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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2482 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for October 31, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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TIL it's not a regular practice in the US. I guess you like your basements too much. Here building a basement costs significantly more than building at grade, square meter for square meter, so it only makes sense when building on a steep slope.

To clarify: Many US houses do not have basements, and instead use crawlspaces or slab-on-ground floors. But such houses still have their footings placed several feet underground, rather than using frost-protected shallow foundations in order to dig down only 12 or 16 inches (30 or 41 centimeters).

If it's a slab, why does it need additional footings at all? Here a slab (a proper one, with two layers of rebar) is usually built on well-drained sand and surrounded with an insulated apron.

EDIT: ah, it's called a "raft slab" in English, and a slab-on-ground is what we literally call "floor-on-ground" here. But the point still stands, deep footings are considered almost obsolete here, it's either a raft slab, shallow footings or piles-and-grillage here.

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