I would go for the basement. We live in Illinois, have a basement with a sump pump and a sump pump backup. We have been in our house for a year and a half and not had any problems with water in the basement. It is not a finished basement but kinda semi finished. We painted the walls, sealed and waxed the floor. Put down some inexpensive area carpets with tables and chairs on the big main area. We put in nice lighting etc. We use that for our hobby area. I like to do 1000 piece puzzles, colored pencil coloring and some painting. We have a stereo and also furnace ducts for heat and air conditioning. We have made it quite cozy. Basements are great for extra space and storage. Or a great playroom for kids and teens. A word of advice if you go with a basement. Get a battery backup sump pump in case the electric goes out unless you will be getting a generator. Also, have them run plumbing for a bathroom or half bath. You don't have to put a bath in right away, but the plumbing will be there if in a few years down the road you want to put one in. Quite inexpensive to do when building.

Basement. Stuff happens and you might need to sell. Not doing a basement in an area where 99% of homes have basements doesn't make sense.

Have you ever tried to fix a leak in a pipe that is buried in cement? They will be jackhammering your floor and slab to find and fix the leak ... so much easier with a basement!

There are several methods of water proofing basement walls that will reduce the chances of problems. Those methods are done after the walls are poured and before backfilling dirt. In extreme problem situations, internal methods can eliminate water intrusion problems. Some internal systems could be installed before pouring the basement floor, meaning much less cost.

Would be prudent to research various methods of water proofing or remedial problem solving, weigh the best choices and the associated costs, and decide if the cost is worth doing.

The basement may well mean a second story is unnecessary.

Basement, one story.

After living on a slab for 30 years, I love our suspended floors now! Slab floors are hard on your feet and back. You wouldn't think a floor has enough give to make a difference, but it does, at least for me. I also like having access to plumbing and wiring without having to cut concrete, or go up in the attic. Lastly, in our climate (SC), the basement is a usable temperature year-round without heat or A/C.

All that being said, we don't have a water problem, as we are built in to a hill side. Our foundation is waterproofed, plus dimple board for drainage, with a french drain at the bottom, backfilled with gravel, the surface is graded for water to run away from the house, and we have large roof overhangs with gutters to manage the roof run-off. Make sure that all of the best practices are employed.

Thanks for the input. We'll have to get it officially checked out, but we also have the suspicion that we have a high water table. I would love a basement, if it's possible, but if we're going to be spending thousands to get the proper drainage and waterproofing just to have a dry basement, we'd almost rather put that money into the main living space and make attic or above-garage space for storage. I hate the idea of potentially jack-hammering (!!!) our floor to fix a leaky pipe, though! This is the stuff I want to avoid. Though, wouldn't it be the same situation if a leak was found under the basement foundation? I mean, pipes are going to run under concrete either way, right? Would having a crawlspace prevent some of these potential issues vs just a slab? There are so many avenues of information to explore here and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed on where to start researching and hoping I don't miss any pertinent info. I really appreciate you all sharing your experiences and expertise.

I vote for listening to your architect.

A high water table and a cold weather climate require careful consideration of the design of footings as well as the foundation to avoid problems.

I don't know what contractor laws are in Maine, but here in VA, builders are the ones who warranty the foundations for a full five years. I'd make sure your builder is on board before deciding which foundation to use.

Sarah Main, for the average build there will be no water pipes, etc buried in the concrete of the basement floor.

Any chance of picking another lot? I dont like either of your current options.

In my last house (a rental) we had a flat lot and when the sump pump ran it was very hard to get the water away from the house. Same with directing the downspouts away from the foundation. You couldn't rely on gravity to move the water. Our sump pump pipe somehow got clogged and burned out our pump - which resulted in water in the basement. That's a terrible feeling. And a flat lot with a high water table just exacerbates the problem.

I guess a slab would be better than a wet basement but I know that we rely on our basement space a lot - it holds our furnace and water heater, water meter and sewer connection are down there. Plus our off season storage, a little workshop and a work out room. If we had to replicate that space above ground we would probably need another 1000 sqft.

