the country.When we sold our last house they did a radon check and we ended up having to put in a pump to get rid of the radon which runs 24/7 .
It was very fortunate we had crushed stone under the floor with proper drainage pipe so it was easy to get rid of the radon .

Same radon thing happened to us when we sold our house in Wells. The buyer got an estimate that I thought was quite reasonable and that came off the sales price.

 

[dave1949]

One way you can put drains inside the footer on a walk-out basement is to drop the footer on the walk-out side below the level of the footers on the buried sides. The drop should be deep enough for two things: get below the frost line (probably not much in SC), and deep enough to provide room for the rigid and slotted PVC drain pipes that will be in the stone bed below the floor slab. Then you can create holes in the poured wall for the interior drains to pass to the outside footer drains on the walk-out side--which logically will be the side facing the down-slope and a good place to run your drains to daylight.

When the foundation wall is formed on the walk-out side footer and before pouring the concrete wall in the forms, slide PVC pipe lengths cut to fit snugly between the forms that will match up with the PVC in the stone bed. If you plan it out, you should be able to push the cut lengths all the way down onto the footer at the bottom of the wall forms. I would use 6" PVC in the forms that would allow 4" drain pipes to pass through them or you can plumb the drain lines together using two unions in the wall.

Concrete likes to crack around and along embedded PVC pipes when it cures, so it's best to avoid having them in the middle of the poured wall. At the bottom of the wall avoids most of the stresses since it will be "pre-cracked".

 

[bigtiller]

In my area you will seldom see a house without a basement. Ours has a sump pump that pumps water year around. When the power goes out in a storm, the water doesn't get pumped until I get the generator running.

Our next house will be on a hill with enough grade that it won't need a sump pump.

 

[kiotiken]

It is very uncommon to have anything except a foundation with basement in my area. You're spot sounds great and I'd love to have a walk out basement. I just bought an investment property and it has 8' finished ceilings in the basement and a full size basement window. It makes that space feel like any other part of the house instead of a dingy basement. The other thing I would do is install your weeping tile so it naturally drains down hill, eliminating the need for a sump pump. I'm sure a huge percent of flooding happens because of sump pump failure as was our experience.

 

[IXLR8]

Our house in Conn was built in 1820, had a full basement and just rocks for the foundation. Dirt basement for the first 10 years I lived there. Put in a concrete slab floor, no plastic under it, never had any issues with water in the basement for the 30 years I was there. House was about 30 ft higher than the river that ran thru the back yard. Not sure why we never had any water issues, one of our neighbors, 2 houses down, had a "modern house" with a poured concrete foundation and he was always fighting water in the basement issues.

 

[KubotainNH]

Basements are pretty standard in my area. My house was built in 03 and the land slopes. We added more slope so the low side has a walkout basement. It's really great to have that option. No basement water issues whatsoever for me but we do have quite a bit of sand. The water pretty much drains away from the foundation. One huge plus is real windows on the walk out side, that wall is mostly timber construction. One other plus is we have radiant heat throughout the house including the basement slab. It helps maintain the house temp when it's really cold or we lose electricity. You're way South so probably not an issue.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

The wife and I are clearing a home site in Upstate SC for a new home; Considering that I want to get it right the first time, the site has what has been called a 'perfect' slope for a walk out basement, along with a level space as well just in case we decide differently.

I have read that if you have to pay for a foundation, that you might as well do a basement due to it's versatility. However, before I spend the extra money on grading, concrete, backfill, windows, stairs, doors, etc, does anyone regret their basement? I'm concerned about water infiltration as one website stated that 90% of basement foundations will have water issues/damage.

So what foundation did you go with, and are you happy with it??

Go to your county Agricultural agent, ask to see the soil map of your area. It will tell you everything you need to know. And, yes. A basement is better than a crawl space.

 

[moeh1]

as Kioti Ken said daylight drains down the slope, no sump pump and you will enjoy some inexpensive dry bonus space. The other "90%" that have problems aren't built that way. We split the difference on the slope, I have a set of precast 4 step concrete stairs up at the low end of the house.

