New Home Slab vs Basement Foundation Cost Difference
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- This video goes through a detailed analysis of the cost differences between a slab foundation for a new home versus a "ready to finish" basement foundation. If you are thinking of building a new home, this video will help you to analyze the cost difference for a house plan with a slab versus one with a basement. To learn more about our online course showing how to build your own home stop by ownerbuildercl...
$25K to essentially double the living area of the house? Plus it can be used for emergencies, general storage, a home gym, etc. Why WOULDN'T someone do this?
@@tjam4229 if it's a ranch house it's 1100 sq ft + 1100 sq ft (100%) = 2200 sq. Sounds like a double to me.
So ridiculous! 😆 There are a lot of styles of homes and a basement CAN double the size of a house. Why are you so aggravated about that?
Can be a giant headache if it isn't done properly. Just like crappy new cars, it won't show any signs of premature failure until just after the warranty expires.
@@matsudakodo T jam is correct, I’m an insurance agent and when I write homeowners policies we do not count basements in to the sq footage we count it as a foundation type, and of course u can finish it and add livable space which is ur point. But it would be a 2 story house with a basement foundation
basement sounds great until the shit starts cracking which often can happen within days of the pour. if not that quick give it 10-20 years.. then you get bum contractors who want to charge 10k for basic fixes, possible water leaking into walls causing mold issues that are undetected etc. it can be a headache.
Having grown up in homes with basements, I feel this is still essential part of a house. Made even better with modern technology that you can transform your basement into a theater room.
My parents built a vacation home many years ago on a raised foundation. The foundation was about 6’-7’ I always asked my step father for a few more courses of block why didn’t he put in a full basement. Since it was on the side of a hill the downhill side could have had a garage door and turned the basement into a underground garage.
This is like EXACTLY what I was looking for when searching for the difference in cost between slab and full foundation. Thank you
Spend the money with a poured concrete wall basement I wouldn’t try to save a buck, with a concrete slab on grade method i would put in hot water radiant heat in my basement floor heat the water with a electric boiler it’s nice to have, it’s great walking on a Warm floor, you won’t regret it.
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@@jeffhuebner4352 hi, Unfortunately I'm building on bed rock, So a full basement is not A reasonable option. My goal is to spend some of those savings in a good and highly insulated slab.
Tornadoes !!!
Basement is worth it
Bro basement out of bedrock would be sick
Brilliant analysis. One thing that should be mentioned is that in the summer, when air conditioning is running 24/7, a basement can be a wonderfully cool refuge. The cost savings in not having to run your AC can be substantial.
But in a humid climate you'd still need a dehumidifier.
@@captainamerica9353 Perhaps but since cool air holds less moisture you are less likely to need a dehumidifier or at least run it less often.
You might want to add a stand alone dehumidification system to this basement plan. I think you would find it money well spent and much easier over your lifetime than those little dehumidifiers. Drier air is cooler air too.
BS. basements are moisture traps and cause rampant mold problems. that wooden flooring you walk on so casually will rot.
@@leudast1215 Maybe where you live. My basement living area's fir floors were put there in 1947 and they are in great shape.
Fairly accurate, it runs about $25 per square foot for a basement here in central US and because of substantial bedrock being at undetermined depth you have to test the site prior to planning to see if you can even dig down 8' without spending thousands to have the excavator chip away at bedrock for several days. A good builder and a proper site you can usually get just under $25/sqft without any problems and NO upgrades. Something else many do not include is the extra concrete steps because the first floor of a home with a basement is usually higher off the ground, and in some cases require massive approaches to the entry doors and proper compaction after backfilling to keep from having problems with concrete patio slabs or driveway approaches in the future. However all the extra costs of having a basement under your home is beneficial in many ways; more efficient to heat & cool, safer if you live in weather prone areas, plenty of storage space with room to expand for growing families or busy lifestyles, and the added mass under your home will add significant strength to your home and it's foundation if done properly.
It's never smart to build a basement on flat ground. The cost doesn't fit the practical maximizing your dollar. How ever, building on a slope will maximize your space and value. Especially if it's a tier foundation which allows for the best of basement and slab with post and beam. This concept allows for living, storage and multiple home appliances, cool cellar for food storage and a more regulated environment.
Absolutely worth it, especially if you’re already building a smaller house and need space for utilities and storage.
Exactly, you're literally doubling the square footage of the house's first floor.
Building a basement also helps take DOUBLE advantage of the thermal effect from the ground, which is warmer than outside air in the winter and also colder than the outside air in the summer (this is why Geothermal is so effective) and it's completely free and totally passive (physics itself).
Also basements are quieter than any above ground floor could ever be. Perfect for setting up a small space for sleeping, studying, or watching a movie or anything where quiet is valuable.
And, by adding those egress windows (not always required depending on county building code) you can still get some nice lighting in should you choose (although I would plant nice small shrubs and bushes around for privacy. You will lose a tiny percentage of thermal effects from the windows, but it is a tiny percentage, a 1-4%.
