Hello Breaktime,
We own property in Western Oregon. The building site on the property slopes down at a 16% grade toward the northwest. The question is whether you would recommend excavating more for a slab-on-grade foundation or go with the slope and have a basement. The other important factor here is that we need to accommodate someone in a wheel chair, which in my mind means an elevator if we have a basement or multiple floors.
<!—-> <!—-> <!—->
Recent discussions here at Breaktime indicated that an elevator would cost $10K to $20K. It seems to me that a lot of dirt could be moved for this price. On the other hand, we are keen to get as much sunlight into the house as possible, and excavating downward for a slab would reduce the amount of sunlight because of the many trees surrounding the site. A geotechnical survey has been done and there are no problems with an allowable bearing pressure of 2500 psf.
<!—-> <!—->
I can see many pluses and minuses for either choice, but I wanted to ask the experts their opinions.
<!—-> <!—->
Thanks
Replies
Three of the last five homes I've built here in Western Oregon have been on sites as you describe and we built them over daylight basements.
If the home is designed with a handicapped resident in mind, a full living space (kitchen, bath, bedrooms, etc.) should be available on one floor, while avoiding multi-level spaces or sunken living rooms, etc. An elevator need not be necessary if the handicapped individual can comfortably live day to day on one floor, but occasional access can often be provided between floors from the outside via well-designed pathways or ramps.
One thing to consider is that, in this area, seismic requirements and sometimes wind requirements will require engineering in your foundation system, whether it be a backfilled basement, piers, or even a slab if filling and compaction is involved.
Being that you're on a Northwest slope, a slab would be my last choice....to capture the most natural light, you want to be elevated rather than down in a hole. Even if you have plenty of room, an excavation to native soil for a slab is going to put you downslope with careful attention paid to drainage issues. It gets wet in this country in the winter, as you can probably see right now.
And the sun, like today in the winter solstice, is quite low, so the South side of your house is going to get very little natural light this time of year anyway; just another reason to keep things elevated.
A daylight basement can be a terrific asset to a home, but incorporating one into the design in a functional way may also depend on the size of your building site and your lifestyle.
Edited 12/21/2005 6:23 pm by Notchman
Also, keep in mind that often a basement is "free" space -- the required depth of the foundation means that little additional excavation or concrete is required for a basement vs a slab. So the basement can be left unfinished if not needed immediately, without adding significantly to the cost of the structure while increasing its future value.
happy?
Thanks Notchman & DanH for your replies.
I was leaning toward a basement too for many of the reasons you point out.
I am going to look closely at a design in which the front of the house and the garage face northwest with the garage in the lower or basement level. Any opinions on that idea?
Not many house designs are available for this style, but it seems that it might work well with the northwest slope. This would put the back of the house and the back yard toward the south and, as you point out, toward the most sunlight. I have already plotted the sun for the site for each month and each hour of the day, incorporating the tree locations and heights etc, and you are very correct in that November through February will be pretty gray up there on the property. For almost 15-years now we have lived in possibly the sunniest place in the world, so we are definitely concerned with the sunlight in good old Oregon when we move back home there.
Thanks again.
Where is your property located?
I'm pretty familiar with the Corvallis/Benton County area....went to OSU....(ahem) a few years ago....
It's a nice part of the Willamette valley.
Your garage in the basement area is a pretty common configuration. It is difficult to find a ready-made planset with the layout you desire. I suggest you define a basic floor plan for your desired living space, then find a local designer or architect to incorporate your desires into a design and a working set of drawings, tailored to your building site.
A designer will usually cost less, but you may have the additional cost of an engineer. A licensed architect will cost a bit more but can provide the engineering to satisfy Oregon building codes division.
email me through this site if I can be of assistance...I can refer you to some professionals who will do right by you.
Regardless, good luck and keep us posted here. It's always a treat to get follow-up.
Go Beavs! (I was at OSU a while ago myself).
I am not a builder, but I own a daylight basement on slab on a slopped lot in Subruban SW Portland area - and we love it. We really like the direct access the basement has to the back yard.
It's always good to find someone with a brain....the only ducks I care about are the migratory Woodies and Mallards that hang out in my pond. :-)
We are in an area called Highland Dell Estates, which is technically outside the city limits of Corvallis, but it directly borders the city limits on the north. There are 32, 5-acre lots there and we are less than a mile from Crescent Valley highschool if you know where that is. The property is lousy with blackberries and poison oak as we found out the hard way last summer. My mom is still suffering from the poison oak. Three of us had to go to a doctor to get rid of it.
I too went to OSU and it does not seem that long ago, but it sure is now that I think about it...
We are not in a big rush with our plans to build there since we are about 2-years away from leaving here. We are slowly, but methodically, trying to get everything lined up for the day when we finally move back and start construction. We had a full topographical survey and then a geotechnical survey done this last summer with firms there in Corvallis. Those went well, and this whole thing will be very exciting for us.
Thanks.
You might want to look at the cost of "stair glide" type of chair lifts.I don't think that they are near as expensive as elevators, but they are not "discrete" either.I 3rd the recomendation of getting a house designed for the location, specially when you have special needs and special lot.My house is the reverse. I like on a highside facing a lake. The front of the house faces the lake and is slab on grade. From there you go up 1/2 flight to the "basement" under the garage. Then 1/2 flight to the 2nd story, and another 1/2 flight to the garage level and the street side entrance.
Small world - I use to go to a church the met at Cresent Valley.
Good luck with the property!