Slab Worship
Dear Suzy, I have a couple of friends who bought a lot then waited
almost a couple of years for a contractor to build the home they wanted. Being
environmentally sensitive types, they wanted a pier and beam foundation. The
contractor balked, told `em nobody built on pier and beam anymore and besides,
it’d cost them another $25K. What’s the story here? Cement as far as the eye
can see?
– A Friend of a Friend, Doug P.
Dear Doug,
What exactly does a balked contractor look like? The image is not a pretty
one. Beauty aside, the contractor may have been partially correct about the
lack of present day pier and beam construction. You just don’t see much of it
done these days. But I wouldn’t say nobody builds that way. The first
house Richard and I built was pier and beam, with recycled telephone poles for
the piers and giant 2″x14″s from the Armadillo World Headquarters for the
joists. The house was a staggering four feet off the ground. We stored all
manner of flotsam and jetsam under that house, which was a nightmare to clean
out and move when we sold the place last year. But the roomy crawl space made
working on the plumbing, electrical, and ductwork almost a pleasure. And it was
Disney World for rats, possums, roaches, fleas, and termites. But here’s the
real stickler for your friends. Unless they too use recycled material for the
foundation, cement is actually more environmentally friendly (or should I say
less resource-destructive?) than your average pier and beam. (All those virgin
timbers, you know.) An added benefit is that flyash, a by-product of coal-fired
electrical plants, can replace 20-35% of the portland in cement and, in the
process, improve the performance and quality of concrete. Since Texas produces
thirteen million tons of coal ash annually, there’s little chance of exhausting
this waste product. And yet another green feature of concrete is that it can
serve as the finished floor. (Don’t wrinkle your nose. Take a look at a few
slick shelter magazines. You’ll be surprised at how beautiful they can be.) The
house we live in now is on a slab. And while I would’ve loved to bury the lying
cement subcontractor and his drunken cohorts deep in the muck by the time the
project was finally finished, I love the stuff. It stays much cooler than our
pier and beam house and provides an inviting surface for me and my dogs to
sprawl across on our bellies in the dead of August.
I live for letters. Write me at the Chron, PO Box 49066, Austin,
Texas 78765 or e-mail me at Suzebe@aol.com
This article appears in June 30 • 1995 and June 30 • 1995 (Cover).