New Home Slab vs Basement Foundation Cost Difference 

$25K to essentially double the living area of the house? Plus it can be used for emergencies, general storage, a home gym, etc. Why WOULDN'T someone do this?

Having grown up in homes with basements, I feel this is still essential part of a house. Made even better with modern technology that you can transform your basement into a theater room.

This is like EXACTLY what I was looking for when searching for the difference in cost between slab and full foundation. Thank you

Brilliant analysis. One thing that should be mentioned is that in the summer, when air conditioning is running 24/7, a basement can be a wonderfully cool refuge. The cost savings in not having to run your AC can be substantial.

My parents built a vacation home many years ago on a raised foundation. The foundation was about 6’-7’ I always asked my step father for a few more courses of block why didn’t he put in a full basement. Since it was on the side of a hill the downhill side could have had a garage door and turned the basement into a underground garage.

Absolutely worth it, especially if you’re already building a smaller house and need space for utilities and storage.

For those homes built where there are tornados a basement is essential safety feature, also worth the extra to storage of seasonal use items.

Fairly accurate, it runs about $25 per square foot for a basement here in central US and because of substantial bedrock being at undetermined depth you have to test the site prior to planning to see if you can even dig down 8' without spending thousands to have the excavator chip away at bedrock for several days. A good builder and a proper site you can usually get just under $25/sqft without any problems and NO upgrades. Something else many do not include is the extra concrete steps because the first floor of a home with a basement is usually higher off the ground, and in some cases require massive approaches to the entry doors and proper compaction after backfilling to keep from having problems with concrete patio slabs or driveway approaches in the future. However all the extra costs of having a basement under your home is beneficial in many ways; more efficient to heat & cool, safer if you live in weather prone areas, plenty of storage space with room to expand for growing families or busy lifestyles, and the added mass under your home will add significant strength to your home and it's foundation if done properly.

I am an older builders and you just about killed me when you laid down those huge numbers, great info and presentation.

On small lots sizes here in California I have always been surprised that they don’t have more basements, especially considering how many communities have significant height restrictions.

Thanks very much for the informative video. I spent several years as a spouse caregiver, and that now that I am an older widow step free is the way to go!!!

Clear, step-by-step cost overview of building a basement. Thanks for this.

I'm 60. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I'm facing my retirement years without owning a home of my own... to say nothing of having no finances on which to retire. I do own a 5-acre piece of rough land in the mountains. I want to build a very small earth-sheltered house, which of course is just a basement with a roof over it. This video has helped me understand things a bit more. Thank you.

I wonder if you could do a video on adding a standard second floor vs using attic trusses.

Keep in mind the problems with a slab for storage. He mentioned adding the additional sq ft for the mechanical room in a slab foundation, but also you have zero storage space unless you build a storage room or build a larger garage with storage. personally, all of my tools, christmas decorations, old kids toys misc. items are all stored in the basement.

As other people stated prices vary by state and in the northeast, for example, I would expect the cost difference to be more than 25k. Using ICF may save a few thousand in labor, but still, it will be more than the cost difference in this video. Yet the increase in value of the finished construction, given the extra square footage will make it worth it in most cases, especially in the zip codes where homes are more expensive.

Thanks for that step by step financial comparison and why. It was very helpful for me.

Great video! Appreciate the breakdown and visuals.

Great video. Thank you. I'm just surprised that the poured concrete walls are that "affordable". That's encouraging. I'd do the entire structure in concrete (combination of poured concrete basement and CMU above grade walls or steel frame if CMU is not possible). That's my plan in the future.

Thanks. It gets me to the ballpark on the cost difference

I mainly want a basement for the purposes of having a safe space when a natural disaster, such as a tornado occurs. I also would want it to have two sections, one section to function as a root cellar and another to function as a living/storage space.

What a good comparison and analysis. Thanks.

Your videos are so helpful, thank you

This is really informative. Thank you!

Wow, excellent detailed info- thanks!

Thank you so much for the information you provide.

Outstanding breakdown of costs.

