Hello forum!

The good news is after so many, many years of living in the city of Scranton, my wife and I are going to build a home outside of the city.

Bad news... They want money to build it!

We're in the early stages, but I have a question for those who may have had either constructed in recent years:

What's the cost of a basment and the cost of a slab?

We're building small.. the basement or slab will be 1200 sq ft, no corners. 30X40. The ground is pretty flat so a good amount of digging would be needed for a basement.

Any input? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Can't help about the cost, but I'd have to be pretty desperate to forego a basement. JMHO,
TACC1

When you think of the Sq Ft of space you get by adding a basement, and the "GUN ROOM AND VAULT" you can build there (and be out of your wife's way) the added cost is well worth it, and the resale value in years to come will be much higher.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Basement would be great. Allows increased size and value. Just make sure the "lay" of the land will allow it, so you can have good water run-off AWAY from the basement.

My information is a little dated... We had a house built in 1999 with a daylight basement, i.e., not a lot of digging. The 2000 square foot basement added $20K to the cost at the time we signed the contract. When the house was completed 6 months later, the price for the basement had increased to $30K for new buyers. It was absolutely worth it for us. We finished it off into our "play rooms"; our kids have a playroom with TV and games, my wife has her art studio, and I have my woodshop. It really helps resale value, too.

I would kill for a basement.... but down here we call em "pools" LOL If I were to build, and could afford it, I could not resist a basement.

Man, do it, make the basement "Man's Land" it'll give you your own space and add resale value. What's not to like?
Our basement's finished as a Medieval dungeon with swords, armor and a plastic skeleton. It has a pool table, dart board, bar and a jacuzzi. I've also got a small workshop tucked in one corner and a toilet in the other. We have a finished attic and it serves as a huge walk in closet for my wife with a 20" clothes rod. She can keep all her clutter up there. The garage and basement are clutter free zones.

basement all the way . Just check the water table & see if there is a potential chance of flooding .That isns't a deal killer ,youmay be able to have a French drain & pump system.

The bottom line is whether the slope of the land, soil composition and water table are contusive to a basement or not. There are large parts of Texas where a basement is a no-no due to either soil composition or water table. Where I live the water table is about 6-7 feet. Houses have a post and beam foundation. Unless there are a lot of successful basements near where you are building, get an engineering opinion on a basement. They do not cost that much.

Having had a couple basements turn into "downstairs pools" I hate them. Can you add above ground to the house? Another room?

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SOS USA

We had a problem with flooding in our basement when we first moved in. A sump pump system took care of it and keeps it dry.

After 20 years in Florida.. the only thing I miss about " UP NORTH" as the say.... is my basement

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SWCA #2306
DAV in honor of POP

I guess I'm the odd man out here. We built a new house 7 years ago and we did NOT want a basement. We had owned 2 different houses in the past and they both had very damp basements that we didn't, couldn't use for anything.

Our house has a full foundation, footer with 4 row of block on top with a cement slab poured inside. It is on a level 1 1/2 acre lot in the country. For me the only way I would consider a basement is if I was building on a sloped lot where there would be at least one exposed basement wall.

The gun room idea in the basement doesn't appeal to me. If you do have a fire where is the house going to burn and fall into? Where is all the water going to go from the fire dept? So much for your guns, ect.

For storage we have an attic above the garage.

For cost comparison I can't help there as we didn't price it both ways as we didn't want the basement. Resale may suffer, but we built what we wanted. Hopefully this will be our last house, the kids can worry about the resale.

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Big Fred

Don't build a house on a slab though unless you plan on paying a lot of $ to heat the slab (and ground its on). I could never get our last house to feel warm in the winter due to the slab floor.

The next choice is Slab vs. crawl space, if you can't do a basement.
As mentioned, check with the homes in the area, you can add a stem wall and landscape up to the home.
Congrats on the move.
Good luck
tb

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frontsightnsqueaz

But it would be great to have a basement. Once you build, the opportunity is gone. My bro had one in Missouri and he pretty much had another house underneath the one he lived in.

EugeneNine, I gave a lot of thought about putting heat in the floor, but decided against it due to cost. I have an electric heat pump and that is what we used the first winter and I will admit my floor was "cool" not cold. You didn't notice it on the carpeted areas but did notice it on the laminated and tiled areas.

The second winter I put in a pellet stove and it heats the whole house, 1600 square feet. AND the floors are not "cool" anymore. I burn approx. 3 ton of pellets per year. Very nice warm house and cheap heat.

