As part of its effort to promote raised-floor construction, The Southern Pine Council recently partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build two pairs of homes–each containing one raised-floor and one non-raised-floor unit–to document the differences between the two techniques.
The homes in each pair, which were built side by side in Mobile, Ala., and across the street from each other in Vero Beach, Fla., were identical except for foundation type: raised floor vs. slab. A study is being conducted to evaluate the construction costs of the two methods, to measure whether or not users save money on utilities with either method, and to analyze other variances in living factors.
Southern Pine representative Kim Drew told Hanley Wood editors that raised-floor construction is a better choice for these areas, in particular, because the method helps reduce the potential for flood damage. Homeowners also thought the raised homes looked better, she added.
Click here to see more information on the project, including video segments and images, and for additional resources on raised-floor living.–Victoria Markovitz