Houses are one of the very few expenses in our lives which will be used for decades and even over a century (your car won't last that long, your iphone won't, your laptop, your silly shoes, etc.), so one of the most ethical things you can do is to build QUALITY, BEAUTIFUL, PLEASUREABLE housing stuctures and features that will guarantee your enjoyment for the rest of your life, your families life, your future generations' life, or anyone who buys and lives in it later, it's one of the few no-brainer best things you can do with your life.
We all should encourage builders to stop being scummy profiteering pill-addicts, and build actual quality housing and not the fastest, most profitable cookie-cutter shiitboxes which they profit off of by hiring illlegals and drrunks to build.
Demand better housing in the USA!!! We have the money!!
@@bringingthebooks question tho. this is a comparison of a 1 floor with basement vs 2 floor with no basement correct? so the footage would be the same. on by real estate standards the "value" of a house would be more for 2 story with no basement than 1 floor with basement as its all considered above ground.
Y’all are acting like everyone has an extra $25k laying around 😂
Alot of buyers will be fine without a basement
@@bringingthebooksLol that’s quite a sales pitch. Totally agree on that last paragraph.
Honestly even if it's 30k more, it's still worth it. I would not want a house in the north without a basement.
Why so? Curious.
@@petero6090 actually it doesn't make sense to not have a basement in the north because you still need to dig footers etc.. below the frost line and it's just a few more additional feet and you have a basement.
@@snivvelslurderagementai2560 not true read the code book
I live in New England. It's a good reason not to have a basement. Canada gets it, they build on slabs all the time. Also most Bensonwood Timber Frames are on slab in the NE.
@@338supermag I am not saying you can't have a basement. I am saying it doesn't make sense not to have a basement. I don't know anyone that builds without a basement here in Ontario. Every house I have been to has a basement, old or new.
It's also just financially beneficial if you plan to sell the house. Why build footers that go 6 feet deep when you can add 3 feet to get the walls and have a basement? I mean the additional 25k is nothing when we are talking about real estate here.
However, when it comes to something like building a storage, work shop, utility shed, a cottage or a "mini home", I would definitely just put up a slab.
I wonder if you could do a video on adding a standard second floor vs using attic trusses.
On small lots sizes here in California I have always been surprised that they don’t have more basements, especially considering how many communities have significant height restrictions.
Because real costs in California are ~10x higher than what this guy says - no chance in hell you'd build a basement in California for $25K - that's just absurd nonsense.
@@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb Esp with current concrete prices. :(
Cost in this video seem low but I live in a HCoL area on the east coast.
@@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb That figure has to be driven by Sacramento.
@@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb In all seriousness and shitting on Sacramento aside, he's probably using national average figures. It's also worth noting that he's comparing it to a cold weather foundation, the kind you'd see in inland Washington, Utah, Minnesota, places like that where you need to dig 4 feet down to put in footings for winter anyway. This would be totally different for warm weather foundations where you can basically just build directly on top of the dirt.
in some areas, like saratoga in northern CA, they do build houses with a basement for this exact reason. it is a one story house with a basement ....... :-)
But the cost savings of a slab is lost when it’s time to renovate, plumbing repairs, add a bath, etc.
No way I would ever consider building a slab home for myself.
Actually Scott, not to mention, at least here in CT, that the $$$ saved will be lost in resale. Very few will want the home in VT with a slab.
For those homes built where there are tornados a basement is essential safety feature, also worth the extra to storage of seasonal use items.
Then how you avoid the mold
@@stilliraise9201 In the basement? I'd get a dehumidifier if it's that bad.
@@stilliraise9201 French drain and sump pit.
Lots of people in Texas tornado areas have slab homes.
@@widehotep9257 Question. Are these mostly custom home or builders/entire neighborhoods?
Keep in mind the problems with a slab for storage. He mentioned adding the additional sq ft for the mechanical room in a slab foundation, but also you have zero storage space unless you build a storage room or build a larger garage with storage.
personally, all of my tools, christmas decorations, old kids toys misc. items are all stored in the basement.
You’re not wrong here, but a few shelves in a utility room can store a lot of stuff you use pretty regularly and decorations and other stuff could probably fit in an attic space if you have it.
Neighbor is building a 3 car garage on slab with a truss roof system, no electrical and unfinished on the inside. His cost est. so far is a whopping 75K. Go with a basement and it's attached to the house.
Attic?
Sounds like you have to much stuff
That's another good point that.
That's a steal. You're basically DOUBLING your square footage!
I mainly want a basement for the purposes of having a safe space when a natural disaster, such as a tornado occurs. I also would want it to have two sections, one section to function as a root cellar and another to function as a living/storage space.
we thought the same. One thing we did think about was if the house were to be hit, and collapse on the basement, you could be trapped. Its more likely to collapse on itself then blow away leaving the basement unobstructed. We thought about a basement with a tornado cellar off the side of the actual basement with reenforced structure (steel beam ceiling) and a short hallway to the shelter...just a thought
IDK about you, but I'd rather be in a basement with a collapsed house above me, than in the collapsed part of the house
Go with insulated concrete form (ICF)exterior walls of the house. They were the only construction tested able to withstand F5 tornadoes. Basically the entire house is a safe room.