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Big Fred

Build the basement. The HVAC and water heater go down there, freeing space upstairs. Plumbing repairs easier and cheaper than with a slab. Superior Walls - Simply Superior is the place to check out if they have a builder in your area. Price is less than a conventional basement and you get a better basement. They use precast walls, installation about two days. It is common here for builders to build a basement on grade, then raise the front grade to the top of the basement. This lowers installation cost more. Also leaves the back avail for a garage in basement or walk out finished space . Once you have a basement that is built right, ie water tite , you will not want to have a house without one

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Jim McGhee

There is no way I'd build without a basement. We built 3 years ago and went from a terrible dungeon to the current sahara equivalent basement we have. We got an energy star home (that means nothing much) except that the builder went all out on the basement. He did a good job, complete with the footer on both sides had gravel and drainage pipes. Then the floor above it sloped just a little and a sump system (but those only work if you have electricity.) I can go downstairs and hear water running. But its only in the summer and its condensate from the AC. Yes, the basement does have its own open ducts and its kept cool in summer and warm in the winter.

There are some minor tradeoffs. The homes with basements have the furnace and water heater. They're fairly easy to work on and take up no upstairs room. But you lose it in the stairs, etc.

All builders aren't the same. There are different skill levels and some just do a great job. Others maybe not so much. Our builder subbed it out to a company that has a great reputation. They work fast and good.

There's just no way I'd ever consider not having a basement. Its beyond great.

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Dick Burg

I've got a weight room, mechanical room, work room, 6 closets, a full bathroom, tv/entertainment area, game/pool table area and a full bar in my walkout basement. I couldn't imagine living without one. Almost regardless of cost.

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paws for friendship

A basement down here is called a "swimming pool." I would love to have one but they mostly just don't work here. My neighbor built his house over an existing swimming pool. The drainage was already in place and he had to level the floor of the pool before he started building the house. By doing so he had a level four foot hole in the ground and built the main floor of his house four feet over that. It cost more than I would have paid and the sound of running water under the house would make me nervous. His kids were grown and gone and he didn't use the pool anymore. Looks too much like bailing wire to me.

I'd go for a basement every time, even if it meant building it on the surface and back-filling in around it due to rock or a high water table. (Actually, a walk-out basement can be ideal.)

While Pennsylvania may not be in tornado alley, remember all the damage in Oklahoma this year, and down in Alabama a couple years ago. Not a lot of basements in either place, but where I was staying in Oklahoma City, an awful lot of homeowners had dug and installed storm shelters in their front yards after several twisters had gone through. I'm afraid that a reinforced safe-room in a slab-built house just isn't going to cut it.

You might also want to compare insurance rates in your price calculations, as well as utility costs. While you can insulate under a slab using foam sheets, you can do the same with a basement floor and walls, and the soil around a basement will help moderate temperatures throughout the year. Yes, depending on location and other factors, you may need to deal with water or moisture, but good planning up front can help eliminate the threat.

We have a basement with a walk out-- No problems- Also, the attached garage has a basement the size of the garage, two car, with entrance to the house basement. House could burn down but no water in the 'bunker'

It all depends on the area in which you live. As my friend HRichard said above, in our area I could not imagine not having a basement{really can't ever imagine not having a basement}, it doubles the size of your home and gives you the space for the extras, as well as storm shelters and walk-in vault/gunrooms. A good builder can guarantee a dry basement with all the modern construction techniques and materials. What's not to like?

Our house was a 1200 sq ft 1.5 story. I've since moved to a 1600 sq ft with basement and the gas bull to heat it is about 1/3 the cost.

I'm about 1 1/2 hours north of you so the prices should be somewhat comparable; 24X26 with 8' poured walls, 5" wire mesh reinforced floor and additional 10X24 pad was just quoted me at $26,600.00. There is little excavation and none of the fill has to be taken off-site, so your cost will be a little more.
Make sure you have good drainage around it with drains running to daylight, if possible. Poured walls are better than block.

I would probably avoid the poured slab. Has your builder given you the pros and cons of building a basement? The lay of the land is important, where will the dirt go to? Will it have to be hauled away. How high is the water table. When I lived in Iowa the water table was often 2 feet above the basement floor, so I had a good drain system and a sump pump (Which if it failed would allow the basement to flood). Other places I have built the basement cost would have pretty much been there anyway (lot slope). I would say an absolute minimum cost would be $10/sq-ft. If you put a bedroom down there you need egress in case of fire. In some areas radon gas is an issue in basements. Radon abatement cost $8-900 in my last house. Radon is formed when uranium breaks down so you should have a clue if there is radon in the area before you build.

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Luke 22:36

Another thing: if you go with a slab I would strongly recommend radiant in floor heat (I would recommend this without slab, too). Just be sure and have a good floor plan that your builder sticks to as you cant anchor interior walls just anywhere due to the possibility of puncturing the tubing.

