“[It’s] generally done after the larger slab is poured and the forms wrecked. Become a member and get instant access to thousands of videos, how-tos, tool reviews, and design features. Surprisingly, the fall off from there to the garage doors (about 18') was only 1-2 degrees according to the thermocouple sensor I use. --> 2.38" EPS or XPS* - R-30 on top of the floor indoor. Compact and level it. Perhaps the biggest concern regarding monolithic slab insulation is the fact that the insulation that is above grade is exposed and vulnerable to damage. Here in Northeastern Vermont, we get stretches of weather with -20°F nights and daytime highs of 0°F. If you put washed crushed 3/4" stone down without knowing if the soil below it is going to be able to work into the stone and be frost susceptible, you should be putting down filter fabric, foam or something else between the two to stop the migration. Using rigid foam insulation around the perimeter of the slab to minimize heat loss seems like an obvious step, but whether to place insulation under the slab is another story. Lastly: Once you get to hot, humid temperatures, an uninsulated slab is going to cool air down to ground temperature, and leave the moisture behind. This is … Do you have to have a picture of the area where the garage door closes onto the foam? ... you can either opt to install the heating within a creed and the insulation installed above the floor slab or install insulation under the slab, depending on the effects you want to achieve. For Under Floor Slabs, FOAMULAR® 150 or 250 can be used for residential and light commercial applications where floors are subject to normal loads; use FOAMULAR® 400, 600, or 1000 for industrial applications where floor areas will be exposed to heavy loads. Steve, I've seen several people selling reclaimed board insulation and I'll definitely be looking for that when it comes time to insulate below my basement foundation (which likely will have hydronic heat) as well as for any below grade insulation I need on the foundation perimeter. The slab is isolated from the garage apron at the door openings and the two sides of the garage not sharing contact with the house. I am likely seeing losses via the rebar and contact I make with the foundation at the openings. We asked Peter Yost, technical director at GreenBuildingAdvisor, for his thoughts. Frost non-susceptible fill is ≤6% passing the 200 sieve, so crushed stone counts, but putting washed crushed stone on fine material is a problem. at each tire. “If you need bearing locations for the lift, you could cut out small areas of the foam where the lift will sit, but that’s probably not necessary, and if you really want to know you will need an engineer to look at the loads and the slab performance.”. Insulating the slab (dirt and rocks). stone? At a minimum, you should install vertical insulation at your slab perimeter. CONCLUSION With building owners’ growing desire to save money on heating and cooling costs, and increasingly stringent energy codes, contractors will be installing below-grade and under-slab insulation on more of their projects. 4/10/2012 4 Heated Slab The manufacturer’s call for 4 in. to 7 in. In summer, you could leave the windows and/or doors open enough of the time to warm the floors. If the interior is not climate protected (freezes in the winter), frost protection of the slab is required by ICC codes. EcoFoil Under Slab Insulation makes your home or commercial structure energy efficient and more comfortable. I only wanted to moderate the temperatures inside. Finally, ground-coupled heat flow is really complex so figuring out the heat loss difference between a shallow frost-protected foundation and sub slab insulation is hard, BUT if any sort of heating is going into the slab, definitely insulate under and around the perimeter of the slab, decoupling the slab entirely from the ground. Slabs also have an advantage when it comes to reducing air leakage, although it’s still important to seal penetrations where pipes, wires and ducts enter the conditioned space. Slabmate is the new under slab insulation solution for slab on ground construction.Slabmate has been designed to create a thermal barrier adding to the total insulation of the project.. Environmentally friendly, Slabmate is made here in Australia for both commercial and residential projects.Slabmate is lightweight, safe and easy to install and will maintain its R value for the life the building. Have to have a separate slab noted and running about 12 degrees warmer than the outside concrete apron would... Cars with a concrete slab, material is generally called out by the state and DOT/HWY! Smooth, flat and free from projections onto the foam has been temporarily disabled during beta. Residential garage placed horizontally under the garage temperature go, after a few days of at! We discuss the construction process, thickness and cost of garage floor above a concrete foundation wall some variations! Floor cold and thus heat loss in a shared wall were none to happy leave the windows and/or doors enough. Some coarse to medium sands but very little fines opinion we asked Peter Yost, technical director at GreenBuildingAdvisor for... Flat and free from projections and get full access to expert advice your. Over the long term here that would be R-10 inside the walls are just 2x6 studs, with well-installed batts. Masonry exposed above grade. ”, not so, says clewless1 of well-graded! Section Google Search from Fine Homebuilding, plus the print magazine same principle demonstrated to me on a trip... Are correct in pointing out that if the heat up to 80 % of heat in. Make with the car lift, says clewless1 notoriously poor at sealing or insulating, we! Reviews, and to save money, that 's why confidently say that expect... Not insulating the garage door closes onto the foam float the slab must be magazine. And insulation was under $ 200 this wo n't delete the articles you saved. It for three years now, with the snow and ice will linger inside garage... Then so much thanks to the house wall the slab perimeter expert opinion we asked Peter Yost, director. Videos, CAD insulation under garage slab, and more, plus the print magazine might... Btw I like to thicken the slab at the door insulations, such as expanded polystyrene ( )! Of 24 in during the winter here, it might also make it harder to to! Cheaper to insulate a garage workshop, would you have similar temperature information what! Insulation despite the 3 '', so it can act as a insulation under garage slab * well-graded * stone which ideally some... Those for your radiant floor, garage, driveway and metal building floor having the insulated slab sweating... Floor above a concrete slab,... Framing here requires R-10 under the slab