![]() If there’s enough headroom, the heating unit can also be placed there, freeing up space in the house. As a bonus, you end up with a tempered, dry storage space. These details add cost, but a multiple home field study (27 homes in different parts of the country) by Advanced Energy confirmed that they can also lower space conditioning bills and reduce mold and mildew. “This moisture can soak the home’s framing, leading to rot and structural failure, and can carry mold spores and other pollutants into the home’s living space.”īuilding scientists like Coble now recommend sealing and insulating the crawlspace and covering the ground with a polyethylene vapor barrier, or even a concrete slab. “Open crawlspaces can become breeding grounds for mold and moisture,” says Brian Coble, who directs the High Performance Homes program at Advanced Energy, a North Carolina building science research firm. They’re supposed to prevent the buildup of excess moisture, but in practice they often backfire by bringing moisture into the space. Most crawl spaces include foundation vent openings. ![]() The footings are placed below the frost line, but there’s only enough headroom between the ground and the floor frame for someone to crawl around. “Soil temperatures down South are warmer than in the Northeast, but they’re probably below the dew point even more of the year, so the dampness is even more of an issue.” CrawlspacesĬrawlspaces are most common in the Southeast and parts of the Midwest. He says that under-slab insulation isn’t just for the far North. Honestly, I would never build a house without insulation and a vapor barrier between wet soil and concrete for the quality and comfort issues alone.” “It’s a tremendous improvement over what people are used to. Even when not finishing the basement, insulating the slab and walls can reduce problems with mold and mildew, since the insulation reduces the chance of condensation by keeping the concrete at a higher temperature.īasements with insulation under the slab “don’t smell like basements and feel clean and dry,” says Portland, Maine, architect Jesse Kaplan. While it may not noticeably lower energy use, it could make the space more comfortable. If you plan on finishing the basement, you may want to consider installing rigid foam insulation beneath the slab. If you think you might want to put a toilet in the basement, consider including a well for a grinder pump. If the lot slopes or allows for a walkout configuration, the basement will have natural light, good ventilation and a more spacious feel. This creates an underground room that can be used as a storage and mechanical space and/or finished to create a living area.īasement finishing is a growing trend: Homeowners are turning these spaces into recreational rooms, gyms and entertainment centers. A full basement typically consists of footings placed deep below the region’s frost depth and eight-foot-high walls that enclose a four-inch-thick poured concrete slab. Full BasementsĪlthough full basements can be found in many areas, homeowners in the Northeast tend to expect them. Different types are popular in different parts of the country, with reasons that include ground conditions and local market expectations. There are three main foundation types: full basement, crawlspace and slab-on grade. After the concrete sets, the forms are removed. The contractor erects wooden forms, installs steel reinforcing bars (“rebar”) between the form faces, then fills the forms with poured concrete. Footings and foundations are to homes what feet and legs are to the human body: footings anchor the home to the ground and support the foundation, which in turn carries the weight of the home.Īlthough foundations have been made from a number of materials - stone, block and even treated wood - reinforced concrete is used in the vast majority of new homes.
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