He's only off by about $70,000.00.😂
Exactly... In Michigan pre covid 3K sqft basement with egress & 9ft poured walls with footings & rebar every foot not with rainbow bent rebar per 8 ft of wall like high track builder use. Minimum rebar to code. It's garbage.
Was 25-30k now its 30-35K for excavation done right with a top notch basement builder. Like DENEK basements.
@@Historicallybuilt A 3000 sq. ft. basement with poured 9' tall foundation wall with a rebar and egress windows for $30k? If that's what you guys are offering that's a deal. This video is discussing the DIFFERENCE in cost to go from a slab to a basement in an 1100 square foot foundation footprint = 2200 square foot two story.
@@OpenBookBuild
The price is 5K to excavate hole. 30K for footings & formed concrete walls poured with block caps with rods for higher ceiling. 35K.
To tar it & insulate walls not included. But drains pea stone & back field is. I think MI is still top 5 most affordable to build in 🇺🇸
As other people stated prices vary by state and in the northeast, for example, I would expect the cost difference to be more than 25k. Using ICF may save a few thousand in labor, but still, it will be more than the cost difference in this video. Yet the increase in value of the finished construction, given the extra square footage will make it worth it in most cases, especially in the zip codes where homes are more expensive.
Just ran numbers of slab vs basement in VT. Incremental cost increase for 1200sf was roughly 65k USD. 25k is a no brainer but that’s not a true cost. It was 25k extra just for concrete.
There is a concrete floor regardless of whether there is a basement or slab…so nothing to remove there. As a builder I don’t put electric in the slab…not sure who does…there’s no need to. Plumbing underground’s are below a basement slab/floor as well as the slab foundation. You may add water supplies in the slab condition but that just reduces the rough in plumbing costs.
Living in the Midwest, I would never build/buy a home that didn't have a proper basement. Tornados are scary.
Yes, absolutely! In fact, many parts of the Midwest actually *require* homes to have a basement or underground shelter in some compacity on site.
def look into ICF as your ceiling/1st floor, so it really is safe & not just a debris hole to be buried in
Right on Nick. The basement is a great place to take shelter.
Don't let these over priced contractors spin that crap. At the end of the day, a basement is worth more than a new house and if they can scare a sucker out of his honey, they will. Take a map the size of your living room that's the size of your county, put a pencil down onto the map vertically, and move it around at scale speeds on a random course for about 30 minutes and that should give you the odds that you would actually be hit. Very very very low odds. There are buildings in Kansas that have been standing since the civil war and have never been hit by one.
Incredible, I've been looking for a video like this for two weeks and voila, here you are today! I wonder if these prices will hold for AZ and caliche soil. Also, I think I saw in some video that concrete block would be cheaper than poured walls. I honestly don't want to forego the basement!
Block material is cheaper but more labor is required than poured. ICF labor is cheapest compared to poured or block construction.
No, only poured foundation.
Good information. Roughly $25 square ft. I've heard you quote $50 square ft. to finish. $75 square ft total? Averages are $175 to $250 square ft. depending on your area. Be careful of tripping over a $5 bill to pickup a nickel. My opinion that's cheap space. Now, let's talk about walk out or daylight basements to be fair. What are the real cost deference and benefits? Also, split levels? I remember back in the day, the saying was, get to wood as soon as possible. I also work with Insulated Concrete Forms, which a home owner can do themselves. Other considerations, hydronic infloor heat. Remember pay now or pay later, things in the construction world are not getting cheaper and energy codes are getting stricter. This is a great channel and enjoy your content. Maybe educate owner builders on energy codes and where the country is heading in that area, this will be is a long term issue.
ya, even unfinished is worth it, given all the junk people accumulate these days (which ends-up in the garage, while your $30k cars sit out in the weather).100% on the ICF & energy concerns too... far past time to build smarter!
Yes,ICF is cheaper than plain poured. If you can add a walkout basement for living space and that space can be completed for $75/ sq ft it’s a no brainer.
It does not cost $50/ sq ft to finish an ICF walk out basement.
I agree, I love walk outs from basements. but it has to be done correctly. Not a small door with a narrow stair case to walk up to the yard. The yard should be excavated and allow a nice big retaining wall out of stone with some nice big patio doors to let in a ton of natural light and allow easy access from basement to backyard. If you're a baller, then your basement has a gym and sauna and you backyard has a pool and hot tub ;)
@@StarkVandalez yes, agree about entrance/exit. Patio doors with walkout to level landing, no stairs. 9’ ceilings in basement with ICF construction, 1200 sq ft each level, 2 bedrooms and rec room in basement.