You have gotten a lot of opinions based on personal experience and preference, but no one has answered your original question. A slab on grade is a lot cheaper than a basement. Period. For a 30x40 footprint you will have to excavate and handle approximately 525 cubic yards of dirt. If rock is encountered you can about double the original excavation bid, and no matter whatever anyone tells you, all standard excavation agreements/contracts, have clauses in them that protect the excavator in case rock is encountered. If you are having poured in place concrete walls, you now not only have your original slab, the basement floor, but also another slab equivalent plus, in the walls. A quick calculation shows your slab with a minimal turn down to be about 20 cy and the walls at 6" thick and 8' tall at 24 cy. So you already have the equivalent of two slabs and a patio and you now have to buy floor joists. And finally, without a good waterproofing and drain system which either has to 'daylight' or be pumped, you have a deferred maintenance nightmare. Sorry about the numbers but these are the facts. I am retired now, but am a master plumber, held a State Certified General Contractors license in FL and have built projects in about 30 different states. These are facts not opinions. Good luck with your project. And yes, if I had the money and the proper site I also would love to have a basement...just know going in, it ain't free.

I couldn't imagine not having a basement.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

Another for basement. Don't forget windows and door which are nice but not a necessity, and don't forget to add a little extra head room as when you finish it you don't want to be banging your head on pipes or HVAC. Window egress size in case you want to make a bedroom down there in case you buy too many firearms, and at least a half bath, as you get older up and down the steps gets old fast. Stone, insulation and sump pump just in case which should be code. Now that we have added ten's of thousands to your build cost it's up to you. Also if you need to service you electric, plumbing, HVAC you can get to them as they are not in your main living space, and when your septic overflows it won't be in you main area also, as I assume you will be on septic and I think Pa requires a mound system but not really sure my buddy outside Gettysburg has one.

You know, back to the OP who said they want money to build it, if you get far enough out of the city you can build it without the they part.

Plus 1 for the basement at your lattitude.
1.Your legs will be cursing you in the winter when the chill comes off the slab.(Our family room is on a slab-the room is avoided in the winter)
2.Problems like termites are much easier to deal with when you have a basement-structure is easier to isolate.(our termite issues in the past were all in the slab area)
3.Plumbing and electrical work is also easier with a basement.(and nicer to have your mechanicals,such as the oil burner,on a different level)
4.If you ever sell,it will be an easier sale,because of the above and the added square feet,and the money will come back.

Of the several homes I've owned, 2 were slabs & 2 had basements. The slabs were quiet when the kids were young, only good thing I can say about slabs. Last home I had built was in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Came in handy for storage. The well pressure tank & furnace & hot heater made for more room upstairs.No water problems as the basement stayed dry all year.

As has been said, a dry basement is a great thing. A walkout basement isn't even a basement. As was answered, if cost is the issue, a slab is cheaper. Personally, I would go with a basement unless the likelihood is that it will be wet. A wet basement is a nightmare. I've had good luck with my basement but I live with a high water table an if the sump pump fails, my basement would flood. So on top of the additional cost to build, I have a spare sump pump on hand and you will either need a battery backup or a automatic generator for when the power goes out.

I'm in the process of moving to a house on a slab and I'm hoping I can deal with it. This will be the first time I've lived in a home without a basement.

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18-4, 15-4

My vote would be for a basement for many of the reasons mentioned. The dollar value of the square footage gained is significant. Today they put insulation under the floor and between the outside walls and dirt to keep a constant temperature in the downstairs. Be sure to put plumbing in the basement if you can, it will add value to the house. You can always finish the basement later or as you go. It is just my wife and I now and we bought a 1,350 square foot home that has an unfinished basement and I don't know where we would be without that extra space. I have half of the space used up with clothes, collectibles, gun benches and weight benches. I don't know your area but here in Kansas we have storms and water is a concern but there simply isn't a real problem with moisture causing problems on firearms.

The basement was unfinished when we bought our home. A little planning, imagining, a few bucks, some good old-fashioned elbow grease, and we came up with this.

It's a perfect place to get away from the phone and the world's "pressure cooker." Throw a log on the fire, sit in a rocking chair, read a good book, and the cares of life seem to magically go away.

Believe me, whatever the price, you'll find a basement well worth the cost.


EDIT: HUH???!!! I just noticed...this thread is a good 2½ years old!!! Oh well. Still good advice.

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Pack light and cinch tight.

