ᐅ Slab foundation vs. strip footing (strip foundation)

Hello.

According to the architect, a strip foundation should be more cost-effective. We are planning a single-family house with a basement.

In my opinion, however, such a foundation involves considerably more work, whereas a slab foundation without strip footing would just require a few centimeters more concrete... Labor costs are often higher than the raw materials. We don’t have any quotes yet since we are not that far along, but I would still be interested in your experiences.

The energy consultant prefers the slab foundation, as it is easier to insulate and carries less risk of thermal bridges – which makes sense to me.

What are your experiences with this?

Thanks and best regards from Swabia.

I and our inspector both prefer a slab foundation, even without insulation. However, depending on the thickness, the concrete alone can cost several thousand dollars... What does the construction look like without a slab foundation?

Peanuts74 schrieb:
What does the construction look like without a slab foundation?

I can’t say yet, since the architect has been planning with strip footings so far. The new idea of using a slab foundation came from the energy consultant. He said that a plain slab foundation would probably be 5 cm (2 inches) thicker than one with strip footings.
We still need to discuss exactly what would change in the construction with the architect. I wanted to first gather your experiences.

What changes in the construction should there be, besides the thickness of the slab foundation?

Do I have a mental block right now? You always need a slab-on-grade foundation – and a basement doesn’t require a strip footing, but just a slab-on-grade foundation?

Unless it’s built on a slope...

Sebastian79 schrieb:
Am I just confused? You always need a slab foundation – and a basement doesn’t require strip footings, but just a slab foundation, right?

Unless it’s built on a slope...

What does that have to do with the slope?

Because you cannot build frost-free foundations using only a slab-on-grade...