"Slab on grade"

Slab on grade / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Efficient home design

"The Most Resilient House in North America"

...on Architectural College—though it wasn’t clear to me why he was taking the course and not teaching it! Alain is a home builder who has been constructing LEED-certified homes in the Saguenay region for 7 years but was previously doing general construction in the Montreal region since 1985. Resilient homes for protectio...

Slab on Grade

How to build a slab-on-grade on standard soil

...ond trip with a concrete pump truck, which depending on your region can run anywhere from $700 to $1000. Instead, what we have done here is known as a 'monopour', where the footing and slab are poured at the same time. Here are the basic steps for slab-on-grade construction on soil that does not have a high water tab...

Efficient home design

Ecohome Demo House: high performance, affordable cost

...onal home that would greatly outperform conventionally built homes, yet be on par with those homes in its annual cost to own and operate. Design for heat retention before heat generation Standard practices in residential construction are long overdue for re-evaluation and improvement. The energy needed to operate new h...

Basements

Best practices for basement insulation in new home construction

...on walls. Avoid wood to concrete connections in foundations © Ecohome Avoid wood-to-concrete connections: Concrete foundations take five years to fully dry, and that is only if they are completely separated by exterior waterproof barriers from ground moisture and water. Without breaking the connection from ...

Insulation and soundproofing

Properly insulating basements and concrete slab floors

...on walls and below slabs (see slab on grade), it was generally estimated that basement heat loss accounted for about 1/3 of the total heat loss of a house. It is likely that such an abysmal starting place made the addition of any insulation at all seem sufficient, so basements built to code are still often chronically ...

Passive solar home design

Ecohome Kenogami House wins Home of the Year Award

...on their air conditioners. During average winter conditions of temperature and cloud coverage for the Saguenay region of Quebec, the Kenogami House had its heating system turned off for a 10 day stretch in February, yet maintained indoor temperatures in the mid 20s (°C) and dropped only to 20.4 °C after consecutive ove...

Slab on Grade

Slab-on-grade technical guide

...slab on grade floors is simply done by adding insulation - yep, we have a guide for how to insulate slab on grade floors when building, here. Why build on a slab instead of a basement? To save money and carbon emissions, and have a healthier and more durable house. For a detailed guide on choosing between a Slab on Gr...

Slab on Grade

Slab-on-grade construction: the Ecohome A to Z Slab building guide

...slab. Related slab on grade foundation pages: Slab-on-grade technical guide Building a thickened edge slab on grade with normal soil conditions How to build a frost protected shallow foundation easily in cold climates with ICF forms The following is a technical guide for slab-on-grade home construction. The design a...

Slab on Grade

Raft slabs - How to build Insulated frost protected shallow foundations (FPSF) on problem soils

...slab-on-grade foundation with a thickened-edge footing without first beginning with extensive and costly soil remediation. Opting for a raft slab in such conditions can be a much cheaper option. A raft slab is a type of frost-protected shallow foundation, or slab-on-grade foundation, that does not include the standard...

Delivery: radiant, forced-air and decentralized

DIY radiant floor tubing installation video

...oncrete and the ground below it, which increases the rate of heat loss. Contrary to common beliefs, heat does not rise. Warm air rises, but heat goes everywhere. You need only pick up a hot coffee in a ceramic mug to answer this question for yourself. Does all the heat come out the top? Is it cold on the bottom? Absolu...

Crawl spaces

Should I build on a slab on grade foundation or a crawl space?

...slab on grade and a crawl space? A slab on grade, or ‘frost protected shallow foundation’ is exactly that, a slab of concrete on the ground. There’s more to it of course, but let’s start with a ‘win’ in the comprehension department shall we? A slab on grade rests directly on the ground, and a crawl space on the other...