[quote=evolusd]
Sounds expensive! It seems to me that raised floor houses are much easier to fix when things go wrong beneath the floor. Why the trend to mostly slab foundations?[/quote]
More expensive to build a raised wood floor. Also, because the soil is usually left at the same height, the raised floor is 18″ above grade, meaning you have to go up steps to get in the house.
Raised floors are just a cheap evolution from the most desirable, which is a full basement.
When post tension slabs came into use, the slab became a truly long term viable foundation.
One partial solution is to run the water and gas supply lines in the space above the first floor.
