Slab Construction?
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kenmac
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Is all that covered with gravel B-4 pouring the concrete ? I see you are in Texas. My brother and aunt live in Texas and, he tells me most homes in Texas are slab homes
Alan L.
Elite Member
Under the plastic is sand, no gravel. The concrete was poured right in to what you see, after the finished getting all the plastic in (not quite finished in this pic).
kenmac
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Here , all of this would be filled with gravel for the base . Then, concrete. There have been cases where the ground settles (?) causing PVC waste lines/ joints to crack. Knowing what I know, I would at least have a crawl space where every thing is exposed
Egon
Epic Contributor
Egon
Epic Contributor
paulharvey
Veteran Member
Its a regional thing, but here in FL over 95% of homes,multi family, and commercial construction is "slab on grade".
The advantages of water lines under slab (they're not in the concrete, but under) is they are protected, you have less drilling of studs, and less conflicts between the big 3 subs (HVAC, Electrician, and Plumber).
Disadvantage is that if for some reason you have what is called a slab leak (a leak under the slab) you have to pull up carpet/tile and cut concrete.
Truthfully slab leaks are rare, and with the proper device you can narrow the location of one down to a square foot of floor area, and sawing concrete isn't that big of a deal. They use a special stethoscope to listen for the leak I think (never actually seen them do it).
The advantages of water lines under slab (they're not in the concrete, but under) is they are protected, you have less drilling of studs, and less conflicts between the big 3 subs (HVAC, Electrician, and Plumber).
Disadvantage is that if for some reason you have what is called a slab leak (a leak under the slab) you have to pull up carpet/tile and cut concrete.
Truthfully slab leaks are rare, and with the proper device you can narrow the location of one down to a square foot of floor area, and sawing concrete isn't that big of a deal. They use a special stethoscope to listen for the leak I think (never actually seen them do it).
Best case scenario I would like to build an actual house, the lot is big enough (400+ feet on all boundaries) to locate a house closer to the center of the lot.
Current house is too close to downhill boundary and structures on the adjoining lot. I would leave the current house in place as a possible guest house or weekly/weekend rental. Many things to do close by, ski resorts, state parks and forests, trout fishing, deer, bear, turkeys etc.
Thanks for all the input, really appreciate it. This has to be one of the best forums on the web. Lots of experienced members with practical, working knowledge on almost any subject. It's like a virtual general/feed store were folks come to give/receive advice.
Dave
Current house is too close to downhill boundary and structures on the adjoining lot. I would leave the current house in place as a possible guest house or weekly/weekend rental. Many things to do close by, ski resorts, state parks and forests, trout fishing, deer, bear, turkeys etc.
Thanks for all the input, really appreciate it. This has to be one of the best forums on the web. Lots of experienced members with practical, working knowledge on almost any subject. It's like a virtual general/feed store were folks come to give/receive advice.
Dave
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I currently own (along with the bank and county) a 1979 home with a full bath in the basement. All of the sanitary lines as well as the drain for the washer disappear into the floor, I can deal with that.
The water supply to the downstairs bath is overhead, same for the washer.
The major problem I have with the current setup is there is no floor drain(s) in the basement slab. Have never lived in a home without that before. It's a split level ranch. If something in the basement lets go the house will fill up with water. I always shut off the well pump if we are going to be gone for more than a day.
Thanks,
Dave
The water supply to the downstairs bath is overhead, same for the washer.
The major problem I have with the current setup is there is no floor drain(s) in the basement slab. Have never lived in a home without that before. It's a split level ranch. If something in the basement lets go the house will fill up with water. I always shut off the well pump if we are going to be gone for more than a day.
Thanks,
Dave
Check out a new house with bathrooms in the basement.
dmccarty
Super Star Member
Most of my family lived for decades on slab homes in FLA. Not one ever had a problem with the plumbing under the slab. My parents only had one basement home. Every other home has been a slab. Our city house in NC was a slab home built around 1975. No problems with the plumbing.
Personally, I HATE crawl spaces and the idea of having a toilet on wood makes me shudder. One morning, our toilet over flowed in our city slab house. To make it worse, the danged toilet kept running so it dumped more water on the floor. :shocked: Did I mention I was late to a closing? The closing on our loan to build our current house? :shocked: After I stopped the toilet, and sorta clean up the mess, the wifey had to deal with most of the water, I went the lawyers office. The closing was a disaster but that is another story. Luckily, the slab was unlevel from the bathroom to the laundry room so the water stayed on vinyl flooring and did not get to the carpet. It would have been worse if we had been on a crawl space or basement. A coworker bought a fairly new house with a crawl space and had to completely redo the bathroom floor because the toilet had leaked and rotted out the subflooring. The floor, including the tile, had to be ripped up and replaced.
When we built our country house we put in a slab. Most people would have put in a crawl space, and given that we have a decent elevation change, so that one side of the house is about 18 inches above grade and the other is about 60 inches, a crawl space would have been a what most people would have done. Instead of a crawl space, the foundation was filled with 67 stone and then a slab was poured over rigid insulation. The PVC is was installed, sealed and pressurized before the gravel was put into place. 67 stone compacts as it is laid and does not settle. The pressure gauges showed no leakage and eventually the slab was poured. No problems in 10 years.
A neighbor has a crawl space and I don't know if they have fixed their messy crawl space. I looked into the crawl space when the house was mostly finished and about to be foreclosed. Long story there. Anyway, the house was maybe 6-9 months hold and the crawlspace was full of moisture and multi colored mold. :shocked: Now that ain't normal in a crawlspace but it is the sort of problems/nightmare one can get. Now a days, I would build a crawlspace that was sealed if I had to have a crawlspace.
A crawlspace to me is a negative, not a positive in a house.
Later,
Dan
Personally, I HATE crawl spaces and the idea of having a toilet on wood makes me shudder. One morning, our toilet over flowed in our city slab house. To make it worse, the danged toilet kept running so it dumped more water on the floor. :shocked:
Did I mention I was late to a closing? The closing on our loan to build our current house? :shocked: After I stopped the toilet, and sorta clean up the mess, the wifey had to deal with most of the water, I went the lawyers office. The closing was a disaster but that is another story. Luckily, the slab was unlevel from the bathroom to the laundry room so the water stayed on vinyl flooring and did not get to the carpet. It would have been worse if we had been on a crawl space or basement. A coworker bought a fairly new house with a crawl space and had to completely redo the bathroom floor because the toilet had leaked and rotted out the subflooring. The floor, including the tile, had to be ripped up and replaced. When we built our country house we put in a slab. Most people would have put in a crawl space, and given that we have a decent elevation change, so that one side of the house is about 18 inches above grade and the other is about 60 inches, a crawl space would have been a what most people would have done. Instead of a crawl space, the foundation was filled with 67 stone and then a slab was poured over rigid insulation. The PVC is was installed, sealed and pressurized before the gravel was put into place. 67 stone compacts as it is laid and does not settle. The pressure gauges showed no leakage and eventually the slab was poured. No problems in 10 years.
A neighbor has a crawl space and I don't know if they have fixed their messy crawl space. I looked into the crawl space when the house was mostly finished and about to be foreclosed. Long story there. Anyway, the house was maybe 6-9 months hold and the crawlspace was full of moisture and multi colored mold. :shocked: Now that ain't normal in a crawlspace but it is the sort of problems/nightmare one can get. Now a days, I would build a crawlspace that was sealed if I had to have a crawlspace.
A crawlspace to me is a negative, not a positive in a house.
Later,
Dan