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Benefits of Living in a Raised Floor Home
Sometimes when you drive through neighborhoods, each house looks almost identical to the next one. This is especially common in old colonial towns and suburban cities with homes that sit almost on their neighbor’s lawn. But with today’s creativity mixed with yesterday’s elegance and our technological advances, your home doesn’t have to be the cookie-cutter design that makes up the typical house structure.
Now, many people are turning to raised floor homes as their preferred style of choice. Raised floor homes have been popular since the Colonial Era. During this time, they were used because of their efficiency. They were advantageous against flooding and elevated snowbanks, kept moisture from intruding into the home and destroying it, and improved insulation. All of these factors were important survival mechanisms that a raised floor helped provide.
But over time those survival mechanisms were less necessary and more optional, and people began to turn away from raised floor homes and build the traditional styles we see so often today. So if basic survival against the elements isn’t an important factor anymore, why are so many homeowners choosing the raised floor houses instead?
Protection from the elements is found in just about any well-built house, but raised floor homes provide more than 10 other noticeable benefits.
11 Benefits of Living in a Raised-Floor Home
Homeowners today expect more than just survival elements from their houses. They want value, style, comfort, and luxury as best as they can have within their budget. While they still focus on protection as the key reason for owning a home, there are many other benefits that can be tacked on as well, says Doug Anderson Property Management.
Raised floor homes are advantageous in many ways, including:
- The foundational benefits. Starting from scratch about the advantages of a raised floor home means beginning with the foundation. Your home’s foundation needs to be stable enough to keep your house from shifting as the earth shifts around it. It also needs to be strong enough to hold the massive weight of your home and all of the contents inside of it.
Slabs can be harmed by many natural events, from shifting soils to excessive rain. Tree roots that grow under your house unseen can create cracks in your foundation, causing significant damage to your home.
When a foundation problem happens, it can be difficult to fix if the house is situated directly on the foundational slab. But with a raised foundation, problems can be addressed quickly and with less of an expense because your foundation is now easily accessible.
- Ease of access for improvements. The raised floor home advantage doesn’t stop at fixing your foundation. Everything from plumbing to electrical installation and maintenance is now made much simpler since you can get to the pipes and lines with less difficulty. You can even get quick access to your cables and phone wires to upgrade to state-of-the-art technology.
Since it’s much easier to maintain your home’s utilities, there is less likelihood of them causing you problems that result in expensive repairs. You can monitor them or call in regular maintenance to check your systems for you. And when you’re ready to upgrade, your renovations will be less expensive and laborious.
- Improved insulation. The Colonial-era homebuilders had it right from the beginning, so why fix a problem that’s not broken? The bare earth is cold and damp, and concrete slabs of cement don’t do much to insulate your home from these elements. But the wood used to create a raised floor insulates your home naturally.
When your home touches the concrete slab or bare earth, it is exposed to the moisture it comes into contact with. This moisture can create problems that spread throughout your house. The raised floor home, on the other hand, prevents this contact, reduces moisture problems, and keeps your floor warm and cozy.
- Prevention from pests. When it gets cold or wet, insects and other pests want to be where it’s warm and dry. This means they are going to head to your house to make themselves at home uninvited if your home is on the ground.
Raised floor homes keep uninvited pests where they are supposed to be – on the ground. You have protection from common bugs like ants and roaches. Wood floors are the favorite food of termites, though, so be sure that you have your raised floor system treated for protection from these hazardous pests.
- Flood deterrents. In many climates, flooding is a real concern. In the northern states, melting snow causes the ground to become saturated and floods are common. In the southern states, rainy seasons and dry soil cause properties to flood quickly and hurricane season brings dangerous storms with it each year.
Raised floors are a great way to avoid the problem of basic flooding and are commonly found in homes located around lakes and oceans. Choose a floor system that is waterproofed for extra security. For more about waterproofing and other foundational information, check out helitechonline.com.
- The enhanced style for a return on your investment. Raised floor homes have an elegance that traditional houses can’t pull off. The wraparound porch complete with a rocking chair and welcoming decor out front is a classic – and a selling point. Your curb appeal will increase.
The raised floor style is an investment that adds to your home’s value. Not only is it stylish and classic, but it is advantageous, smart, and efficient. If you ever decide to sell your house, having a raised floor may increase your home’s value and the interest of buyers.
- More square footage. A raised floor system means that you automatically have a porch around your house. You can choose to use this area as an extra living space and set up a welcoming front porch.
If you want to use your extra square footage for furniture, game rooms, entertainment, or other amenities, you can enclose your deck area with screens to prevent anyone else from accessing your possessions. Set up your grill and barbecue on a gorgeous evening or install an outdoor television or jacuzzi and relax. The possibilities are endless.
- Better all-around enjoyment. With comfort being one of the key factors most people look for in a home, raised floors add the extra feeling of “coming home.” When your floor is lifted above the ground, your entire panoramic view changes. You can see farther, you feel more positive, and the comfort of your home becomes almost tangible.
You’ll also begin to notice health benefits with a raised floor home. Since you’re not walking almost directly on concrete, your spine will enjoy the comforts of your new home, too. Walking on your raised floor allows a little extra give instead of the constant pressure and intensity that comes with walking on a rock-solid surface.
- More opportunities for your yard. When you’re landscaping a typical home, you may have to consider your concrete slab before planting trees and shrubs. You might even have to remove some trees that could end up causing damage to your foundation. But with a raised floor home, you have an entire world of choices that open up to you.
Adding trees to your property might not have been an option before, but now you can enhance your yard with beauty while also saving money, since trees offer a natural shade that can reduce your energy usage and carbon footprint.
- Cost is a factor. If you are building your home yourself, you should consider the financial pros and cons of adding a raised floor, as well as the zone you are building in. Flood zones and slopes require certain codes to be met that might be less expensive if you use a concrete slab. The problem then becomes weighing the immediate cost of taking the cheaper route versus the potential for the expenses of damage to your house if a flood does occur.
Adding a raised floor requires the builder to set the foundation on posts and beams and then install the floor. But this increased price reduces the chances of flood or pest damage and decreased the potential need for foundation repairs due to cracked or shifting concrete and pipe damage.
- Reduced construction time. Choosing a raised floor home over concrete when you’re building your house lets you avoid the hassle of waiting for the concrete of your foundation to be formed and cured. The dirt has to be hauled in and compacted, and any poor weather conditions can result in costly delays. But a raised floor is usually made from a pier-and-beam or pile foundation that can be constructed in nearly any weather.
When it Comes to Your Home, a Raised Floor is the Smart Option
With all of these advantages over a typical concrete floor home layout, it’s no wonder that so many new homeowners and homebuyers are choosing the raised floor option. Whether you’re looking for comfort, value, or anything in between, a raised floor home won’t disappoint you.
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