Very helpful video!!! Thank you!

Great video. Short and sweet.

Another great video. If it were longer or maybe a different video, I'd like to see one with the first floor decking as an elevated or suspended slab. My design extends the first floor out beyond the perimeter of the foundation footprint.

Very helpful and clear. Thank you!

If you then finish the basement with the $50 per sq ft like you mentioned then you have about $76 dollar per sq foot in the adding of the basement which I believe is pretty cheap so makes sense to add the basement for addition square footage

Great video !! Very informative thank you

Great assessment, thanks for sharing

Excellent video, thanks.

Incredible, I've been looking for a video like this for two weeks and voila, here you are today! I wonder if these prices will hold for AZ and caliche soil. Also, I think I saw in some video that concrete block would be cheaper than poured walls. I honestly don't want to forego the basement!

When I lived in New York every house had a basement, but here in California all the homes are on slabs. 25k seems worth it for a rough estimate of all that is needed to include a 1000 ft basement. Thanks for the info and knowledge!

This is very detailed, no non-sense guide!

Here in the Twin Cities, MN it's a no-brainer to opt for a basement when building a new home. My builder is charging me $36k for a finished basement(1400 sqft) that will include a rec room, a good size bedroom and a full bathroom with tub. If I finished it later it would have cost me upwards of 60k. I am going to have 5076 sqft of living space now for not that much addition to the price of the house.

We just got the builders estimate for our full basement, 2 story 2400 sf house and it was $200k more than expected, with the resulting home being at least 300k more than local market value of existing homes (which are in short supply). Not willing to “overpay” to that extent and meeting with builder soon to discuss ways we can reduce cost enough to satisfy us. Thinking that changing to slab is the biggest leverage point, but I was thinking it would be a bigger difference than $25K. Great video, though…very helpful for my situation.

This is very helpful! $25k is actually less than I thought it would be. Cheers.

Thank you so much you save lotta money for me. Beautiful video.

Hey, can you make a video on how to price out material for a building out a home. With Menards you can buy the house plan and material needed to build the house at a cost up front which is very helpful in getting an idea of build out cost. Other websites don't give you that material list cost and it's very challenging for me to get a rough price on what material would cost. thank you so much!

If you must dig 4ft down for frost, it does make sense to go an additional few feet. The cost comparison is missing the aspect of additional square footage. A 2200sqft home is now approximately 3000. There's the additional bedrooms, bathroom, recreation room, etc. My favorite home was in Tennessee, with a full garage basement. ( it was huge ! )

Could you please talk about ICF vs SIPs vs Framing vs Omniblock?

Thank you. I'm in the process of designing a home with a walkout basement. But I had no idea what it would cost to have an unfinished one, and if it was realistic. Seems to me to be worth it for 25 grand. So I'll do one.

I used to live in central Michigan and very few houses there don’t have basements and when the occasional house with a crawl space hits the market it languishes on the market for months and months before selling at a steep discount. Hoses with slabs there are rare. Now I live in Tennessee where it’s a mixture but most of our basements are walkouts so no sump pump and no window wells plus none of the builders insulate them either because they just don’t enforce the codes very well. A friend of mine is a builder and he stopped doing basements because he swears it costs him $40,000 more than a crawl space even though some of his crawl spaces are 12-14’ deep on one end, I tell him he’s crazy and he doesn’t have any idea how many people don’t even look at his houses because of the wet stinky crawl space.

Great video. Could you analyze the cost of one story on slab with two story on slab? Is it twice the price, half the price, or something else?

Had some success with designing homes with optional basement - mid 2000s. The benefit for a builder is that you can advertise both!!! At different prices! When we had prospects tour the model, most wanted the basement option, but a few wanted the lower cost slab option. Best of both worlds - until... One of the drawbacks to this 'either way' for a merchant builder is that the construction superintendents, draftsman, and trades had to be trained more and we thought adaption would occur smoothly - it didn't. We eventually dropped the option and just did basements only. All I'm describing occurred in the mid-2000s. I sold the company in 2014 but am now starting a new company focused on first time buyers. Because of the radical adverse affordability shift, and local government jurisdictions lack of cooperation in 'allowing' smaller homes, we are planning on the yes/no basement option again. We do not and will not build custom homes - too much hand-holding and wheel spinning.