Remember how much money you saved when you’re getting swept away by a hurricane or tornado
Before you make a final decision on your build, keep in mind that this is the cheapest price you will ever see for increasing your square footage.
Could you please talk about ICF vs SIPs vs Framing vs Omniblock?
I'm 60. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I'm facing my retirement years without owning a home of my own... to say nothing of having no finances on which to retire. I do own a 5-acre piece of rough land in the mountains.
I want to build a very small earth-sheltered house, which of course is just a basement with a roof over it.
This video has helped me understand things a bit more. Thank you.
I am an older builders and you just about killed me when you laid down those huge numbers, great info and presentation.
What about basement versus extra story of the house? I would imagine extra story would be cheaper? Also, what about a build where the slab is used for storage of water heater, washer dryer, garage, etc. and then the "real house" starts on the second (and potentially third) stories, making essentially a two story house (although technically I think it would be 3 stories?)
Interesting questions. No one answered. Wish I could but I'm not an expert.
But I grew up in a house on a slab.
On the first floor there was the 2 car garage, and the laundry room which had the mechanicals (furnace, hot water tank), and also a family room, bathroom, and small bedroom.
On the 2nd floor was the kitchen, dining, living, bath and 2 bedrooms.
In the Northern areas of the Country, you already have to go down a certain distance to get well below any Frost Level for your footing. Also with certain Clay Soil types, the Clay must be removed and refilled. So these would offset the basement cost. Having lived in a house with a Crawl Space, Super Cold Floors, Plumbing Freezing till a I moved, replaced the patched pipes, and Insulated the Plumbing. Rock-wool Between the Floor Joist, Panning with Bird Vents. I will never have another Crawl Space Home. Also think about this, all your Hot and Cold Water Pipes are going to be either in or under that Slab!
Unfortunately you are incorrect with respect to the plumbing - your hot and cold lines can be run from the attic if building with one. As a matter of fact if you build with an enclosed attic (insulating the entire attic as a conditioned space) you have all that room up there for your mechanicals and electrical, and in the event of a power failure would still have running water due to gravity. Yes your waste lines would need to go through the slab, but with proper clean-outs that's not as much an issue. This is also be addressed by modern "frost-free" slabs that have incredible amounts of insulation below-grade so that under the slab remains above freezing.
In MN the footings need to be atleast 5' down in most areas. So might as well go a few more feet and get a basement out of the deal.
I used to live in central Michigan and very few houses there don’t have basements and when the occasional house with a crawl space hits the market it languishes on the market for months and months before selling at a steep discount. Hoses with slabs there are rare. Now I live in Tennessee where it’s a mixture but most of our basements are walkouts so no sump pump and no window wells plus none of the builders insulate them either because they just don’t enforce the codes very well. A friend of mine is a builder and he stopped doing basements because he swears it costs him $40,000 more than a crawl space even though some of his crawl spaces are 12-14’ deep on one end, I tell him he’s crazy and he doesn’t have any idea how many people don’t even look at his houses because of the wet stinky crawl space.
Tornadoes
25k for a full bament is defendly not realistic.
Who paid for the containers that hauled all the dirt?
$600 difference in digging? No way.
$500 to do electrical in a basement? Please give me this electrician's number?
All the prices are way off, no matter where you live. You are better off asking a builder in your area. Before asking your architect to draw the plans.
If you then finish the basement with the $50 per sq ft like you mentioned then you have about $76 dollar per sq foot in the adding of the basement which I believe is pretty cheap so makes sense to add the basement for addition square footage
Agree, had the same thought. 22/sqft for additional floor space to finish seems worth it.
Great video. Thank you. I'm just surprised that the poured concrete walls are that "affordable". That's encouraging. I'd do the entire structure in concrete (combination of poured concrete basement and CMU above grade walls or steel frame if CMU is not possible). That's my plan in the future.
ICF.....
Here in the Twin Cities, MN it's a no-brainer to opt for a basement when building a new home. My builder is charging me $36k for a finished basement(1400 sqft) that will include a rec room, a good size bedroom and a full bathroom with tub. If I finished it later it would have cost me upwards of 60k. I am going to have 5076 sqft of living space now for not that much addition to the price of the house.
We just got the builders estimate for our full basement, 2 story 2400 sf house and it was $200k more than expected, with the resulting home being at least 300k more than local market value of existing homes (which are in short supply). Not willing to “overpay” to that extent and meeting with builder soon to discuss ways we can reduce cost enough to satisfy us.
Thinking that changing to slab is the biggest leverage point, but I was thinking it would be a bigger difference than $25K. Great video, though…very helpful for my situation.
Did you go with a slab? And if you did , how much did it save you?
Decided not to build. Slab was not a big savings because you need to poor fairly deep footings go here in New England and turns out that the slab approach does not save as much in excavation and concrete as you would think. We are buying a lakefront home instead. Smaller than what we would have built but 200’ of lakefront.
Prices are way too high, supply and demand. The 75 MILLION additional folks in the USA due to open borders and lax legal immigration is 100% to blame.
