Slab Construction?

[QueBota]

Not sure if this is a "Related Topic" but here it is.

Looking at a cabin/second home. Nice little place on 4.5 acres in the Laurel Highlands.

Inital construction was in 1977, additional work around 1986.

Have only looked at it once (in a snowstorm) for about two hours. Gettin dark, 8 degrees,
getting colder and snowing harder. Had to leave, 210 miles back to my place.

Have no personal experierence with slab construction. It seems all the plumbing and septic
disappear into the floor (slab). Not sure if they run below the slab or are imbedded in the
slab. There is no crawlspace. Seems to me many of the pipes have to be nearing the end
of their lives. In the event service is needed, how do you go about it?

Like the cabin (it is more "rustic" than the pics or realtors description would indicate), like the
lot. Sits at 2460', mostly level on a hilltop below the main ridge (close to 3000'). Within walking
distance of Forbes State Forest, approximately fifty thousand acres of room to roam.

Not sure if I want to get involved due to the uncertainty and issues regarding the slab
construction.

Appreciate any comments or thoughts.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Egon]

Note: the many old old houses sitting on cement basements and floor with plumbing disappearing into the cement.:thumbsup:

 

[QueBota]

I can deal with the main water line coming in through the floor, I can deal with the main sanitary/sewage line exiting through the floor. The thought of the entire water distribution and sanitary distribution network disappearing through the slab into parts unknown is a little disconcerting.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[deepNdirt]

Not unusual to have the plumbing under the slab, It's not embedded into the cement if this is what your asking, with perhaps the exception of the stubs that will lead into the actual living space the plumbers will slip a plastic sleeve over them, Most all rough plumbing Both water supply as well as drain pipe are laid into trenches routed to the area's needed, inspected and covered with several inches of dirt afterwords, then Polly/plastic sheathing is rolled out covering the ground then reinforce wire is laid out and then the slab will be poured,

Being the house was built in the '70s my concern would be the product used for the drain system, I would be 95% sure copper would have been used for the water lines, and Likely ABS for drain pipe, However there was a product use just before the '70s that turned out to have a limited life time, The Plumbers refer to it as red-pipe,

 

[QueBota]

So, what do you do when something needs service, start surgically tearing into the slab. I like my basement acess, would even settle for a crawl space, the slab sounds problematic at best and a repair headache when the time comes.

Going to get another look before I sign any papers. There is a local "inspector" that's going to look at the place and give me his opinion.

Surveryor wants approx $1800 to run the boundary, nail down corners and drop intermediate pins, thats about $1 per foot of boundary.

Will update at that time.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[dave1949]

A slab is never going to give you the repair/maintenance access and ease of relocating pipes for renovations, that a basement offers. That's just a fact of slab life.

I wouldn't pass up a nice property that has a lot of other things going for it just because the cabin is on a slab if the slab and plumbing look okay now.

Would you ever build a new cabin and re-purpose the existing slab for something else like a garage or toy shed?

 

[Carl_NH]

I would look up the septic tank and lines and find the clean outs, and same for the well pump. Where is the well pump tank, and controls?

This will tell you the piping material where they enter the house. Also if this is simple layout like the bath backing up to kitchen, with centralized feeds and drains it may not be overly complex to repair if you did need to repair.

Half of our house is on slab built in 1946 - we redid all the drain plumbing (and dry wells) except for 4' of 4" cast iron pipe (bath was on the outer wall, and same with laundry room so two short sections 2' each of cast iron pipe remain) and it has never been an issue. Our supply lines were 1/2" overhead copper and that was replaced with 3/4".

As stated before, it is 95% or very high probability they used PVC drain piping in this place in the late 70's and copper supply lines.

The other consideration is winterization, unless you will heat this year round? Is it set up to easily drain the lines, toilet, etc?

Personally I would not be overly concerned as dave1949 states, if its a nice place, location etc. Maybe you can negotiate a decent price or sort of a "set aside" to cover future plumbing should that become an issue.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Personally I would not be overly concerned as dave1949 states, if its a nice place, location etc. Maybe you can negotiate a decent price or sort of a "set aside" to cover future plumbing should that become an issue.

I agree with this point of view. Determine what it is worth "as is" and negotiate from there. The way it is has been working for years and might well work for decades more but it will break down eventually as everything does. The worst you might have to do is saw a two foot square hole in the slab around the drain pipe and tunnel in from the side to remove and replace a failed section of pipe. Worry about that when the time comes and in the mean time don't pound or twist on the pipes where they go into the slab.

 

[flusher]

I agree with this point of view. Determine what it is worth "as is" and negotiate from there. The way it is has been working for years and might well work for decades more but it will break down eventually as everything does. The worst you might have to do is saw a two foot square hole in the slab around the drain pipe and tunnel in from the side to remove and replace a failed section of pipe. Worry about that when the time comes and in the mean time don't pound or twist on the pipes where they go into the slab.

I agree. Here in CA I'd estimate that 99+% of the home construction is slab with plumbing, gas and electric services in trenches under the slab. I don't think many homeowners lose sleep over leaks. That said, when I lived in a condo in Orange Co (Aliso Viejo) 15 years ago, my downstairs neighbor had a water leak under the slab in her bedroom one Sunday morning. The jackhammering woke me up. Took 2 days to fix the problem. Carpeting had to be replaced, otherwise no other water damage.

Good luck.

 

[kenmac]

As a plumber, it cost more to repair plumbing problems in slab homes than most other types of construction. Leaks are usually harder to find when all the plumbing is in a slab covered in concrete. If I were buying / building a home. A slab home would be of last resort