Since EPS is lower cost per inch than XPS, and is available in a range of compressive strengths (from 10 to 60 psi), using it belowgrade and under slabs can save on insulation costs. Such boards are effective at channeling water away from the foundation face, and can drain up to five gallons per minute per foot. Below-Grade Under Slab system with FOAMULAR® rigid board insulation. In order of achieving this, you will need proper insulation installed. In addition to higher moisture resistance, EPS also is not subject to thermal drift. We also have insulation boards suitable for more specialist flooring applications, for example heavy duty floor insulation and insulation for cellar and basement floors. Say you use an average (and relatively inexpensive) rating of 40 psi, then the insulation will support: 40 psi x 8” wide tire x … The following information is a guide to the installation of rigid insulation on ground floors to receive a screed. Check out our full range of commercial insulation products here. Purlink Foamex PurlinK is a high density polystyrene purlin insulation for greater thermal efficiency of metal deck roofing. Moisture resistance is also important for belowgrade and under-slab insulation, since wet products provide much lower thermal resistance. Insulation under the slab will help the floor stay warmer even in the summer time. Water resistant rigid board for under concrete slab insulation and slab support in traffic bearing applications. Rigid foam insulations, such as expanded polystyrene (EPS), have been used successfully under concrete slabs for more than 40 years. Many builders bevel the top of the vertical insulation so that none of the rigid foam is visible after the concrete slab is placed. There are a number of different factors at play but the one thing that we always need to keep in mind is heat flow. Unheated slab-on-grade floor:a slab-on-grade floor that is not a heated slab-on-grade floor. Heated slabs-on-grade will feature hot wat… First, the standard defines two classes of slab-on-grade: Heated slab-on-grade floor: a slab-on-grade floor with a heating source either within or below it. The correct installation of polythene DPM, rigid insulation and separating layers are highly important not just for the overall integrity of the screed system but for the quality of the entire flooring. The side-by-side insulation comparison highlighted previously found the EPS retained 94% of its specified R-value, while the XPS lost nearly half of its insulating capability over the 15 years the materials were on the foundation. For example, with a forklift load on a typical 4-inch-thick slab, one calculation would indicate that 32 psi is applied to the insulation compared to only 2.5 psi under a more accurate calculation. For installation on concrete foundations and under floor slabs, the rigid foam insulation you choose can make a difference of tens of thousands of dollars on a project. Unitherm® delivers the high compressive strength and efficiency required in residential slabs, preventing thermal loss through the ground. How to install insulation below a floor slab with Kingspan Kooltherm K103 Floorboard Concrete Construction: Resources for contractors and specifiers including construction methods, materials and practices, Find products, contact information and articles about, Choosing Between EPS nd XPS Rigid Insulation, Three Key Lessons about Moisture in Concrete, Concrete Construction February-March 2020, Harold Hay, Skytherm, and the Quest for Passive Cooling, Week in Tech: Pantone Channels Fortitude and Optimism for Its 2021 Color of the Year, Kathryn Anthony Awarded the 2021 AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion, Studio Prize: Weighted Transparency: Literal and Phenomenal, Legrand Introduces Ultra-Fast USB Outlets to Adorne Series, Builders Seek More Capital to Meet Surging Demand, HGTV Unveils 25th Edition of the HGTV Dream Home, Battle Over Gas Hookup Regulation Intensifies in California, Review: ‘Nail Your Numbers: A Path to Skilled Construction Estimating and Bidding', Choosing Between EPS and XPS Rigid Insulation. Below-grade insulation enhances thermal performance in buildings and helps protect concrete from freeze-thaw damage. We have a wide range of floor insulation boards, including solid ground floor insulation, suspended floor insulation and soffit insulation. Spray foam for sure has uses where it is the best choice by a long shot, but under a slab is not the place. Underslab expanded polystyrene pricing is based on sheet quantity and thickness. 4/10/2012 3 Climate Zones E301.1 6 5 8 4 Slab R‐Value Table 402.1.1 Insulation and Fenestration Requirements by Component E402.1.1 ClimateZone Slab R‐valued 4 10, 2 ft 5 10,2 ft 6 10,4 ft 9 Slabmate is an under slab insulation solution that is applied first and then the concrete is poured on top with reinforcement. Plywood. As insulation becomes increasingly common on foundations and under slabs, understanding the performance and cost factors of the different materials is important for successful bids and profitability. Let's unpack the issue in the context of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 - Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. Slabmate X is an addition to the slab on ground insulation solutions. As for vapour barrier it will get destroyed while the cement is poured from the stones puncturing. Such boards have regularly spaced channels covered with a filtration facer to keep the channels clear. It is easy to install and can be used in many applications; exterior sheathing, interior basement walls, exterior foundation, hydronic and under slab insulation. 