Clients often ask: “Which is better a crawl space or a slab foundation?”. Both types have advantages.
Price: A crawl space foundation will be more expensive than a slab but less expensive than a basement.
Topography: A sloped lot is conducive to a crawl space foundation. A flat lot is conducive to a slab foundation. Forcing a crawl space on a flat lot -OR- a slab on a sloping lot can be done, but it will add significant expense (and time in construction).
Storage: Crawl space has storage capability, especially for outdoor equipment; slab has no storage capability.
Steps: While a crawlspace can be built with just a few steps into house, a slab always has one or two steps only.
Repairs: It is much easier and less expensive to make repairs when your home has a crawlspace foundation. A great example is plumbing leaks in a shower. It’s expensive to make repairs if you need to cut into the concrete slab to make them.
Subsequent Renovations: Because we renovate a lot of homes we’re well versed in the feasibility of renovating a home on a crawl space. A renovation for a home with slab foundation has the same challenges as repairs.