So how's this for progress ...
We started looking for land in October of 2009, bought land in December of 2010, spent almost a year in designing and bidding the project, and now we're in November of 2011 with the start of a foundation.
Seems that building a foundation is a bit of a slog, and it probably doesn't help that my sub had 3 other jobs going, and a whole lot of rain to deal with. But as you can see, we have the start.
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We originally were going back and forth on having a basement, but when Patrick's Mom looked to the open field to the West and asked, "Sooo ... what are you going to do in the event of a tornado?" We decided that we were having a basement.
Yes, they're a pain with the sump pump ... yes, they add expense ... but the tornadoes.
We looked into a lot of foundation options that were atypical ... just looking for something that was air tight and a good insulator (concrete by itself just doesn't cut it) ... I know, people say the basement stays a nice 55 degrees all year round, but I have yet to meet anyone who heats their house to only 55 in winter, nor cool it to that in summer.
We looked at a product called Thermomass, basically a poured wall with insulation on the inside ... super crazy insane expensive - and marginal performance despite what the lab reports would tell you.
We looked at a product that was essentially pre-formed concrete that was lifted into place and sat on a gravel bed ... more air leakage than my 1920's house and probably less stable.
We looked into doing simple foundation on our own - have a sub pour a typical foundation, and then we could attach rigid foam on the outside or inside for better insulation.
We actually went with ICFs (Insulated concrete forms) for the basement - which is basically two inches of styrofoam with 6-8" of concrete in between. We had originally dismissed the idea, because they had a couple of disadvantages and the insulation wasn't amazing (just R20) ... like, we would have to finish the basement walls since the styrofoam is not fire rated. But they ended up not costing a whole lot more than a traditional foundation (actually, I don't think they cost anything extra, now that I think about it), and they were tighter in the air leakage department. But the main reason is that we wanted to use our neighbor to the north on the project, and this is the only way he built foundations.
We also put insulation down in the floor ... code says you only need 1/2" (and I don't think they even really check to see if you do that), we did 6" (recycled, which is a story in and of itself). Since we were doing radiant floor heating in the basement, we really didn't want to pay for heating up Mother Earth any more than we already are.
All in all, it's a solid foundation ... which is what you want, right? Just be prepared for it to take awhile, and then be surprised if it's quick.
1 Year Update: LOVE the ICFs ... it was a good move. The basement doesn't have that musty moldy feeling, and it's really quite comfortable down there in summer. I probably could have gotten away with not framing the walls, and instead just putting up the drywall directly, but no one's perfect.
