Whether you’re looking at buying a home or you’re in the planning stages of a new construction, the biggest thing to look at is the foundation type of the structure. The two most common foundation types in Tennessee are slab and crawl space, and each has its benefits and drawbacks. Without any further delay, let’s jump right in and find out which is right for you.


Slab

Pros

Slabs are cheaper than crawl spaces; by choosing slab over crawl space you could be saving anywhere from $500 to $9,000, depending on a number of factors.

Cons

Unfortunately, slabs accumulate and retain a good deal of moisture underneath. For this reason, they inevitably have chronic moisture pest issues: earwigs, centipedes, millipedes and other pests are quite common in slab homes.

It’s much more difficult to fix a burst pipe in a slab home, because you have to drill into the slab for access.

It’s also more difficult to detect termite activity, since you can’t see under the house where termites are generally found.


Crawl Space

Pros

It’s easier to repair and maintenance plumbing and A/C, since these are easily accessible in the crawl space.

It’s also easier to mitigate moisture by installing a sump pump, or jack up the house if you have foundation issues.

Termite inspections are simpler and more reliable, since you can easily spot a termite shelter tube running up a crawl space wall.

Cons

Crawl spaces are more expensive, since the process is much more involved.

If you live in an area prone to flooding, you may need to perform more regular moisture mitigation.

There are always solutions to the problems inherent in either choice, but making the better choice to begin with makes matters easier. There are also many more factors to be considered, but we hope this is a good starting point for your research.

Tags: foundation, slab, crawl space