Foundations - Slab vs. Pier and Beam - Which is better?

We’re taking a look at the differences between concrete slabs, and pier and beam foundations for a new build. If you’re looking for good foundation advice, watch this for pros and cons for both systems!

Huge thanks to our Show sponsors Polywall, Huber, Dorken Delta, Prosoco, Rockwool & Viewrail for helping to make these videos possible! These are all trusted companies that Matt has worked with for years and trusts their products in the homes he builds. We would highly encourage you to check out their websites for more info.

[erichemard]

I built my own house in deep east Texas. I went pier and beam foundation. A few simple hand tools, a laser level and a 12” auger attachment on my tractor. 10 hours and 16 piers later I was done. I’ve gotten all kinds of flack about how I would have settling issues later and how I would have to have someone come out and re-level the house...my solution to that was anchoring jack bolts in my piers. So later on if I were to encounter any leveling issues, I could simply get underneath and use an 1 1/4” wrench, tighten or loosen the Jack nut to correct the problem and I’m done. Cajuneering at its best.

[timslowey]

As an engineer with over 30 years experience my $ 0.02:
Hire someone who can evaluate your soils, provide bearing capacity and determine if they are expansive in nature and to what severity.
If your soils are not expansive a slab on grade in frost free areas will work fine. Buried basement if you are in a frost zone. Insulation below the slab can be used but not typically used in the US. If the soils are highly expansive use piles and beams along with collapsible voids (hire an engineer). Expansive soils will give you a lifetime of issues regardless of how careful you are.
Piles are designed to actually increase soil loading in expansive soils to reduce expansion.
Rebar generally requires recommended slab thickness of 8"+. Poly fiber reinforcement is a reasonable substitute with thinner slabs. Post tensioning is great with concrete but generally expensive and requires specialized contractors. Wire mesh generally gets trampled to below the slab during concrete placement and provides little strength when not in correct position.
All Concrete will crack! Get it to crack were you prefer if possible and live with it.

Most problems can be mitigated early on by having professional engineers investigate and make recommendations. Early mistakes and money saving measures generally prove to be a lifetime of problems that don't go away.

[raptorshootingsystems]

Had a pier on beam foundation for 13 years and slab foundation before for 10 years. Post on beam allowed easy access for underfloor plumbing and utilities. In addition, living in Houston, which can experience heavy rains that overwhelm the street drainage systems, having a first floor that is above grade keeps your sanity if there is any type of short term flooding. I also noticed, even with lots of trees, never had insect issues with the home elevated off the ground.

[TheDaniel]

I've worked on a house with a pier and perimeter beam with a "sidewalk" slab underneath. For moving under the crawlspace we had an undercar cart. It was awesome to work under that house, just zooming around on a cart. It even had a couple lights :D

[parkwayconcepts]

Great video. As soon as you said pier and beam is more maintenance friendly, I was sold. I maintain church buildings and am a big fan of easy repairs and maintenance! Thanks Matt!

[leestewart]

My house has a pier and beam foundation with a 6" slab as flooring. The piers stand 24" above the floor for ample room. It's a conditioned crawl space that's a pure joy to work in. I use a car creeper to move around on the smooth floor. Makes for a good storage area as well.

[patmaloney]

Ive worked concrete forming for 3 years now and i learn more from these videos than i do from my Journeyman.

[Sheperd_of_GA_has_my_Love_]

Mr. Risinger, it’s been so good seeing the beginning of your videoing and the development to today’s technology. As a former Fedex driver I smiled real big the days I saw your 18 wheeler trailers at the truck stop in MontEagle, TN! He’s still at it, reminding me to look you up on a day of rest or on snack break. I may not be remodeling or in the industry but have enjoyed watching these videos...& hearing ”Oooon the build show” slogan. Much Kudos Brother.

[dannymurphy]

Great video Matt. I'm from the UK and here we use concrete 'block and beam' a lot for the ground floor, with the beams resting on the load bearing walls, the foundation being a 600m wide trench. As it is a suspended floor you can run services underneath. Very popular here now. We also have another type of foundation, the raft foundation. This is a suspended concrete floor strengthened by rebar and supported by the trench foundation. This is for dodgy ground basically and used a lot in mining areas. We have a lot of 19th century mines in the UK which aren't mapped so they don't like to take chances in those areas!

[ravitymusic]

"thanks for letting me come back to the office, here"


I didn't have a choice, Matt.

