Foundations, Basements & Slab-on-Grade

How to build on sites with expansive soils, high water tables and poor bearing capacity, and to build a frost protected shallow foundation easily in cold climates. A frost protected shallow foundation (FPSF) is a well-proven alternative to deeper, more-costly foundations for cold regions with seasonal ground…

The importance and the benefits of creating buildings and landscapes that retain and manage rainwater on site. Stormwater - why it's important to choose permeable surfaces for paths & driveways As cities expand into the green space around them, naturally permeable landscapes are replaced with buildings, roads and…

Radon gas in homes is a growing health concern. Adding a passive radon stack is always a good idea to prepare a home for better indoor air quality. Radon gas builds up in homes and has serious health effects . Reducing radon gas in homes is cheap and easy with a slab floor barrier with proper sealing at junctions…

Insulating the exteriors of basements and slabs leaves you with needed to finish the exterior. In this video you see an easy fix to have the exterior surface secured by set concrete, while avoiding any thermal bridges in the process. See more videos about passive solar high performance home building here Once a…

Installing a 10 mil polyethylene barrier below a concrete slab floor to prevent moisture wicking and create a radon gas barrier. How to install a radon barrier - slab floors If in the kind of area where it's a good idea to install a vapor barrier against radon ingress, (check out the Radon maps by state and province…

How to build a slab-on-grade with a thickened edge on standard soil. There are many ways to build a slab-on-grade (or frost-protected shallow foundation), the following is a step-by-step walk though of a thickened-edge slab floor we built. XPS or EPS rigid foam is typically used under concrete slab floors, in this…

Basements in Canada & USA face serious challenges: fluctuating water tables, surface floods, thermal shock, radon gas infiltration, condensation, mold, mildew, rotting walls and heat loss. Better basements manage these issues. The most common practices currently employed for finishing basement interiors as living…

A slab-on-grade home or building is more affordable, more comfortable and more Eco-friendly. Here is a technical guide & design guide for construction of a slab on grade foundation. Slab-on-grade construction - technical guide Deciding to build your home with a slab-on-grade foundation instead of a conventional…

How to build a slab-on-grade foundation saving money on basement frost walls for home construction with a Frost Protected Shallow Foundation. Slab on grade foundation, detail design; the basics There are many different soil conditions and corresponding slab designs. This page is about how to build a thickened edge…

One of the first decisions when building a home is what type of foundations to sit your home on - cold-climates, termites, problem expansive clay soils, insulation & vapor & radon barriers all need to be considered. What is the difference between a slab on grade and a crawl space? A slab on grade, or ‘frost…