Slab foundation house - are these okay?

[lecach]

We found a house we want to buy but its on a slab foundation. We've never had slab so we're a little concerned. Can anyone tell me if a slab is okay? Anything I should be worried about?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I guess it is okay. We do slabs quite a bit here in Florida. My house is on a slab.

The only caveat I can think of is when everything settles--you can get cracks. But that is normal and doesn't really make much of a difference in the safety of the structure.

(what's funny--my home is Concrete block and for some reason--I get all nervous when thinking about wood frame homes).

 

[Cindyluwho]

It truly depends on what kind of area you live in; soil conditions, moisture, etc. The best thing you can do - in any real estate buying transaction - is to hire an inspector. Here in Seattle this will run you $300-500 depending on the size of the home. It's always in your best interest to hire a home inspector and to make your offer subject to the inspection. Our vacation home has a slab foundation, lots of moisture underneath, and it had a major "settling" during the '70's. You wouldn't want to drop a bag of marbles in there, they'd go straight to one corner! but I've seen 100 year old homes with slab foundations that have no settling at all. If you love the house write an offer and get an inspection. Let us know how it works out!

 

[pat fan]

I would think it was fine. We live in western Ma. and our house is on a slab and we've never had any problems at all.

 

[Tiziminchac]

As long as the slab has been poured over firm ground you should be ok.

 

[ilovepcot]

It's very hard in my area to find a house that *isn't* on a slab foundation. Mine isn't, but it was built in 1922 and is very different from the rest of the neighborhood.

 

[Cindyluwho]

As long as the slab has been poured over firm ground you should be ok.

Once again, you won't know this for sure without a licensed inspection. This is your biggest purchase, your largest investment - don't leave it to chance.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I didn't know that homes (other than those premanufactured trailer type homes) came on anything BUT a slab.

TOV

 

[Cindyluwho]

Wow!! Here in Seattle you very rarely see a home built on a slab. I guess it's very different in other places. I'm learning something new today...ow, my brain hurts!

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I didn't know that homes (other than those premanufactured trailer type homes) came on anything BUT a slab.

nearly all newer construction built in most parts of Texas is on a slab foundation. The type of soil and in alot of places the groundwater there makes it very difficult to build a basement.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

Ah. Thanks TF.

TOV

 

[Aurora63]

nearly all newer construction built in most parts of Texas is on a slab foundation. The type of soil and in alot of places the groundwater there makes it very difficult to build a basement.

Same in FL, in most parts. The water table is too high to build a basement!

 

[SueM in MN]

nearly all newer construction built in most parts of Texas is on a slab foundation. The type of soil and in alot of places the groundwater there makes it very difficult to build a basement.

And in Minnesota and Wisconsin, most houses have basements because we usually don't have groundwater close to the surface. We also need a place to go in case of tornados.

 

[tar heel]

In my part of North Carolina, in general, lower end new construction homes are built on slabs and more expensive ones on crawl spaces. We considered a neighborhood with slabs and asked about doing a crawl space instead -- $5,000 extra. The sales person told us that all the houses in Texas had slabs, and my DH told her that his house in North Carolina was going to have a crawl space.

I think the slab/crawl space/basement thing may be regional like the popcorn ceiling issue. I've learned on the DIS boards that high-end houses in some places have popcorn, but that is definitely the a sign of a less expensive house here b/c they require so much labor. And I will add that I have lived in a house with a popcorn ceiling and they were standard in the first phases of my neighborhood.

 

[ChristmasElf]

Why does your DH want a crawl space? Is there a need to get under the house? As I fail to see how a crawl space will make the house stronger built.
I would worry about animals like raccoons and squirrels and whatever else could somehow get into the crawl space and build a nest!

You are hard pressed in most of the South to NOT find a house that has anything but a slab foundation. Here in FL as someone else mentioned, the water table is too high for basements.

 

[rt2dz]

Around here (southern TX), it's slab or nothing for the most part. Here, you don't want a house with a basement--which some very old homes have. Not good. I don't think it's the type of foundation, but what shape it is in. Like a previous poster said--hire the inspector! Just make sure it is a good one. My sister just sold her house and she had an inspector that made all sorts of notes of possible problems. My sister hired a structural engineer to look at these potential problems (at request of the buyer) who said that has to be the worst inspecter ever. None of those problems existed, where even close to existing. Her house was in fantastic shape.