 

[s219]

We have a conditioned crawl space that is about 7.5 feet high on one corner of the house, enough to have a regular entry door and a 16x16 slab where we placed the hot water heater, well tank, and storage area. Could have gone with a full basement at significant extra cost, but frankly I had no interest in it. Our builder encouraged us to go with a basement, and my father (former builder) felt the same way. But I saw no real need and had far more important things to spend our money on when budgeting out the project. In retrospect, we made some very good and solid choices on prioritizing features/options when building the house, and I am happy with all our decisions. After 1.5 years in the new house, I still have no interest in a basement.

So my question is, do you really want a basement and see a lot of value/potential in having one? Would you rather spend that money on other features in the house? Are you cutting back on any other aspects of the design/construction that you'd rather have than a basement? Prioritize your needs and weigh against your budget, and the choices will start to fall into place.

 

[MossRoad]

The wife and I are clearing a home site in Upstate SC for a new home; Considering that I want to get it right the first time, the site has what has been called a 'perfect' slope for a walk out basement, along with a level space as well just in case we decide differently.

I have read that if you have to pay for a foundation, that you might as well do a basement due to it's versatility. However, before I spend the extra money on grading, concrete, backfill, windows, stairs, doors, etc, does anyone regret their basement? I'm concerned about water infiltration as one website stated that 90% of basement foundations will have water issues/damage.

So what foundation did you go with, and are you happy with it??

We've always had homes with basements. Around here, homes without basements are considered inferior. Why? TORNADOS! hahaha. Other than that, if you get the drainage correct the first time, they are warm, dry, quiet. Very quiet. Sometimes I fall asleep in the basement and all heck can be breaking lose outside and I won't hear it. And they are cool in the summer. Good place to hang out on hot days. We own some property with nice slopes and if we ever build we will definately have a walk-out basement. Walk-outs are like a 2nd floor, only under instead of over the 1st. I'd like to build a deck off of the 1st floor that would be a covered porch out of the walk-out. I'd put glass garage doors on the three sides under the deck so I could raise them on nice days and close one or all of them on windy or rainy days. Kind of an open 3 season room. I've seen it done. Very nice.

As others have mentioned, with a walk-out, you have to make sure the footings on and near the walk-out side(s) is(are) below the frost line. That's about it. Also, you might consider building it 9-10 feet deep so you can have full 8' ceilings with room for utilities above the ceiling. Or, just have everything sprayed white once its all installed. That looks nice, too, and requires less lighting go make it feel homey!

 

[MossRoad]

I also have a friend that has his master stairway in his entry way going DOWN instead of UP. It looks very nice. The stairs are very formal and wide and you can look down into the finished basement. He also had a stairway to the basement put in the garage(gotta watch fire codes on this one due to fuel fumes going down stairs) so when he works outside, he can go directly from the garage down the steps and into the basement laundry and shower. Nice!

Another friend of ours put a hidden spiral staiway in a closet in the master bedroom down to a workout room in the basement. Hop up in the morning, walk down to the basement, do your workout, come up, use the maser bath and go have breakfast. The basement was 1/2 height exterior on the workout room side, so he had nice wide windows in the workout room at about shoulder height. Kind of neat.

 

[scouter16]

Either way if your lot is slopping you will have to do a cut and or fill to have a level site for your house. Another option would be a large exterior concrete wall back fill with bank run and then a slab on top. Issue with this is cost, and the ugly concrete wall that doesn't serve a purpose (besides holding your house).
I'm not sure what wood prices vs concrete prices are down south. However in NH it has been cheaper to pour concrete than build walls. in areas of high SHWT (seasonal High Water Tables) up here you may have issues with leakage however it is usually do to bad design and bad install. I would recommend foundation drains. If your lot is sloping like you stated you should be able to install a gravity system that will day light with no need for pumps, this is cheap insurance and a lot easier to build into your house new. Also depending on terrain and SHWT you may not need to worry about any water problems at all.
Also stairs are cheap, especially if there basement stairs they do not need to finished right away. 3 2x12 stringers (width dependent) and pine for cheap or oak treads, some people even use left over sub flooring (advantec and such) You wont be disappointed if you have a basement, compared to catching your self saying i wish i had one.

 

[MossRoad]

People are recommending foundation drains, however, in most places, they are now required by code as a default.