One option may be to go with a modern "frost-free" slab instead, I've heard these don't require deep footings because of the massive amount of insulation they use, plus they are more suited to in-floor radiant heating as a heating option.
I'm a custom home contractor in eastern Ontario and I'll tell you that the prices in this video are 1/3 what the actual costs are. If you can find me a good electrician that will wire a basement for $500 I will hire him right now.
I'm starting a new build in June which is going SOG instead of a basement and the savings will be at least @ $110k if you are comparing same house to same house, SOG vs basement. This new build is a 3000 sqft home. 1500 second floor and 1500 on main floor. We added a 12x14 mechanical room on main floor and a large loft on the second floor to add another rec room to compensate for the loss of basement space. Plans call for polished slab with a coloured swirl for texture, radiant hydronic heat for the main floor and also in the 32'x40' garage. The garage has 16' ceilings and will have another 14'x16' loft above the tool room for gym equipment, glass walls and a mini split for AC cooling and air circulation. Footings will be 24" - 36" deep, ICF with a 4" thick x 6' wide frost wing around the house. Insulated slab with radon Evac system. Estimated savings over basement is at least $50-70k after including the extra area to compensate for no basement. Just the excavation alone is @$10k for a normal basement. Then if you consider the water table on the average lot is @5' deep, half your foundation is out of the ground, which means 60 trucks of backfill for proper grading and I haven't even covered the septic grading, elevation, sewage lift pumps for a basement bathroom etc.
Warmer floors because the radiant is in the main slab where everyone lives all day, not just in the basement which is used basically only for recreation. You can add radiant to lumber floor, but it's not very good.
Zero water or sump issues and at least 6-8 weeks less on delivery time. More if it's a finished basement with another stairwell.
Basements can be done well and dry. However with a properly engineered SOG and heating system, it's less expensive and less problems to increase the size of the home and do a slab for the average level lot. Sloping land with tall support walls would be different.
Maybe ;)
Oger Mada - I must say that even in Ct USA a 1000 sq ft basement - 32' x 32' will not cost any where near Ontario's pricing. You can put both slab and full foundation up and you still won't reach $110,000, let alone save that much vs slab over full.
@@littlered6780 Ontario:
Concrete $375/yd
Stone $410/load. 16yds for a tri-axle
Average trade labour billing cost -$80/hr.
Fuel right now $2.45/L for diesel and $2.08 for regular gas. Premium is 2.30/L. Almost $10/gal.
Spool of loomex 14/2. 300' length. $275.
Building permit for 3000' home $38,500.
2x6-10' long. $22
2x4-$9
Oh. And add 13% sales tax on all that.
🤪🔫
@@ogermada2892 Sir, with all due respect I would never doubt your pricing, expertise, etc. for I do not reside where you are. I was responding to your first statement - "I'm a custom home contractor in eastern Ontario and I'll tell you that the prices in this video are 1/3 what the actual costs are" -. Your statement in its self is doubting the pricing of the Armchair Builder of whom I have no allegiance nor have I ever listened to one of his videos. Is it possible you meant to finish your statement with - at least not here in eastern Ontario -?? My response was not a criticism in any way though it may have sounded that way and for that I apologize. By the way, 2 years ago in CT diesel was roughly $2.40 per/gal. - roughly 40 cents higher than regular unleaded. Now it is $6.59 and unleaded is $4.59. Home construction here has reached $300.00 per sq. ft. I didn't vote for him! Have yourself blessed day! Oh, this is my wife's lap top! LOL
@@littlered6780 , " I didn't vote for him" !! That's a riot because I didn't either! It amazes me that the Liberals who caused their states to be shut down, causing the insane fuel, food, housing prices, IRA's to become worthless, are voting for more of it!
I will never live on a slab. Concrete is radioactive.
I would always opt for the basement. Would also go with in floor radiant heating. You recoup about 80% on that when you sell the home.
80% of cost? no it’s more than that
Currently building a 2 story house in NC, basement is roughly the same size as the one in the video and the pricing was almost identical. Most affordable square footage that you can get right now.
This is excellent info. I'm looking to move to SC soon, and was considering a new build with a basement. This kind of rough estimate is exactly what I needed, and it's good to know that the price/ft² is the most affordable.
Dylan, what was the cost in SC? We know it cost $25K more but I don't recall the vid stating what a slab cost..
@@littlered6780 not sure what the price difference between NC and SC but I wouldn’t imagine it’d be too significant. A crawl space on our house was part of the “standard” features so not sure what the price breakdown was before adding the basement. Rough estimate was about $20 sq/ft for the basement. There also can be other fees accrued when adding a basement. Hope this helps!
@@dylansmith5868 TY Dylan. I meant NC LOL!
So, for $25K I could almost double the living space of a single level house AND make my life easier by having utilities accessible and in a conditioned space . Sounds like a deal to me.
You should really do a comparison to a 2 storey home as well, because all the extra costs of the basement with regards to finishing it out, would also be incurred building out the equivalent living area on a second floor.