With a slab all of your plumbing waste pipes would be buried in concrete. Maybe some of your supply lines too. With a basement those pipes would mostly be accessible in the basement ceiling.

Radiant heat in the floor is great. But if you wanted AC or wanted to supplement that heat with forced air, those ducts would have to be in the attic. And ducts in the attic are hard to insulate well.

Good luck!

Mushcreek: We are doing at least the same as you are where foundation is waterproofed, plus dimple board for drainage, with a
french drain at the bottom, backfilled with gravel, the surface is
graded for water to run away from the house. In addition we will have a 3-4" concrete slab (rat slab) poured in the 4' high crawl space, actually 5' if between joists.

Due to a high water table, I abandoned the idea of a walkout basement with a couple of bowling alleys, not that I could not build it but we now live in an area where basements are uncommon and sump pumps are considered evil.

PineBaron, this is kind of the direction I feel would be best for us. I think a basement is likely off the table, but I'm liking the idea of a conditioned crawlspace rather than a slab. I'm scared of frost heaves with our living space directly on a slab, as well as our pipes buried in the concrete. If we had a sealed crawlspace we could have better access to everything and possibly have some of our utilities down there instead of on the main floor. Lots to think about.

schreibdave - we love our location, our lifelong friends (who have kids with whom our son will grow up) are building their house in the lot next door, and we've already purchased the lot (paid in full last year). If it's just not at all possible, we'd consider selling the land and finding something else, but I'm confident that we can make it work well for us. It'll just require careful planning and quality work. I'm not as concerned about gaining would-be basement space elsewhere, we're already planning for that - I'm more focused on making 100% sure that we have the right structure for our situation.

No one in Florida has a basement and its not a problem. If your attic of course we don't have the frost heave issue.

Fighting mother nature can be expensive and exhausting. You can put in all sorts of pumps, drains, channels, and contours but they'll all come with maintenance and chances of failure. On a lot like yours where the house will be exposed to the elements I'd be looking for passive design features to account for sun, wind, snow, frost that simplify life rather than making it more complex. A good architect and builder should know exactly what to do in your climate. I live in a climate where we don't get freezing temperatures but is it possible to run most of the plumbing through interior walls rather than in the slab? Slab leaks are no fun either.

Slabs are becoming more popular up here in Nova Scotia, which has a similar climate and culture to Maine, especially for modern homes. I would consider the style of your home in your decision... if you were building a contemporary, the type of buyer that will buy a contemporary will be more understanding of a slab. If you were building a farmhouse or Victorian those buyers are going to be more conservative and looking for a basement. There are even a few slab homes going in to the suburbs here which are traditionally very conservative buyers' markets.

If you do go for a slab… In floor heat will be mandatory.

The types of things that used to go in basements can easily be done in the garage or attic now, furnaces are a lot smaller or nonexistent for example.

Our cottage is about 2400 ft.² on slab and we've had no issues with it so far except that the previous owner installed unsuitable wood flooring that tends to shrink in the winter when the heat is on. Really enjoying the in floor heat and just as happy to keep utilities and storage in the garage and attic. Cooling is much less of a concern than heating in our climate so we do not need to escape into a cool basement.

I'm scared of frost heaves with our living space directly on a slab

Frost-protected shallow foundations are a long-established technique for the coldest climates.

Famed architecture professor and building science expert Bill Rose of the University of Illinois says there should be a product recall on crawlspaces, a money saving accident that somehow got regularized when no one was looking and building science was in its infancy.

worthy, good to know! I won't deny that I know next to nothing about this type of thing, so I'm trying to educate myself on all avenues. Thanks for the link.

"Basements Vs slabs", Practically all basements have slabs and most of them have plumbing underneath, same for 99.99% of commercial buildings. Not building a slab (or basement) for plumbing fears is typical for DIY types unfamiliar with concrete work. Designed and built right, there should be no reason to tear up the concrete in one's lifetime. If it does need to be redone, it's still light construction and not a problem for professional contractors.