Thank you for the great information

I would always opt for the basement. Would also go with in floor radiant heating. You recoup about 80% on that when you sell the home.

I just received a quote in New Mexico. Walk-out basement, concrete 3 sides, concrete for 2-car slab garage and driveway and sidewalks. 1700 sf. basement. Includes dirt work and some retaining. $87,000 This only includes concrete work and dirt work.

Currently building a 2 story house in NC, basement is roughly the same size as the one in the video and the pricing was almost identical. Most affordable square footage that you can get right now.

IMO........Well worth the cost to gain so much space, not to mention it is a plus to have easy access to all your mechanicals in the basement, and if you want to move things around like plumbing or electrical in the future it will be so much easier. Well worth the cost.

Living in the Midwest, I would never build/buy a home that didn't have a proper basement. Tornados are scary.

thank you. A very useful video.

In the Northern areas of the Country, you already have to go down a certain distance to get well below any Frost Level for your footing. Also with certain Clay Soil types, the Clay must be removed and refilled. So these would offset the basement cost. Having lived in a house with a Crawl Space, Super Cold Floors, Plumbing Freezing till a I moved, replaced the patched pipes, and Insulated the Plumbing. Rock-wool Between the Floor Joist, Panning with Bird Vents. I will never have another Crawl Space Home. Also think about this, all your Hot and Cold Water Pipes are going to be either in or under that Slab!

Excellent overview. Awesome, I am looking for this analysis. What about costs for dumping the soil bug for full basement. My vote is for a slab on grade with radiant floor heating. Thanks once again

Man I love your videos

Could you do a cost analysis with the same square footage. On slab vs basement?

But the cost savings of a slab is lost when it’s time to renovate, plumbing repairs, add a bath, etc. No way I would ever consider building a slab home for myself.

Just ran numbers of slab vs basement in VT. Incremental cost increase for 1200sf was roughly 65k USD. 25k is a no brainer but that’s not a true cost. It was 25k extra just for concrete.

so helpful, thanks so much!!!

When you're comparing basement to slab costs, were you taking any design decisions into account like the costs for additional masonry leads to produce inside corners, etc? Or were you assuming a perfectly square foundation with 4 simple outside corners for leads?

I’m thinking of a basement underneath a mobile home. It doesn’t need the floor joists, but requires supports. It’s not to bad as I beams can run across the outer walls and run a middle Suport wall. Can you compare that to the regular support? I can order the mobile home with a door, but the stairs would be in the basement.

This ıs very beautiful video!! I’m ımpressed

Great info, so in this example if he goes with the slab he is losing 1100 square feet, so is it cheaper to build on a slab and add 2nd floor, or do a basement? Would like to see the answer to that as that is my dilemma, do I go up or down.

That's great stuff... Thank you.

What would be the better option, ICF formed basement versus the panel moulds then exterior sprayed waterproofing and insulation?

Very informative thank you sir.

Honestly even if it's 30k more, it's still worth it. I would not want a house in the north without a basement.

Great video!

Amazing video!

Worth every penny!

Good information. Roughly $25 square ft. I've heard you quote $50 square ft. to finish. $75 square ft total? Averages are $175 to $250 square ft. depending on your area. Be careful of tripping over a $5 bill to pickup a nickel. My opinion that's cheap space. Now, let's talk about walk out or daylight basements to be fair. What are the real cost deference and benefits? Also, split levels? I remember back in the day, the saying was, get to wood as soon as possible. I also work with Insulated Concrete Forms, which a home owner can do themselves. Other considerations, hydronic infloor heat. Remember pay now or pay later, things in the construction world are not getting cheaper and energy codes are getting stricter. This is a great channel and enjoy your content. Maybe educate owner builders on energy codes and where the country is heading in that area, this will be is a long term issue.

