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The in-laws just bought a lot and are planning to build a small house for part time living here. Sister in law wants a slab, she grew up in Florida and that is what she is most familiar with, plus she is a big fan of seamless indoor outdoor living where she can just walk out to the outdoors. Brother in law wants to go post and pier, about 4 feet up so any plumbing repairs are easy, he has a lot of hesitation about having possible plumbing problems down the road and having to bust up the slab to fix it. He grew up in the midwest where everything had a basement so having a house "sit on the ground" as he puts it makes no sense to him.
What are the advantages and disadvantages to both here in Hawaii?
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More bugs with slabs,and how old are they? Slabs are very unforgiving if you fall.
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You can do a search for many. many past threads on this,,,
Most like P&P, but we bought a house on slab. In the past all of the house plumbing WAS in the slab, but prior to our purchase, the water lines were raised (most of the water lines are now in the eaves which is easy-peasy to work on) with 2 plumbing walls. When we remodeled, we improved the plumbing wall access by installing removable in-wall shelving with all of the water lines & sink drains accessible. The only non-accessible without digging are the drain lines, but luckily they have clean-outs under each bath sink & outside of each toilet... (so far, we have not needed to use any of the clean-outs.)
No matter which way you go, make sure the home has plenty of deck or lanai space, remains well-ventilated with low & high venting windows (or clearstory), and utilizes the trade winds for ventilation.... For me, the key to choosing slab or P&P would be the lay of the lot, NEVER put a slab in a "puka"; or lower area of the lot/neighborhood with no breeze, it will be muggy, damp & moldy... the same would go if a P&P house is low in the lot
Some will tell you a slab will be buggier, but that also is more based on how well the land drains away from the house.... if the slab is always moist, you will have more problems than just bugs, including base plate problems.
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There are advantages/disadvantages to both, which is why I'm designing a "hybrid" with a slab that gives way to footings.
Slab for lanai, or utility/garage space, somewhere to put the washer/dryer ... P&P for living space, with the "cushion" of suspended floor, accessible plumbing/electrical, etc.
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Somebody who was installing catchment tanks down in Southpoint did substandard work and many of them failed. One of them burst and the rush of water knocked the house off it's posts.
For me, living on the flanks of an erupting volcano, which construction is more seismically stable? I'm not an engineer so I don't have the answer. But it seems to me that catchment tanks are more likely to fail during an earthquake. I can imagine a steel tank holding back 80,000 pounds of water and then imagine all that water sloshing around during a big earthquake. And then imagine a house swaying back and forth on it's posts.
We are on slab, we wanted something without stairs or steps for when we get older. Was grateful for decision after wife had a surgery.
True about more bugs with slab. The LFA probably live under our slab. On the other hand termites don't eat concrete.
All our pipes are in the walls and attic, except for the drains of course. I have more days behind me than I have ahead of me, and I've never lived in a house that needed work on the drains beyond a snaking. The way our house was built, all the drains are on the side of the house with the cesspool and they are all near the exterior of the house. If the slab had to be busted up, it would only be a few feet.
They say post and pier houses are cooler because the wind can circulate on all sides.
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My house is P&P, about 10 feet high. We could add more living space underneath if needed; currently it's a carport and place to hang laundry.
You can see any problems like leaks and bugs. And air circulates underneath, keeping things cooler and drier. And the view is better up here.
We have "wood" floors, much more forgiving on older knees than tile or concrete.
Negatives: those stairs might become a problem as knees get older.
><(((*< ... ><(("< ... ><('< ... >o>
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Thanks, most of these points are things I already told them, but I've never built or lived for very long on a slab so I wanted to consult the Punaweb experts.
What is the cost comparison between the two? I have one friend who swears a slab is ultimately cheaper, another who says post and pier, both of them are usually accurate on construction advice so I don't know what to think. Seems like there are pros and cons to both.
The in laws are youngish fit semi retirees, but she is arguing they would be able to use the Hawaii house far longer as they age if it is on a slab with no changes in floor level and build in things like grab bars and accessible sinks up front. They work together as consultants to health NGOs now, mostly in Indonesia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, so Hawaii is perfect for the times they are between 2 Pacific Rim contracts for a few weeks or months. They are coming to stay with us for a while this winter and are hoping to get the plans nailed down and submitted for permitting then. It will be interesting to see what they end up doing, I think I talked them out of having a bali rice barn shipped over, permitting seems like it would be a nightmare, but they like the Asian aesthetic a lot.
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My "house" is a shipping container set on four stacks of three 6" x 18" x 18" foundation blocks so it is basically 18" off the ground. I am always amazed by how much the container still rusts and I attribute this to the container being only 18" off the ground. To be sure it would still rust if 8' off the ground but I bet a lot less.
My mother recently had her second stroke and this one left her basically unable to climb stairs on any useful level. We got her a stair lift which she appreciates but it is clear that it is not the same thing as not having stairs. So for what it's worth I can see the benefits to having no stairs. This from a guy who climbs stairs just to get into bed at night. Also FWIW a major complaint she had prior to the stroke, just from being 80 years old, is that she wished she had a bathroom on the main level so she didn't have to climb stairs just for that. Having a bathroom on every level would go a long ways towards mitigating the getting old thing even if there were still stairs to climb.
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We bought an existing home that had been built on a slab.
It was contractor built.
It is now about 10 years old.
A slab mounted 54' X 12' lanai was added later along the whole length of the back of the house.
The lanai slab appears to have been put in by someone that knew what they were doing.
The lanai superstructure was owner built.
I will be replacing the roof over the lanai very soon as it was not built properly and is deteriorating rapidly.
Tile floors kitchen and baths, carpeted bedrooms and hardwood floors in living, dining and hallway areas with linoleum in the utility area.
AND, ...pex plumbing.
Raised wood floors have nothing over slab construction by our needs.
No problems can be attributed to anything being on slabs.
No problems appear to be coming up due to being on slabs.
No stairs to deal with in the future.
I think that if done correctly slab foundations can be a good way to go, maybe even a preferred method.
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Was a Democrat until gun control became a knee jerk, then a Republican until the crazies took over, back to being a nonpartisan again.
This time, I can no longer participate in the primary.
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You didn't state which area you plan to build on. Eden Rock is not the same as Leilani. Lee M-S said what I would have said, there are many advantages to having your house sit up. Including driving beneath it in a pouring rain. Also, if you catch the trade winds you don't need air conditioning! A few fans on the hottest days will do ya. The house I would build in Alaska is not the same house I would build here in Hawaii. Also, my knees are going, so stairs may become a problem. I might build a ramp to the the lanai/entrance with storage beneath; or I might get a stairmaster. Congratulations on your diligence, it will pay off for you.
bamboo2u
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