[pcofranc]

Love pier and beam or any raised foundation - easy on the body & upgrades later on / repairs as you stated. Slab really requires proper installation of pipes, insulation protective foam around pipes and prayer that everything was done right. Gr8 vid.

[Jamesthemerciless]

In DFW many do "Slab on Grass" construction. Scratch the earth, pour concrete, and blame the soil. If you can fix it later, you could've done it right the first time.

[edbouhl]

New concern with poured slab homes is that they flood easily. Pier and beam can give some flood protection, depending on flood elevation.

[kneelingcatholic]

Good point at 16:50 about the relative softness of pier and beam... We moved the our parents (RIP) back into my grandma's 1947 pier and beam a fewbyears back:Prior the move my dad had broken his hip at my sister's place which was on a slab...after the move both my dad and my mom took several spills on the pier and beam oak floor but no one ever had any more than some soreness afterwards.
That little bit and of bouncy forgiveness makes all the difference for old folks.

[pcno]

My parent's house in New England had a full basement, about 15" of which stuck up from the ground, as did all the houses on our street, but a few year after they finished our street, another developer leveled the area down the hill and put in a whole subdivision of "California ranch" style houses on slabs which were only a few inches above ground level. They had copper-tube radiant heating, which must have seemed like the height of modernity in the late 1950s, though almost all of them leaked and have since been converted to baseboard radiators. They also has a penchant for wet floors, so owners tended to spoil the modern roof lines with add-on gutters that always ended up at a funny angle. Still, they seemed OK until one of the drainage creeks that served both neighborhoods silted up; our house had a lakeside view over the flooded park for a week or two, but all the slab-ranch streets were cluttered with ruined furniture and other waterlogged stuff. I hate to think of the mess these owners had do face, with all their living space flooded. Even if our houses were lower, we'd likely have just lost the stuff in the basement. Each has its pros and cons, but if there is much chance of flooding, I'd stick with something at least a foot off the ground.

[dodgeplow]

I've owned homes with slab, crawl space, and basements, and it's hard to beat a full-height basement. You get extra square footage for storage or living (if finished) and all the mechanicals are easily accessed and placed (e.g. no water heaters taking space in a closet, devices are easy to reach for service, etc). It's worth the extra expense imho if you need to hammer/blast for one.

[Albert-fejx]

Excellent education in 19 minutes. I would like you to have commented in more detail about the concrete troughs (need for, dimensions, depth, substructural, etc). Great video. I continue to watch and learn from you, Matt.

[carolcarola]

Here, in the northeast, a deep foundation is required. My preferred solution is to set the first floor elevation at about 24 inches above the high point. Excavate to an elevation that sets the bottom of foundation at frost depth, normally 48 inches then grade up to an elevation that leaves 12 inches of exposed concrete. The material from excavation is used to accomplish the regrading. Basements are the least expensive space to construct and are so useful. The downside of this approach is water intrusion, but this can be controlled with perimeter drain, water sealing and adequate site drainage. I enjoy your videos and have followed many of the solutions that you support. Thanks.

[tomswinburn]

I started in the new home construction related business in the late sixties, by which time virtually every new home in my part of Texas was built on a slab. In the intervening 5 plus decades I've come to the conclusion there IS no comparison. Give me pier and beam EVERY time. Pre or post tensioning only delays slab cracking, it doesn't prevent it. But the single biggest advantage is being able to level a house when the earth eventually shifts. No pain, no strain. One guy can do it. And the advantage of being able to get to plumbing issues so easily can't be overstated. I'll admit there are issues that must be dealt with. But with careful planning, and KNOWING your area, those issues can be addressed and "fixed" upfront. Critters under the house. C'mon, it doesn't take a genius. Not even mentioned in this video is the HARM done by covering so much of the earth with impermeable concrete. In Houston for example flooding becomes a bigger issue every single year. With homes, driveways and sidewalks in addition to all the streets and freeways water has nowhere to go. At least one municipality within Houston has now nixed new homes on slabs. Too little too late, but they're at least trying. The older we get the more we find that in many cases "the old way" was vastly superior to the new.

[ThreeRunHomer]

The conditioned pier and beam with a concrete “sidewalk” base is very interesting because it removes the humidity and critter infestation problems of a traditional crawl space. Similarly, couldn’t you pour a slab on grade foundation and then frame a raised floor above the slab? The plumbing would go between the slab and raised floor, not buried under the slab.