 

[CajunDixie]

Can anyone tell me if a slab is okay? Anything I should be worried about?

Not only have the inspector check the condition of the slab itself but any plumbing and wiring that has been routed through the slab.

Why does your DH want a crawl space? Is there a need to get under the house? As I fail to see how a crawl space will make the house stronger built.
I would worry about animals like raccoons and squirrels and whatever else could somehow get into the crawl space and build a nest!

You are hard pressed in most of the South to NOT find a house that has anything but a slab foundation. Here in FL as someone else mentioned, the water table is too high for basements.

With a crawl space you can have easy access to your plumbing, have more storage, and you can place your furnace down there and if you have a well your bladder tank. Animals are no more going to get into a newly built crawlspace than they are into your house. And in our area as others have mentioned we have a place to go to during tornados.

In Florida it would be a rare occasion you'd have to rip up your house's floorcoverings to get access to your plumbing in case of broken/frozen pipes. DHs dads house is on a slab and they've gone on vacation and came home to a partially flooded house due to pipes freezing more than once.

I've learned on the DIS boards that high-end houses in some places have popcorn, but that is definitely the a sign of a less expensive house here b/c they require so much labor.

That doesn't make sense. More labor means a more expensive house. And the quality of the drywall person would come into play. If you have a good drywaller and they mud and sand the seams & screw holes properly then add the "popcorn" texture, you'll have more labor costs. But if you have a poorer quality drywaller they may just be using the "popcorn" texture to cover up the fact they did a poor job on mudding and sanding the seams and screw holes. It's always best to go into a walk-through of a house with a few large, high output lights so as too look for the seams and screwholes. BIL happened to check his first new house out the night before the walk through while DH was there with a large light and the seams were so easy to see. Under natural light conditions the next day the seams were less noticeable though.

 

[CajunDixie]

My sister just sold her house and she had an inspector that made all sorts of notes of possible problems. My sister hired a structural engineer to look at these potential problems (at request of the buyer) who said that has to be the worst inspecter ever. None of those problems existed, where even close to existing. Her house was in fantastic shape.

Make sure the inspector isn't also in the remodeling/construction business himself. It's unethical for a person to do an inspection then turn around and offer either the buyer or seller a quote to "fix the problems" himself. Some states don't require an inspector to be licensed so even though they may know quite a bit about plumbing they may be clueless when it comes to electrical or structures.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

We found a house we want to buy but its on a slab foundation. We've never had slab so we're a little concerned. Can anyone tell me if a slab is okay? Anything I should be worried about?

Slab foundations are very common here in Texas. We have very expansive soils, so there can be issues with them, such as settlement, or even cracking in worst cases.

My husband is an inspector and his #1 advice is keeping the slab evenly watered. He always suggests to his clients to have a sprinkler system installed and to keep all four sides of the slab watered evenly and regularly.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Around here (southern TX), it's slab or nothing for the most part. Here, you don't want a house with a basement--which some very old homes have. Not good. I don't think it's the type of foundation, but what shape it is in. Like a previous poster said--hire the inspector! Just make sure it is a good one. My sister just sold her house and she had an inspector that made all sorts of notes of possible problems. My sister hired a structural engineer to look at these potential problems (at request of the buyer) who said that has to be the worst inspecter ever. None of those problems existed, where even close to existing. Her house was in fantastic shape.

In Texas an inspector is just a generalist. If there are slab issues (or any specific issues, such as A/C, plumbing, etc.) he refers his clients to a specialist, such a structural engineer in your sister's case.

Inspectors in Texas have a standards of practice (Set forth by TREC) they must follow (or they can get their pants sued off of them). If there were mortor cracks, wall cracks, or cracks in the slab, the inspector has to note it in his report. There will be cases where an engineer, plumber, or A/C tech will come out and deem the issue a non-issue. It's the nature of the business.

If she hired an inspector who reported things that did not visually exist, she should have filed a report with the Texas Real Estate Commission.