This is a very good example. I wasn't expecting a detailed breakdown. For the last house we built, the cost of the basement, (excavating, poured walls, floors, drain tile) was $75,000. Up $40,000 from 2 years ago. At first I thought your price on egress windows was high, but after thinking about it, not the case. An egress window is only about $400. But by the time you add in the $1,000 window well, it's not that far off. I like the wells from St. Paul corrugating. They look like stone. Good video.

22/sq ft and you can access ALL your plumbing/electrical/hvac on the first floor from a drop ceiling (if finished basement)in the basement. no need to cut up that slab when a pipe breaks IN/under the concrete. Double your footprint, all your HVAC and extras out of sight. Dont forget about the geothermal of a basement, stays cool in the summer, and warm (well thermal ground temp) in the winter...we'd spend that money ALL DAY LONG to have those pluses. If you heat with wood stove in the basement, use the HVAC to circulate warm air in the winter, no messy wood stack in the main living area. Possible entertainment room down there, leaving more useable room on the main floor...just have to make sure it doesnt become that dark musky basement!!! great video though!!! very insightful

I would be curious to have a comparison between the poured concrete basement walls and superior walls modular basement systems.

What is the cost comparison if you do a full finished basement vs a 2nd floor on the house?

I'm a custom home contractor in eastern Ontario and I'll tell you that the prices in this video are 1/3 what the actual costs are. If you can find me a good electrician that will wire a basement for $500 I will hire him right now. I'm starting a new build in June which is going SOG instead of a basement and the savings will be at least @ $110k if you are comparing same house to same house, SOG vs basement. This new build is a 3000 sqft home. 1500 second floor and 1500 on main floor. We added a 12x14 mechanical room on main floor and a large loft on the second floor to add another rec room to compensate for the loss of basement space. Plans call for polished slab with a coloured swirl for texture, radiant hydronic heat for the main floor and also in the 32'x40' garage. The garage has 16' ceilings and will have another 14'x16' loft above the tool room for gym equipment, glass walls and a mini split for AC cooling and air circulation. Footings will be 24" - 36" deep, ICF with a 4" thick x 6' wide frost wing around the house. Insulated slab with radon Evac system. Estimated savings over basement is at least $50-70k after including the extra area to compensate for no basement. Just the excavation alone is @$10k for a normal basement. Then if you consider the water table on the average lot is @5' deep, half your foundation is out of the ground, which means 60 trucks of backfill for proper grading and I haven't even covered the septic grading, elevation, sewage lift pumps for a basement bathroom etc. Warmer floors because the radiant is in the main slab where everyone lives all day, not just in the basement which is used basically only for recreation. You can add radiant to lumber floor, but it's not very good. Zero water or sump issues and at least 6-8 weeks less on delivery time. More if it's a finished basement with another stairwell. Basements can be done well and dry. However with a properly engineered SOG and heating system, it's less expensive and less problems to increase the size of the home and do a slab for the average level lot. Sloping land with tall support walls would be different. Maybe ;)

How would you do a slab on grade insulated for cold climate areas? (ie without foundation wall)

What is the name of the waterproofing membrane used on the outside?

That is very reasonable for double the living space when you consider the cost of the finished house. I believe that and a proper use of living space built into your roofing (trusses) make a lot of sense. Best bang for buck for sure!

Thanks for this. Builders are putting these in all over Alabama. We have red clay (siloam) and it moves. A concrete basement will cave in surrounded by red clay.

You should really do a comparison to a 2 storey home as well, because all the extra costs of the basement with regards to finishing it out, would also be incurred building out the equivalent living area on a second floor.

The price of tongue and groove sheathing is $65/each and if you add floor trusses that span the entire house with no support the price of the 1st floor would be much higher. We recently got a quote for a house with a basement and now have decided build on a slab. This video along with all of your others are very informative, I appreciate the time and sharing your knowledge.

