I am building a home it is 28W x 48L I am told that I need to do a crawl space. I wanted to lay a slab and on the slab lay cinder blocks 4 high as the foundation / crawl space and set the house on that. I have been told I can not do this. It would be cheaper for me, cleaner and dryer than a traditional crawl space with proper ventilation. The land is fine with drainage and it’s flat. So my question is WHY?
COMMUNITY FORUM
- Forum >
- Basement & Foundation >
- slab vs crawl space
The import thing is that the building footings need to be below frost level.
In some areas that is at 48". In other it is at the surface or a few inchnes down.
In the latter cases you can do a trenched footing and monlithic pour for the slab and footings. That is if the soil is appropriate for that type of construction.
However, the is a type of construction, call Shallow Frost Proof Foundations, that allow you to use slab on grade in colder climates. It uses insulate buried horizonatally around the building to keep the area around the footings "warm".
It is in most code books.
A google will find lots of information. Some sorces call is Frost Protected rather than Frost Proof.
In some areas that is at 48". In other it is at the surface or a few inchnes down.
In the latter cases you can do a trenched footing and monlithic pour for the slab and footings. That is if the soil is appropriate for that type of construction.
However, the is a type of construction, call Shallow Frost Proof Foundations, that allow you to use slab on grade in colder climates. It uses insulate buried horizonatally around the building to keep the area around the footings "warm".
It is in most code books.
A google will find lots of information. Some sorces call is Frost Protected rather than Frost Proof.