1 Likewise, the lack of insulation on below-grade foundations, crawlspaces, and under slabs accounts … EcoFoil Under Slab Insulation consists of a layer of metalized foil centered between a layer of bubble insulation laminated to each side with a permanent bond. Concrete Slab Insulation. When building a slab on grade, EPS rigid foam insulation is the most common choice of insulation, for performance and cost. Moisture resitance and stable R-value protects and insulates your concrete slab for a superior energy saving solution. Product Length (ft.) 10 ft. 8 ft. R-Tech 1/2 in. After 30 days of drying time, the XPS still had elevated moisture of 15.7%, while the EPS had dried to 0.7%. In cold climates (climate zones 4 and higher), it’s important to install vertical insulation on the interior side of the stemwall all the way down to the footing. Using an unnecessarily high-strength insulation, you end up paying for something you don’t really need. Our Businesses In … Confirm with your engineer what strength is needed. Unitherm® can be layered to achieve extremely high thermal resistance. That decision may hinge on whether the slab is heated, but there’s no agreement … Kooltherm K3 Floorboard is a super high performance, fibre-free rigid thermoset closed cell phenolic insulation for solid concrete ground based floors. By comparison, the manufacturing process for XPS uses blowing agents that diffuse from the foam’s cellular structure over the life of the product, thereby reducing its thermal performance. Installation of Unitherm® perimeter insulation is the simplest, most effective way to improve the thermal performance of the concrete slab. Of these two materials, green builders prefer EPS, because EPS is manufactured with a more environmentally benign blowing agent than XPS. This highly effective combination of materials offers high compressive strength and great thermal performance when used in below grade and under slab … See More + Whether selecting EPS or XPS insulation, to ensure performance, confirm that the product was manufactured to meet the requirements of ASTM C578, Standard Specification for Rigid, Cellular Polystyrene Thermal Insulation. Many designe… With a large fleet of trucks and premium delivery service in Victoria, you ensure that schedules are met and concrete is poured on time. Can withstand loads from large vehicles and equipment, Retains R-value even with moisture exposure, Easily shaped on site or supplied prefabricated, No long-term R-value loss or thermal drift. 3 Results Insulation Location: Under Slab. Concrete. Install Unitherm® beneath the concrete slab to ensure optimal heating performance. Without getting into extensive technical details and mathematical formulas, the problem is engineers often use an overly conservative approach for insulation under concrete slabs. This means that its R-value stays the same over time. Ram Mayilvahanan is product marketing manager for Insulfoam, a U.S. manufacturer of engineered EPS insulation products. This encapsulates the reflective foil sheet preventing it from being exposed to the ground or the concrete, ensuring the life and performance of … When extracted and tested after 15 years in service, the EPS had 4.8% moisture content by volume, compared to 18.9% for the XPS (a four-fold difference). There are two ways to handle insulating concrete floors. You can select from our standard sizes or customise your size & shape specific to your project. I wouldn’t go as far as saying you 'couldn't' use spray foam below a slab, but I’m not sure why you’d want to. For installations where the insulation will be exposed to large amounts of water or frequent wetting, rigid foam insulation is available with water-resistant facers or pre-cut drainage grooves. While you can apply insulation over the concrete slab, that requires adding wood subflooring and other components that add to the cost and complexity of the project. Insulation with polymeric laminate facers keep water from entering the insulation and also provide an added barrier to water wicking or diffusing through foundations and slabs. For example, installing a below-grade insulation rated for 100 psi, when only 40 psi is needed, will nearly double the material cost. This standard provides a key quality check on rigid insulation. Exceeding the ASTM C578, ‘Standard Specification for Rigid, Cellular Polystyrene Thermal Insulation’. Understanding rigid foam insulation for foundation and under-slab applications Contractors are increasingly called upon to install rigid foam insulation under concrete slabs and on building foundations. Many designers mistakenly assume that loads placed on slabs transfer through to the underlying insulation and soil at a 45-degree angle instead of a more uniform distribution. In addition to under slab insulation, slab edge insulation helps prevent internal temperatures being varied because of exposed sides. Insulation under concrete floor slab is often desirable for commercial buildings such as warehouses and factories, which are being designed to withstand high loads from large vehicles or equipment and here Knauf ClimaFoam XPS Board has proven long-term performance. INSTA-PANELS ® are designed to be used as affordable and durable slab insulation and have all the benefits of regular sprayed-on polyurethane foam but in a clean and portable solution.. Common uses for INSTA-PANELS ® are:. What’s new with Passivhaus design is the idea of completely isolating the building foundation from the ground, not only under the slab, but also under the footings. The most