Chisue, I would have agreed about the basement thing but here in my new location basements are the exception not the rule. At least when it comes to ranches which were mostly built in a specific time period. I've been told that there is a water table problem here but when I reply new construction seems to have more basements than existing - well they know how to build basements better now. ????? Correspondingly this is the only area I've ever lived in the Midwest where there are actually areas in the country that people have water trucked into cisterns because there isn't any well water - so.....what's with the water table again? I was also told that back during the 50s when ranches were popular that builders convinced people that basements were a always a problem and it was better for resale not to have one. Probably 7 out of 10 ranches will be on a slab. For whatever reason Cape Cods (a style built slightly earlier will more often have a basement. I have heard that older farmhouses with cellars often do have water issues. This place is confusing to me, and I sometimes think this area had just been taken in by the construction industry but that's a thought and is probably not correct. I consider Dayton midwestern but sometimes it seems more...appalachian (not trying to be disrespectful) One realtor I talked to on the phone, when asking about the whole basement issue here actually seemed a little confused and made a comment to the effect of 'houses with basements?" like she had never heard of it. I know that's probably not what she meant entirely but it points out that people here expect or are certainly more accepting of slabs or crawlspaces, basements are more of a bonus, if dry anyway. As for pricing - ranches with basements are generally 20,000-40,000+ more which is closer to 15-20% more than ranches on slabs. And while I realize it doesn't matter because its all about existing markets, I just got to wondering - do basements cost 40,000? How about a crawlspace vs. a slab? Ive lived most of my live n the Midwest, always in a house with some sort of basement. Personally I won't live on a slab, and am not thrilled with the idea of a crawlspace, which is why I'm still in an apt looking.

Whatever you do, dont do a slab! My parents house has a slab and it's increadibly inflexible. If you have sand or clay, you can get settling issues over time that are very hard or very expensive to fix. Plumbing problems? Have fun not only tearing up your floors but breaking up and replacing concrete. Very messy! If my father had it to do over again he would never do a slab but a crawlspace or basement. If you have clay, especially with the tempurature flucations you get in Canada - well, good luck with that. With a crawlspace you can easily deal with any of the issues that were pointed out above. Foundation settles? You can relevel your house pretty easily since it's "floating" on the peremiter foundation. And just because you have a slab doesn't mean you can't have moisture or radon problems either - and if the builder gets the slab wrong you are faced with a very messy and expensive fix worse than if you have a plumbing issue. I'm puzzled with your mentioning a basement - if you have a basement, this is all moot - there is no slab except for the basement floor. You don't want to do a crawlspace under a basement floor - ventalation would be insane. But I would do a thermal break - vapor barrior and 2" - 4" of rigid foam before pouring the basement slab. Better still, since you want to finish the basement embedd radiant heat in that slab that's on top of foam. I'm thinking about re-doing the floor in my basement to get radiant heat - it's awesome! If you do go basement or crawlspace, be sure the builder is using engineered joists for the sub-floor. Read the manufacturers guidance for the maximum size of holes and minimum distances between multiple holes through the webbing or center of the joists. Manufacturers provide this information for a reason - improper holes through the joists dramatically compromise the structural integrety of the joists which leads to at best overly bouncy floors, at worse floors that collapse! Be very wary of plubmbers and HVAC contractors - they often hack through structural members with impunity. Hold your builder accountable to maintaining the recommendataions of the manufacturer of the joists (or any other product) and NOT CODE! Get it in writing! Code is the MINIMUM - but you want your minimum to be the manufacturers guidance. I had to put up an extra knee wall in my basement to strengthen a floor that was weakened due to an overzelous HVAC guy that destroyed two joists routing the fresh air intake for my furnace. Learn from the experience of others. If you can find a home inspector that actually knows building code and has experience with engineering, stipulate that you will do your own pre-drywall structural inspection and then final inspection with your own inspector. Trust but verify... Good luck! Just don't do a slab ;)

After living on a slab for 30+ years, I like having a basement now. In FL, nearly all homes are on slabs, as a basement would be an indoor, in-ground swimming pool. Slabs are usually hard on your feet and back as compared to the slight give of a suspended floor. As the home maintenance guy, I like the access to plumbing and electrical. In FL, they commonly run plumbing under the slab, so changes or repairs sometimes require a jackhammer (it happened to us). Our plumbing manifold (PEX) is right there on the wall, as well as the power panel and water heater. We don't have a furnace, but it would be nice to have a place for that, too. We have a walk-out basement here in SC. It would have been a lot of work and expense to fill enough to build on a slab, so a basement was kind of a no-brainer for our terrain. The basement has two large windows and a door out the back, so it doesn't feel like a basement., It's fully insulated (ICF), so it helps keep the upstairs more comfortable, and would be easy to make into additional living space. A basement certainly adds cost, but it's cheap space, if additional space is needed. I wouldn't build one in an area with a high water table, though. If built properly, employing best practices, a basement can be very usable space, as opposed to the moldy, dank places we remember from the 'good' old days.

There is some helpful information about Sintered Stone vs Porcelain here: https://www.tenax4you.com/compact-surfaces-sintered-stone-porcelain-compared-s/2092.htm That website has several articles making comparisons between different materials. Might be a page to bookmark and share with others since the properties of natural stone, engineered stone, and other man made materials can get pretty confusing sometimes. Hope the information helps future readers.