Exactly!
And take into account the height limit in your city.
2 story is cheaper than 1 story given same sq footage.
Ok then that allows you to build more on the first floor for storage witch would be in my opinion a better choice than a basement 🙂
Double all costs in California, where a simple slab on grade is the norm.
Clear, step-by-step cost overview of building a basement. Thanks for this.
22/sq ft and you can access ALL your plumbing/electrical/hvac on the first floor from a drop ceiling (if finished basement)in the basement. no need to cut up that slab when a pipe breaks IN/under the concrete. Double your footprint, all your HVAC and extras out of sight. Dont forget about the geothermal of a basement, stays cool in the summer, and warm (well thermal ground temp) in the winter...we'd spend that money ALL DAY LONG to have those pluses. If you heat with wood stove in the basement, use the HVAC to circulate warm air in the winter, no messy wood stack in the main living area. Possible entertainment room down there, leaving more useable room on the main floor...just have to make sure it doesnt become that dark musky basement!!! great video though!!! very insightful
I'll NEVER build a slab. EVER. So the floor costs would be the same. Makes sense to put a basement in.
Depends on where in the country you are for these costs. In VT, CO, CA, etc I would count on it being quite a bit more. More in the neighborhood of $50k . A floor system alone will run you 20-25k in tgis, subfloor, and girders.
I know right, it's all depends on your location. I'm about to say $25K is dirt cheap in Cali.
He is showing a cost difference between the two, the basement here is an additional $25k over the slab's cost.
Your point about location is true though, Cali prices are crazy. Many $1M homes there are $125k elsewhere in the country.
@@Tien1million But remember Tien. It's not $25K for a basement; it's $25K more than a slab..
Nice video. A general question, how high can I make a basement ceilings? I would love to make my future home build with high ceilings. My current home the ceilings are low at 7.5 ft high and one section at 8 foot.
I second this question, would assume deeper excavation would require either a lot more personal labor or larger excavation equipment which also runs a higher rate /: where you live would determine that, look into where you live or would like to live; what the cost of renting the equipment or companies that own it run.
Just got a quote for 50 k for a poured wall basement
We paid exactly 30K for an 800sqft finished basement with one egress, full bath and 3’ storage under the stairs. Totally worth it imo.
Edit: this was in Ohio
Me too. 32k for 20x30 addition basement 8’ deep with everything included that was needed. SE Wisconsin.
So I could probably get 1,000 for less than 30k in the south. Not bad. Save some extra bucks if built on a sloped lot since you don't need the egress windows if you have some doors.
In Arizona (back in 2005) they were wanting $215,000 for a 1400 sq ft basement. They don't normally do basements, few contractors in the area do them, fill dirt is required to be trucked in, difficult drainage for monsoon season, blah. It was only $105,000 to add a second floor of the same size.
I'd guess that cost. Higher in California, but there is the extra cost for a crawl space. I REFUSE to live on a slab.
To me it's not even a question. Basement without a doubt. Not only can you finish it for extra living space on the cheap, you can house all the mechanical stuff and appliances that would take up living space from a house on a slab. Regarding the price for the basement I honestly thought it was gonna be a lot more. Especially here in NY where building is so expensive. I was thinking upwards of $40k to have that basement added
Ha, I bet it would be $40K in NY!
Additionally a basement is a stronger foundation in my opinion than a slab from a physics point of view. Think of a cardboard box as opposed to a flat piece of cardboard. Having dealt with a cracked, sagging slab it is a real heart breaker. Extra deep stem walls can prevent sagging but then you've basically built an upside down basement so why not go with the basement for minimal extra cost.
I can garentee its a lots more then that
Those egress windows will be useless in winter. The window wells will fill with snow and ice.
Had some success with designing homes with optional basement - mid 2000s. The benefit for a builder is that you can advertise both!!! At different prices! When we had prospects tour the model, most wanted the basement option, but a few wanted the lower cost slab option. Best of both worlds - until... One of the drawbacks to this 'either way' for a merchant builder is that the construction superintendents, draftsman, and trades had to be trained more and we thought adaption would occur smoothly - it didn't. We eventually dropped the option and just did basements only. All I'm describing occurred in the mid-2000s. I sold the company in 2014 but am now starting a new company focused on first time buyers. Because of the radical adverse affordability shift, and local government jurisdictions lack of cooperation in 'allowing' smaller homes, we are planning on the yes/no basement option again. We do not and will not build custom homes - too much hand-holding and wheel spinning.
Can I ask - are slab foundations better for flood zones? (eg 100 yr flood plain, a couple hundred feet from a small river.)
I just received a quote in New Mexico. Walk-out basement, concrete 3 sides, concrete for 2-car slab garage and driveway and sidewalks. 1700 sf. basement. Includes dirt work and some retaining. $87,000 This only includes concrete work and dirt work.
If you must dig 4ft down for frost, it does make sense to go an additional few feet. The cost comparison is missing the aspect of additional square footage.
