Build to a Higher Standard
Faster and More Flexibly with Raised Floors
If your house is located on a slope, in a floodplain or in an area with soil problems, building on a slab is a time-consuming, complicated headache. For example, to pour a slab on a slope, you have to cut into the hillside, erect retaining walls, and use fill to level the site. If you’ve gone with the raised floor alternative, you simply adjust the height of the piers or stem walls.
Installing a slab floor also puts you at the mercy of nature and the plumbing inspector. If your site is saturated after a downpour or the plumbing inspector gets called away to another job, your contractor will be forced to postpone the concrete delivery. The more delays you encounter, the less likely you’ll be able to move in on time. With a raised floor design, you have fewer of the unexpected delays that can hold up the construction of a house built on a slab.
The Freedom to Do It Right
Because your floors are off the ground, routing wiring for electrical, telephone, television and Internet service is easy and inexpensive. And if the home is raised high enough off the ground, air conditioning ducts can be installed under the floor, directing air more efficiently throughout the living area. Even changing your mind—as people often do during construction—and deciding to move the kitchen sink or alter the size of a bathroom won’t hold you up or cost you a fortune. Try that with a slab!
Protect your home
from Decay and Termites
In areas where decay and termite infestation can sometimes be a problem, pressure-treated framing is a useful option.
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Pressure-treated lumber can be used in the floor system alone or throughout the whole house – roofs, walls and foundation – and for less cost than adding granite countertops!
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With a new generation of wood preservatives, homeowners can now turn to solutions that are effective and environmentally friendly.
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