My bro had a house with a basement in MO. I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I think that even if it costs more, it's well worth it to have a basement, as long as it's well made doesn't leak. They are so darned useful. I know about wanting to downsize, but 1200 sf is pretty small. I think that I'd want the area for projects. Like Jethro on CSI who builds a boat in his basement, then burns it up.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

If the water problem potential is handled, a basement is a no brainer. You get the use of the space while you live there and you will get the money back if not more in resale. Plus a good place to go in case of a tornado

A good friend moved to TN a few years ago. Up here he had a finished basement.. His new house is very nice, higher end, but no basement. He says if he had it to do over he would have held out for a basement.

A basement? All depends where you are in your life. I have a basement and very seldom use it anymore and it is a finished basement! We are in the process of downsizing and a lot of junk has accumulated in the basement!
We now wish that when we built this place we would have put the laundry room on the first floor. Now that we've gotten older we just don't want to do the steps!
If you decide on a basement make sure you add extra courses of block to increase the ceiling height over standard, I didn't and have regretted it. The only person that spends anytime down there anymore is the granddaughter since all my kids are now married and gone!
I had always dreamed about having a big screen tv / movie room and I built it and now it more or less sits abandoned! We don't entertain anymore and I spend most of my time in the upstairs family room.
At our age if we were to move or build again it would be without a basement or at least one that is unfinished.
A lot of good thoughts here and it all depends on what you want!

Basement for sure, otherwise your furnace, HW heater and all mechanicals are in your living space.
I properly done basement will not have a water problem. I would dig deep enough to avoid the old low ceiling problems in most older construction.
I divided mine in half, one half finished and the other half divided, 1/4 laundry room and 1/4 tool room, work shop, gun stuff.

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Back to back World War Champs.

Since the original question was in June 2013, what was decision? Slab or basement?

You can walk out of our's onto a 12x30 ft brick patio..... second family room w/ gas fireplace,w/ a 7x4 window looking into the backyard/woods; laundry room, mechanical space and a small "shop".......and a 2car garage.

Great space but not an option from your description of a flat lot. Around here there are a lot of finished basements w/o outside access or windows....w/o direct sunlight they tend to go unused once the kids get older..............

We were looking at building; a decade back, on a fairly flat lot...... gave some thought to having the main floor raised about 4 feet above ground level... on the lot in question this would have exposed about 6ft of the rear wall. Was thinking about 4-5 steps up to a large covered (8ft deep) front porch across the front of the "farmhouse"; which would have allowed "basement windows/access on sides and rear.




But storage space is important...... when we bought the house I put about 600 sq feet of flooring in the attic ( area w/ headroom to walk around). But the access is pull down stairs in the upstairs hallway.......the space is great the access is a PITA ......it's OK if you're 40 not so much when your 60+.(just put the Christmas stuff away!!)

My advice if you are thinking attic storage..... have a regular flight of stairs for access........ or....... basement storage........try for outside access for mechanical stuff..... maybe "tornado hatches" (think Wizard of Oz) w/ stairs.

Good luck!

Edit: thread from 2013........ Note to self; "look before you type!!!!!"

We have a slab Home and it has a half basement.The problem We had was when the Drain Pipe under the slab started leaking They had to jack hammer the floor up to replace it and We could not use the kitchen for a week because there was no floor.Not cheap,Thank God for insurance.

I've had a basement all my life, kind of comes with living in the northeast.
Now we're looking for warmer climes and basements are rare unless you have a sloped lot, at least where we're looking. The plan for now appears to be a 1 1/2 story house with stairs leading up to the attic area. Utilities, little that there are go in the unfinished portion of the attic, not a problem for me.
There's nothing in my basement that can't go in the attic.

I'm thinking a crawl space instead of slab, but don't want a dirt floor crawl space(bugs), make mine concrete.
Now for the hijack sealed crawl space or open?

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Sure you did

In 1974 My wife and I bought a basement that just happened to have a ranch style home covering it. Great investment. Basements, where practical, are a must.

As you're building, you want eight feet of head clearance in the basement rather than the customary seven feet. Both inside and outside access would be desirable.

DO NOT put the basement stair access in the kitchen. Kitchen space is too valuable to carve up with unnecessary doorways.

In my area, building codes prohibit water and electricity from entering the home in the same place. If allowed, try to consolidate electric, heating, water, etc. This makes finishing the basement easier as you don't have to leave access all over he place.

A big mistake that builders make, on purpose, it to neatly mount your panel box between studs, then finish off with sheetrock so that the panel cover is flush with the wall, much like a light switch cover. Sure looks neat but how do you then run a new circuit if you can't access the electrical knockouts on the top and sides of the panel box? It's easy, you have to rip out the sheetrock around the panel box.

Leave a runway in the basement so that future electrical, cable and plumbing lines may more easily be run.

Don't allow the electricians to place junctions in areas likely to be covered by a finished ceiling. By code, all junctions must remain accessible.