A 2200sqft home is now approximately 3000. There's the additional bedrooms, bathroom, recreation room, etc.
My favorite home was in Tennessee, with a full garage basement. ( it was huge ! )
What about an secondary smaller basement under the first basement assuming you can handle a few thousands of hours more on an jackhammer drill?
Especially under small older houses, need to make it "sellable" to an Bunch of immigrants in Canada in 7 years
Are these fairly current cost estimates. I am planning a 3 sided walkout so hopefully mine will be 15-20% less than your estimate. Thank you for video
Walkout lots typically cost more.
I'm thinking wood costs too much and those windows are insanely over price. Why not use metal beams and a concrete or prefab ceiling/floor.
Did he exclude the basement slab🤔?
$25,000 investment... Usually double that on the return when selling... Basements SUBSTANTIALLY increase property value over slab-on-grade.
wth..2,000 for a window thats basically underground..all righty then.
25600 for a living space below ground, 400,000+ for the living space above.... ya... i'll build a basement
From crawl to basement, it added $30k. Basement was $85k, block foundation was $55k.
Howany sqft and where do you live?
IMO........Well worth the cost to gain so much space, not to mention it is a plus to have easy access to all your mechanicals in the basement, and if you want to move things around like plumbing or electrical in the future it will be so much easier. Well worth the cost.
$25 for a 1,100 sq ft basement is $22.7 per sq ft, is excellent value. Don't forget: (i) a deeper foundation is much more secure and less prone to cracking than a slab. (ii) The additional insulation and timber floor will make the home more theramally stable. (iii) Although it requires a suspended timber floor, that makes the installation and long term maintenace of services much easier and cheaper for the upper floors. (iv) the long term attractiveness of the house and it's value will be higher, making it quicker, to sell for a higher price. Basement should be mandated like they are in parts of Germany.
None theless I think many countries require an additional inner wall below ground level with insulation both between the walls and foam insulation on the outside.
I'm a sparky. You'll need a lot more than $500 for what you listed for Electrical for basement.. The stair landing lighting would need to be on a 3 way switch, you would also need a carbon/smoke detector and wiring. You might as well throw a radon system in while you're at it too.
I thought the opposite. 5 lights and a few plugs and switches shouldn’t cost anywhere near $500. Guess it depends on location
Apples to apples comparison is one story with basement vs two story slab on grade, or two story with basement vs three story slab on grade. Basement is cheaper than the new story, but has it's cons.
1100 sq. ft. footprint.
So the question in my mind then is to compare the cost of a single story with fully finished basement, to the cost of a two story house on the same footprint, built on a slab.
I think we'd all agree we'd prefer to have the additional floor above ground rather than in a basement.
I live in a state where below grade (basement), regardless of whether it is finished or unfinished, is not included in the square footage subject to taxation. That's a real deal.
So what stops unfinished basement from becoming moldy and susceptible to pests? I've heard that slabs don't have these problems.
Basements are always a compromise (substandard living space/ cracks in foundation/ insects) , if you can build out, that’s the way to go
Build out or up?
Developer here. A basement excavation in Colorado will cost much more than $600. Over 5k. Especially if you have large boulders in the soil. 4K for that much concrete ? A basement of that size is easily 15-20 yards + labor fees and conveyor/pump fees and that’s going to run you close to 15-20k in total. A walk-out basement if no cheap endeavor.
This video doesn't make sense to compare a basement (actual living space, increasing the sqft of your home to double) to a slab. You'd have to compare it to what the 1st floor would cost you to build minus some of the roofing costs, because it's really a TWO story house with 1 story mostly underground. I highly DOUBT your 1st floor would cost you anywhere NEAR $25,000!
2 story slab vs 1 story basement (finished). Which is better?
I have one word to say, "RADON." While I love basements, this estimate should have included the cost of Radon remediation in the construction. A sealed sump pump, A minimum 6mil sealed vapor barrier under the slab and pipes to draw Radon out from under the slab if ever needed.. People wonder why >30% of homes in the US and Canada have high Radon, the number two cause of lung cancer after smoking? Concrete is no protection, it's porous.
I wonder if you forgo a GC and rent the equipment to excavate and do most of the basement yourself how much money would you save? 🤔
Hi, ok there is no way these numbers are accurate. Only $600 more on excavation to move twice as mu lch spoil?
A good sump pump costs $400 now and you added only $400 total not including the well and wiring and install?
There's something wrong w these numbers, i think.
What in the world is this cost figure? $25,000 ! That's a steal~ Excavation additon in the hundreds? what the! Excavation alone I tend to think would be in the 10s of thousands. Is this some hillbilly part of the country where everything might be cheap? I'm in California btw. I just think something's whacked about the order of magnitude in the cost estimations. way off. If it costs me only $25000 or even $50,000 I'd get a land and do this in a heartbeat. What in the world~~~
I paid $195 for a 49.5" x 49.5" basement egress window in 2018. No way they're $2000.