Building a basement or crawlspace below variable water tables can be appropriate if there is enough topography to daylight the drainage. Relying on pumps is a recipe for eventual failure. The wetter the site, the bigger the concern. Daylighted drainage that works by gravity, should be designed well, with plenty of clean gravel, silt protection and cleanouts. If your builder or grader shows up with corrugated, single wall PE, better call in an experienced civil engineer.

It sounds like your lot is ideal for a stemwall slab, basically a crawlspace filled with compacted fill or better yet clean gravel and topped with a slab. This elevates the slab and provides gravity proven drainage below. Worthy's FPSF suggestion is also worth a look if your lot is really that flat. Slabs have better building science fundamentals being a well defined boundary (drainage, air barrier, insulation) between the elements and living space. Crawls are more confused.

Vented crawlspaces in humid climates (east of MS) should be illegal, and if you decide to go unvented, ensure the entire crawl floor slopes to a daylighted drain.

With a good design team, forced-air ductwork does not have to go in a basement, crawlspace or attic.

Our slab will be isolated from the ground by 6+" of insulation board - which means that the 4 or 6" concrete slab will ultimately take the temperature of the interior and also be used for passive solar heating as we allow sunlight to stream into the house in the winter. The slab will absorb the heat and provide supplemental heat into the home. The thermal mass will provide buffering and help in maintaining a consistent temperature.

As Springtime mentions - between basements being lived in these days, and all commercial space - there's probably much more plumbing that IS buried in concrete than isn't!

Springtime Builders, very informative, thank you! I am very interested in the stemwall slab - this seems to fit the bill better than a crawlspace. I'll definitely look into these and bring it up to our architect as an option. And you are so right, proper design and proper installation is key, no matter what we go with.

I am not familiar with many of the approaches described above but they are suggested by knowledgeable participants on this board so I am sure that they are all doable and would work. But as I am reading this I am thinking that you are going to spend a lot of money before you get to the stuff that will likely make you happy: granite, trim, flooring, windows, etc. People on this forum tend to have big budgets for their builds - hopefully you do too.

I am on my 4th new build (one was semi custom. The other were tract homes) and my other thought is that your typical builder and his subcontractors are not going to have any idea how to build with a slab or crawl space if all the builds in your area have full basements. Same with your unique drainage issues. Somebody is going to have to design a strategy for dealing with that water and then that same somebody is going to need to make sure that the builder and his subs implement it.

Just my $.02. Good luck!

Our budget is not astronomical, but is sizable, given the average housing costs in Maine. We're in a unique (positive) financial situation. We've already decided to not scrimp on the important things - hiring an architect, energy efficiency/insulation, and structure. Other things such as finishes we can compromise on for the time being, if necessary, as long as our house is sound and laid out the way we want it.

Our architect typically specializes in coastal homes, so I'm confident that he knows how to deal with the issues we're facing (hence the immediate shying away from a basement) and knows quality builders who can get the job done right.

In Maine a frost protected foundation can only be used for a space with a monthly mean temp of 64 F It cannot be used for an unheated garage. I wouldn't use it if you go south for the winter which I recommend.

A properly designed crawl space is just a short basement which might be appropriate for a high water table or next to another shallow found. It also provides space for ducts in a 2 story house

but the first question to be asked is what is the true nature of the soil and water table rather than making assumptions about wetness

I'm in Buffalo, NY where basements are also typical. I've never used any of my basements for more than HVAC, laundry and storage. But it sure made it much easier to do some remodeling in my last house to have the basement under the kitchen and bathroom that were remodeled.

New to me house, has half basement and half crawl space ... laundry is on 1 st floor. I hardly ever go in the basement ....

But, when I was looking at homes, the few houses without basements were on the market longer (sometimes MUCH longer) than the houses with basements.

Hello I live in Maine and would suggest a basement. I also would make sure you have it prepped for radon as Maine is high on the list for this. I had it installed after and wish I had known before due to cost and aesthetics. Good luck with your new home

What did you end up doing as I am in the same situation? How is everything working out? What were the costs? Thanks for the help.