I’m in the Midwest (Chicago suburb) and 19 years ago I had a home built in a regular subdivision. The home was a 2240 Sqft and came with a 1/2 basement & a crawl space. I opted for a full basement for $3800 more (2 extra full egress windows were included). I also opted for a 10” higher basement for $5800 more (this also included 10” concrete walls instead of 8” thick walls and the foundation went up, rather than deeper in the ground). These were some of the items I couldn’t do later unless I spent a ton of money. Other items I opted for were a 3 car garage, a cul-de-sac lot, foundation for a fireplace, lofted ceiling in entry and family room, 9’ ceilings thruout and a full toilet rough-in in the basement. When the home was being built, I was allowed by the superintendent of the builder to make deals with the subs for additional things, I added a rough in for a full toilet in the basement ($550, half of what builder wanted and put where I wanted it), extra faucet in master shower for a hand held unit), hot & cold water in the garage, ice maker line, laundry room sink, 2 access pipes (3”) from attic to basement (for antenna lines), a whole house fan rough in (in the hallway), a wall in the walk-in closet to utilize the dead space in the middle, header installed across the whole back wall for the fireplaces (so that when wall was cut out the whole house didn’t need to be reinforced), added a garage access to attic. Once I bought the home, I added downspout drains (to move water away from the foundation for 15 to 20’ away), 2 masonry fireplaces (one on the first floor & another in the basement), and brick veneer on the front of the home, a deck (had builder install the header below the siding), insulated and covered with 1/2” plywood in the garage (builder would not insulate garage), added 3/4” plywood pieces (free at building dumpsters) to make a storage floor above 1/2 the garage, added pull down ladder in builder installed garage access. Thanks…..Jim

If you do a walk-out basement, can you eliminate the poured foundation wall on the walk-out side? Also, you might not need the window wells. How would you compare a house on a slab to a house built on concrete columns?

I am not a fan of bunker bedrooms. But in Vermont , I am finding that I need at least 5ft to the footer. So that is on e reason you find basements in many old New England homes.

What about basement versus extra story of the house? I would imagine extra story would be cheaper? Also, what about a build where the slab is used for storage of water heater, washer dryer, garage, etc. and then the "real house" starts on the second (and potentially third) stories, making essentially a two story house (although technically I think it would be 3 stories?)

Hi, Can a slab be over a basement to protect from Tornado's and have a root/Storm cellar?

I like the editing, especially how you green screened yourself as an overlay.

Honestly if someone were to ask me before this video I would have guessed 40k. For someone looking to want a basement with no intention of finishing it, this is great news!

I would love to see something on the cost difference between a garage floor on grade vs creating space under a concrete garage floor. This assumes a house being built with a daylight basement.

Thanks, a great lesson. Many save on the cost of a basement so they can afford more main floor bedrooms or luxury items like jacuzzi bathrooms and granite kitchens. An oversize garage can easily handle storage and mechanicals for a lot less money. If a family needs 4 bedrooms they usually like them upstairs or in a 1st-floor wing instead of a basement. I love basements but you learn to do without if you don't have one. Many people only use their basement as a junk store room and tornado shelter because with all that space they don't need to organize better. A nice above ground tornado shelter can be bought for 4 to 8 thousand but it's not much good for anything else.

I have a hill that I'd like a partial earth coverage of basement, with storage container against basement on uphill side, storage unit completely covered by soil or rock, with a hole in side of s.c. which connects to basement. Kind of a tornado shelter/shop s.c. S.C. end door would be away from road, and covered by slanted roof to keep rain out. House would be like old barns where dirt ramp to 2nd story/lower story(basement) for shop. Could have 2nd story deck extending out over basement on downhill side. I'd paint the roof metal to look rusted, side metal siding would be horizontal and painted to look like old grey barn wood or log, with dovetails painted in end pieces.

I am thinking about building a basement master suite as an addition to my house with an living space above it the whole with of my house witch is about 36' and adding 22' in long I wonder how much that will cost?

@armchair are these numbers off current prices or is this just a demonstration from slap to basement difference

Wonder what the difference between a basement or crawl space or be just to a Mono slab

You don't recommend adding a moisture barrier membrane on the interior of the basement?