So 25k for an extra 1,100 Sq ft living space? That sounds cheap to me and increases living space by 50% to 3,300
Doing a full basement seems like a No-Brainer.
I'm doing an ICF ranch with in floor heat.
Full basement adds 10-15% to cost but 25-35% to value. Not that much more work.
I think $25K for that amount of increased usable space is very reasonable.
I'd say yes, but only if you finish it and use it. I guess it'd be cheaper than a two story plus you'd have extra protection against tornados. Otherwise seems kind of wasteful to me to just have to air condition that much extra space and deal with maintenance. You could have nearly or completely converted your home to solar or something with that money.
@@beap-6 Oh for sure there are other options to spending 25K on a different yet worthwhile reno job.
If you were currently trying to do this in Australia? Ìd suggest that the cost would be more likely $150K plus! As of November 2023! Easy as!
$25000 / 1100 sq ft = $23 psf. That is inexpensive space. Also, you didn't give a "credit" for relocating the furnace and water heater to the basement.
We are building our retirement home. Ranch 2000 sqft. Problem is the high cost of everything! With a finite budget every sqft we can save is better. So for the people saying it’s crazy not to have a full basement, not everyone is rich or need a 2,000 sqft basement. I’m thinking of only having a half basement. Best of both worlds. Save 1000 sqft of basement costs but still can have mechanicals in basement, storage, future living area and a safe place to go for tornadoes. (we live in Ohio). I could easily save $25,000.
25k more doesn't tell me much without having the price of slab to compare it to. 25K more than zero is a lot. 25K more than $1 million is nothing. How much is the slab? $1K? $10K? 50K? This is important information.
What was the total cost? I just got a price of $29,200 to pour my 2250 sq ft basement. Trying to find something to compare with.
$25k/1100sqft = well worth it. the cost of framing seems excessive but what do I know.
ICF - FTW. While you're at it, ground-source geothermal. Some people understand up-front cost, while others understand ROI and long-term value. Homes built with ICF walls that include a basement give you better square footage and a lower cost of ownership, in the long run. Most people are too short-sighted to grasp this and focus on building the most house they can, for the lowest price...and they pay for it.
I must be missing something, because I totally dont get why people think you need insulation underground... Our basement has 0 insulation and actually, I realized a few weeks ago that we never unplugged the 8 air vents-so the 2,200 Sqft. basement has 0 insulation, and 0 air vents-and it is almost always more comfortable than the upstairs. Granted, there are gas logs that get cut on every now and then for 5-10 minutes... But thats it. The earth is like, the worlds best insulator, no? idk. Maybe its more critical in other climates, were pretty mild here in SWVA but it still seems like a huge waste to me.
And what percentage is that of the total cost of the house? 10%, 5%? Seems very insignificant considering the additional usable space you'll get. It's such a small cost, it makes a slab a waste of money. Also, you'll get that money back (and then some) in resell value. Only drawback is... you'll likely pay more in annual property taxes, but that's the case with any improvement. And a crawl space is a terrible idea.
Why don’t people in North America build their basements properly right away?
The outer walls are always poured first and then the floor .
With this type of construction, the basement cannot be sealed and it requires drainage and a sump pump in the basement.
Depending on your location, engineering costs for seismic footings, reinforcements (rebar), waterproofing, hold downs, hardware, vapor barrier, concrete mix design, insulation, and permitting can vary greatly so ask the architect what requirements may apply and he will tell you a good ball park of difference in price, In oregon the difference is about 32,000
My guess is you are far short on those costs: my expectation is at least 100k plus another 40k to finish it. But, depending where you live, a house without a basement is unsellable. You've paid easily over 500k+ for a house above, and at least another 250k for the land, and you might as well add a completely finished basement. It also offers opportunity for rental income.
out in the rockies I hate basements...flash flooding ALWAYS floods out a basement. The heavy rains overpower everything you try to put in place so the water doesn't SEEK out a basement and it fails everytime in the houses I have lived in with a basement feature. Or you get a freakish winter like the last one and the melt happens TOO fast and it floods the basement. Not worth it...imho...I would MUCH rather have an attic.
Basement is the most expensive storage you can think of.
Go make your attic livable. Much more efficient.
Or how about 2 story above ground?
.... ofcause there might be some really good special uses like a tornado shelter or using ground temperature to support heating and cooling. But that's a different story. ( I would question the 5% extra cost on a 500k house)
Great breakdown. Basements suck. So long as you have a decent sized lot I'd say go with a one bedroom ADU on a floating concrete slab instead. Potential rental income without a stranger in your house per se, or guest house for friends/inlaws and/or storage/rumpus room. Certainly much better use of space instead of something stupid like a pool.
As an Aussie you Yanks have soooo many things better like big 4x4 trucks and basements in the house ...need to fix your roofs though.....colourbond people!
$600 for excavation??? You gotta be kidding me that doesn’t even cover for the mobilization of the equipment, there’s no way