"George Max" wrote in message

If I'm to ever complete a transaction with a builder, he/she is gonna
have to make lots of changes to suit the fact that among other things,
I think a basement is additional living space. And if not that,
certainly it's usable for more than video cartridge storage and a
place for the boogey man to live.

Why is it that the people that don't want a basement simply build on a
slab (SE Wisconsin)?


Code is the main reason why some things are done. Living spaces have an
entirely different set of requirements than temporary use spaces. Alternate
egress being chief among them.

It's cheaper to build on a slab, of course, but the need for 4' deep
footings in frost country makes it worthwhile to go the other four and have
a basement, though hybrid designs with ground-level access/egress are fairly
common to save money and still get the space.

Don't use the basement for coal storage any more, of course. Our coal bin
became dad's shop when we converted to gas.