Even if your home seems to be tightly sealed and well-insulated, if you have a foundation
that’s not insulated properly, you will experience a large loss of heat.
Foundation insulation can result in lower heating costs and may help avoid water vapor
condensation problems.
Poor foundation installation can make below grade rooms very uncomfortable and can result
in many problems, to much moisture, radon infiltration, and an influx of insects.
Foundation insulation is especially important if you have radiant heat system. This
article will outline the various types of insulation available.
When insulating your basement you need to make sure you avoid moisture problems. Moisture
can cause mold and can result in physical damage to you interior finished walls, as well as
your carpeting. And mold can seriously affect your health.
For a newly constructed home, proper placed footing drainage and waterproofing should
avoid most moisture problems. For an existing home, if your basement shows signs of moisture
problems, these problems should be addressed immediately.
When insulation is installed on the dirt side of a basement wall it has a lot of
advantages and some disadvantages also. On a positive note, it decreases what is called
thermal bridging which cuts down on heat loss through the foundation. It also protects the
foundation water proof coating from damage when backfilling, and acts as a vessel to protect
against moisture.
In extreme climates, during freeze-thaw cycles it can also protect your home from
unwanted water and reduces the possibility of condensation on basement surfaces.
Some disadvantages would be that it’s expensive when installed in an existing
building and it may still be vulnerable to an insect infestation.
Many experts believe that the best way to keep your basement dry is to insulate the
exterior of the foundation walls with a rigid insulation board and a water-proof coating
under that board that covers the entire foundation, from the footing all the way up to just
below where finished grade will be.
A perimeter drainage system needs to be carefully designed and consist of perforated
plastic pipe, per washed gravel, along with a good quality filter fabric especially in areas
with poor soil drainage. This will help in keeping the rock free from dirt allowing the
water to filter down into the perforated pipe.
For an existing home, adding insulation to the interior of the foundation is probably a
more cost effective alternative. Plus, there's a wide selection of materials available for
almost every type of insulation.
If your foundation wall is masonry blocks, you can fill the cores of your blocks with
high-pressured foam. This works far better than most of the other methods.
When insulating a Slab-on-grade the following ways should be done. You should insulate
under the slab along with the edges of the slab, and between the footings and slab. This
will reduce heat loss from both the foundation and the slab.
Remember that all exposed insulation needs to be protected from the elements in some way,
whether using cement, metal, or some other kind of membrane.
For new construction insulation follow these guidelines: first comes about four inches of
gravel and under-slab drainage and plumbing pipes, a layer of radiant barrier that is
approved for concrete use, then one to two inches or rigid insulation, followed by two to
three inches or sand, and lastly is the floor slab.
A floating floor is another alternative, which consists of – a finished wooden
flooring (top), rosin paper and two layers of ½ inch plywood or OSB. Followed by a
stiff foam board insulation. This will be quite easy to install and isolate the floor
from the earth below.
Regardless of the method you choose, by properly insulating your foundation you will make
sure your radiant heat system runs efficiently and effectively for years to come.
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