worthy, as someone else told me that the pic on the left shows that the basement slab extended outside. That's a GUARANTEED leak situation. And I've double checked my blueprint, mine is not like the left pic. My walkout wall is sitting on the concrete foundation (frost wall under grade). I've attached it here. Which one is more desired? Durability? Termite resistance? Flood/Moisture resistance? Fire resistance? Of course concrete may have cracks in the future. All I wanted to ask is which one is a better way to design the walkout side considering all the aspects.

So I did this as if it was my space. assumptions are all smaller appliances. Such as 18" bosch dishwasher, GE top mount stainless 28" wide refrigerator, 24" wide stainless GE electric range, 24" Recirculating stainless range hood by summit. Freestanding fridge (built in takes away valuable inches). Solid countertop surface. Single bowl undermount sink for the corner such as Kraus KBU11 (20*17). I say choose which side ismore comfortable for you during prep to determine trash. I personally would want the trash next to the dishwasher. If you want regular sized appliances (30 stove, 36 fridge, 24 dishwasher) then you will end up with no trash cabinet, a 6” space like upright pan or wine cubbies, and a bank of 12” drawers in your base. There are many kitchen carts you can choose from and closed or open storage. In this plan I would expect to put pots and pans at that cart. I dislike open due to dust, grease, and most importantly my cats (or if we had young kids). Not interested in having them in kitchen things.

The OP did not mention placing bedrooms in the basement. He asked about costs of a 1-story house with a basement vs a 2-story house with a basement. I stand by my original comment that a 2,000 sq ft basement will cost more to construct than a 1,000 sq ft basement. Of course, once the larger basement is constructed, the owner will have more living space in the 2,000 sq ft finished basement than in the 1,000 sq ft finished basement. To further your unrelated discussion, here where I live in Northern NJ, we have a lot of steep lots that lend themselves to walk-out basements. One of my favorite houses is on a steep lakefront lot. It’s a ranch and the master bedroom suite is located on the main level along with the open floor plan living room/dining room/kitchen, plus a powder room. The walk-out basement features two additonal bedrooms a full bath and another living room. Its a 3 bedroom house and 100% of the living space has windows with specatacular views overlooking the lake! The main level features a large deck across the entire width of the house overlooking the lake. Below the deck is a patio that also overlooks the lake and is accessible from the second living room in the walk-out basement. I love it! The basement absolutely DOES NOT feel like a basement! The space not overlooking the lake is used for other non-living space functions. On the main level there is an attached garage on the street side. In the basement, there are mechanical rooms and storage rooms on the street side which is underground. 100% of the living space has lake views, INCLUDING the rooms in the basement.

Tell him to provide a proper slope and to be done correctly because his "halfway" fix is not working.