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

...onstruction and efficient home building in general on the pages below and in our Green Building Guide.  How to build a slab or foundation on soft soil and high water tables Silicate sealers for concrete slab floors - durable and healthy Step by step guide on how to build a slab on grade shallow foundation  How ...

...on of SMART radon monitors available that keep a constant eye on the levels in the home. Take a look here for the best choice and prices on SMART radon monitoring equipment and their Apps.   WATCH MORE VIDEOS FOR SLAB ON GRADE FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION    Polyethylene barriers below slab floors serve two purposes - to p...

...onolithic slab foundation Insulating below monolithic slab-on-grade foundations Where do water pipes go in a slab foundation? Disadvantages of a monolithic slab foundation Key tips for monolithic slab foundation success Building a monolithic concrete slab foundation, step-by-step Monolithic slab vs. floating slab: unde...

...onstruction here This is the first in a series of videos on passive solar home construction, we begin with passive solar design basics, orienting the future house on the site to take full advantage of the free heat available from the sun while keeping it cool with natural shading in the summer. Now you know more ab...

...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...

...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...

...on before heat generation Standard practices in residential construction are long overdue for re-evaluation and improvement. The energy needed to operate new homes reflects the cheap oil prices of days long gone, and does not reflect today's realities of climate change, resource depletion and the rising cost of energy....

...oncrete 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 dirt to porous concrete, foundation...

...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 ...

...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...

...onolithic concrete 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 Grade or a Basement for a home foundation see here, but we'll give conclusions belo...