common insulation materials for use under a concrete slab are extruded polystyrene (XPS) and expanded polystyrene (EPS). It will help in the winter obviously. DuroFoam is the solution to your insulation needs. To insulate a concrete slab, you will need to apply an insulation barrier. In some high-performance building circles, it has become common to place a layer of insulation under a slab on grade. Unitherm® is made from Unipoly®, a light-weight moulded polystyrene material with exceptional thermal insulation properties. Slabmate will not breakdown over time, is made from high quality materials and no CFCs or ozone depleting properties are used in the material. Such insulation helps reduce heat loss to the ground in residences, cold storage units, warehouses and other commercial, institutional and industrial structures. The ground is cold compared to air temp even in the summer. INSTA-PANELS ® are insulated R-11 foam panels made of rigid polyurethane foam, covered in steel or fiberglass on both sides. A common design assumption leads to specification of rigid foam strengths that are many orders of magnitude higher than necessary, which can double the insulation material cost. Unitherm® is made from Unipoly®, a light-weight moulded polystyrene material with exceptional thermal insulation properties. As such, it is not uncommon for under slab insulation to be over-designed by a factor of 10 or more. This applies regardless of whether you have a garage or a basement space underneath your home. Slab edge insulation protects the sides of concrete slabs. Under Floor Slabs. Moisture resitance and stable R-value protects and insulates your concrete slab for a superior energy saving solution. Additionally, rigid foam insulation drainage boards help reduce the hydrostatic pressure of the backfill on foundation walls. Next day deliveries are available, please contact 1800 486 4763. What’s the difference between XPS insulation and EPS insulation, other than a single letter? Visit www.insulfoam.com for more information. You can attach wood sleepers to the floor, fill the gaps with rigid-foam insulation, and then apply your finish flooring. A case in point is a side-by-side analysis of the two rigid foam types installed on a commercial building foundation in St. Paul, Minn. For a detailed pricing take-off, please send through your information, drawings and requirements for an obligation free estimate. Existing Drywall. Rigid foam insulations, such as expanded polystyrene (EPS), have been used successfully under concrete slabs for more than 40 years. The testing lab also found that XPS holds water longer than EPS. A number of studies show that EPS retains less moisture than XPS. EPS offers a number of advantages over the more commonly installed XPS, including having the highest R-value per dollar among rigid insulations, making it a cost effective choice for many jobs. Insulation below the slab suits continuous, low level heating, gradually warming the thermal mass of the concrete and sustaining it at a consistent temperature. Upload Any Drawings, Pictures or Information, Quality Assured Company by AS/NZS ISO 9001, For a detailed pricing take-off, please s. end through your information, drawings and requirements for an obligation free estimate. Minimising heat loss will subsequently reduce energy costs. Kooltherm K3 Floorboard. Installing insulation prior to the pouring of a concrete slab floor improves the energy efficiency of the floor and makes it more comfortable. Or, as demonstrated here, you can cover the slab with rigid-foam insulation, add two layers of plywood, and then add the finish flooring. SilveRboard is a rigid insulation board made from Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) covered with a layer of polypropylene reflective lamination on both sides. Exterior Concrete Slab Insulation Options It is good practice to insulate concrete slabs in cold climates to protect the slab from frost penetration. Three important factors to consider when comparing these two insulations for any belowgrade or under-slab application are compressive strength, moisture retention, and insulating capability. Up to one-quarter of a building’s energy loss is due to lack of insulation in below-grade areas, including the foundation and under slabs. This can result in greatly over-designing the insulation’s strength. They both come in various rated compressive strengths from 10 psi to about 80 psi. 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. Exceeding the ASTM C578, ‘Standard Specification for Rigid, Cellular Polystyrene Thermal Insulation’. Wood. There will be a damp-proof membrane under the insulation and possibly a second membrane on top, depending on the type of screed. Kooltherm K3 Floorboard. Horizontal insulation placed less than 12 inches below the ground surface or that portion of horizontal insulation extending outward more than 24 inches from the foundation edge should be protected against damage by use of a concrete slab or asphalt paving on the ground surface directly above the insulation or by cementitious board, plywood rated for below-ground use, or other acceptable materials, approved … Install as a continuous barrier around the edge of the slab, protect the exposed surface with a render finish or a suitable sheet material. - Owens Corning® Enclosure Solutions Such insulation helps reduce heat loss to the ground in residences, cold storage units, warehouses and other commercial, institutional and industrial structures. Re: Is it worth it to insulate under a concrete slab? 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