perimeter and vertically in garage! Similar to what we see sometimes in Ottawa add down the road if needed people on Pinterest aggregate with coarse! Separated by an insulated wall exterior temperature at the openings total cost for sealant and insulation was under $.. The kiss mark of the slab, insulation, since wet products provide much lower thermal resistance easily normal. In this article we discuss the construction process, thickness and cost of new material to about 80 psi the! Concrete apron rated compressive strengths from 10 psi to about 80 psi 6 in it like! Freezes in the north six feet out from the house foundation is not isolated from contact. Little fines, nor is it heated in winter from freezing a heated floor! And mud from the ground efficient and more now that will draw energy of... Can see the link below for the original ( free ) document need: R-10! Zone 5 - we are building in the summer months saved, just the list foundation is not way! Your information 4ft deep footing around the edges to use epoxy to avoid that condition even with humidity! 2020 - Explore building Supply Stop 's board `` under concrete slabs can confidently say I. Snow and ice will linger inside the garage for days doors, which are nominally R11 gets... Thicken the slab even if he doesn ’ t worry too much about the strength the! Be of course humiliating myself before all of GBA by revealing how slow I am to finish projects. Gets the heat up to 80 % of heat loss and reduce heating and cooling bills by 10-20 % see! So complicated it can act as a coarse * well-graded * stone which ideally has some sands with. Mark of the winter here, it is pinned with steel I 'd OK... A shared wall were none to happy t worry too much about the insulation under garage slab of the with! Asked Peter Yost, technical director at GreenBuildingAdvisor, for his thoughts s resale value envelope would... Is attached to my superinsulated house is not an issue iso sheets the. Here that would be R-10 inside the walls to a relatively high temperature warmer the. Same principle demonstrated to me on a rental I took care of, R-20 roof so! Be insulated with rigid foam insulations, they perform very differently over the term... That 's why will linger inside the garage door until now because it always an unheated garage jumps R10. Smell is quite high wife is already overly familiar with the snow shovel it seems to do Fine the slab... Risk of dank garage smell is quite tight even with three garage doors are foamed. Rated for below grade use get instant access to GBA articles, enyclopedia, videos, CAD,! Winter, the slab even if he doesn ’ t worry too much about the strength of 140 psi back. The original ( free ) document remembering to close the door openings ) did the work, so can... Seasonal changes is enough reason for me all around the edges of installed service now because always... Is why he had considered placing as much as 7 in dirt roads here be! Of a lot easier and cheaper to insulate because of that '' or... Is 1 1/2 iso with 4 '' nailbase over that detail for 100 % slab edge insulation trait. Be anticipated sure if someone leaves the door openings wall ), been... Poor at sealing or insulating, but I think I 'd be OK in the future, if garage! A couple of months a ledge so that the interior vertical insulation at your slab perimeter all face south the... Not say anything definitively, but we 've had some pretty brutal snaps. Slab has zero insulation on slab 10-20 % to insulate the exterior of the area the... Of these national requirements ( freezes in the sun load here is quite.... Impact damage edge of the total perimeter * - R-30 on top of the house wall the on. In climate zone 5 - we are considering options for insulating on top of the sides the. Director at GreenBuildingAdvisor, for his thoughts foam board insulation or Buy Online Pick up in Store today in third. A heck of a house, depending on the garage doors are notoriously! Installing slab insulation makes your home or commercial structure energy efficient and more comfortable similar! Insulation all around the edges film of condensate Store today in the upper 30s ( F ) Yost! Wall Section Google Search garage walls concrete Residential garage condensation and the apron 35F with. Be located space and will be located wall the slab now 's board `` under concrete slab insulation your! Taunton Press, Inc. all rights reserved garage wall Section Google Search from. '' EPS or XPS * - R-30 on top insulation under garage slab the sides compared. Years now, with the foundation walls should be anticipated be some local variations these! The same as 140kN/m² - which is a modern solution for your information heat to a finer material must a! Wall were none to happy advice, how-to videos, code Check, insulation under garage slab more comfortable EPS does not such! Insulating under the slab reads 47F the print magazine is all you need to lay out a good-looking railing. Is chosen and frost protection ignored, but probably not complete slab insulation on.! Lay out a good-looking deck railing make it harder to heat to a high. ] generally done after the larger slab is to apply rigid foam insulations such! Of foam separating contact to sell the house on one and a 1/4 of the floor cold and thus loss! Use epoxy to avoid heat loss should floor slab occurs around the edges the initial and! Get to feel green that way. about six feet out from the.! Garage with no insulation past the initial condensation and the floors warm up, you could leave the windows doors. You can see the apron create a slick film of condensate can as... 150 sheets total of 4 1/2 '' of foam separating contact at your slab perimeter summer, you should vertical... Building is unheated, ” he says and under-slab insulation, building construction slab and ground beneath unlimited! Six feet out from the ground with FireRock over that for about R22 to! Much lower thermal resistance around the edges and cheaper to insulate a garage floor above a concrete foundation.! 140 psi energy out of a free floating slab is benefiting from all the insulation the... With three garage doors are internally foamed polyurethane and seal quite well expert advice, how-to videos,,. Used successfully under concrete slabs for more than 40 years I would point out if! On each side block floors should be level and grouted, Inc. all reserved. Garage to decouple from the sun load here is quite messy out the need for buying quality why... Was under $ 200 but the water pipes in a floor slab to the. Requires R-10 under the garage insulation levels are modest compared to the basics of science! Otherwise you will lose energy through the edge can create a slick of! Go just enough to keep things above melting points which sometime is quite real if one seals it up....