Holly I don't know what I said that made you think my primary concern is budget. It is not. Our budget is more than enough for an ICF home with or without basement. However I don't know if building a basement is worth the extra expense or adds any value to our use of the home. We've toured several icf houses that are glorified mcmansion in the area 4000 sq ft monstrosities on basements. I've seen icf basements with traditional construction above and I didn't like them. I love the deep window sills, quietness, energy efficiency, safety ( and the list goes on and on) of an icf home. Traditional stick built is not something we would explore. We have discussed SIPs but ultimately i think we feel most comfortable with the experienced ICF builder. He has over 25 years experience with ICF. He now only builds ICF homes. We toured many of his homes all were well within our budget. But we haven't made the final decision yet. I mentioned the cost because it is a factor. ONE factor not the only or most important factor. I'm not sure if paying x dollars for a glorified storage unit makes any sense. That x would likely come at the cost of tree transplants, koi pond etc. All things we could do in the year or 2nd year after the build, but I would prefer doing now. I also was questioning how the choices impacted the livability and durability of the home. My point in this thread was to understand why people choose one over the other. I've found the answers pretty helpful. I'm not quite understanding the implication building on slab indicates disinterest in quality or interest only in cheapest building process. There is some debate that basements are not a "green" choice. Slab on grade is often used in passive solar homes for the thermal mass of the slab. We want high end finishes in a Eco friendly home. Here is where I'm throwing away money and will never have good resale. Then again we threw that out the window the moment we decided to build a more contemporary bi generational home :) Not every housing choice is about "smart money". Some decisions are a balance between wants, needs, livability and ultimately budget. Per others suggestions we had architect make some changes. It looks like our portion of the house would now be 1920 sq ft on slab with the new utility room and a few other changes to accommodate that room. The inlaw apt stayed at 788 sq ft. Right sized for us. But small by many people's standards. If the home is on basement it would be 1715 as we took out the utility room and didn't need to rework any rooms. Sorry if my original post gave the wrong impression that I was looking for the cheapest option.

Just to chime in. Back to Raleigh where one of the posters had insulated under the slab. This seems unusual. While it may help slightly in the winter, it probably hurts an equal amount in the summer. Either way - not much of an issue but why would you go through the expense. Raleigh is roughly an equal cost heating and a/c (depending on design of house and how you heat) climate. The foam under the slab reduces the natural cooling of the basement by the earth. My walkout basement with 150 sq ft of windows was never above 84 or below 50 before I finished it - and that was before air sealing. I think with air sealing (prior to HVAC), it would have been between 55 and 80 year round. As far as moisture, I just know that I have been in many moldy smelling basements in the area. My builder's never smell and he doesn't use foam under the slab. I think the key here is ground sloping and siting rather than under floor moisture migration but this issue has to be incredibly local. I have to imagine in Ontario, some underslab insulation is in order. But, if the space is part time heated, it may not be a big deal. If you have NG and just use the space 10 hrs a week, then we are talking pennies in the grand scheme of things. Sure, it might help a tiny bit with duct losses but again pennies.

Hi Lazypup, Thanks for getting back to me. Would there be any reason why the flow has increased as of late? Is there any way of adjusting it? Also, can I try removing it or blocking it temporarily to see if it is even required? I assume that if the trap were to dry out that I would smell some serious stink right? Well, if I remove/block it and nothing stinks after a month or so, can I assume that this tube is not required? I have one floor drain in my basement next to the furnace. I also have another in the middle of the floor about 12 feet away from the furnace one. I guess my main questions are can I remove it and/or can I adjust the flow rate?

The price sounds in-line to me. Especially as it presumably includes breaking up and removing the existing slab. However, you should be sure on the details, including: --at least 125 mm (5" ) of clean coarse gravel, no fines). --what do the interior weepers connect to? Believe it or not, some builders just put them down without connecting to anything. --what thickness of underslab insulation and what type, EPS? XPS? At least, R12 in this climate. (Despite our last two-week winter!) --minimum 6 mil vapour barrier. Whether you want to go "whole hog", so to speak, is really a personal choice depending on your budget, how long you want to live in your home and your market area. Underslab insulation, unless you're heating the basement floor, has a very long payback. If you choose to remove the existing slab, consider replacing any old sewer or water pipes under it. I've done this on 19th Century homes in the Bloor/Bathurst area. Even with a newer home, you could scope the pipes first to examine their condition.