Slab on grade / Guides

...oncrete as you could rest a home on screw piles, but you really don’t see that very often. Almost every home in North America is either seated on a concrete foundation and basement, or a concrete slab on grade foundation . A very large percentage of the total lifecycle carbon emissions of a home is due to the foundatio...

...only will it save money long-term, it is saving money right now, as the monthly savings on utilities outweigh the added mortgage cost for energy-efficient upgrades to Passive House standards. This blows a gaping hole in the myth that high performance homes don't pay off. As the owners , we enjoy the pleasant and spac...

...on & Transportation, placing more emphasis and attention on reducing main contributors to global warming: transportation. The Location & Transportation category includes strategies to reduce costs, pollution and resource depletion related to daily commutes - so the EcoHome team decided early on to reduce the energy con...

...on, but most had a basement full of coal at the ready to keep them warm. The Kenogami house was designed to sit on a fully insulated slab on grade which adds thermal mass to the equation. Insulation soon found its way into walls and ceilings, and over the ensuing decades we saw improvements in heat distribution syste...

...ong the most durable. Alternative wall construction methods: There are many other methods of wall construction, what we have covered here are the more common and cost effective techniques. There are a variety of natural fibres like hemp insulation that are used for home construction and insulation. Larsen Tru...

...on (R4) Weather barrier (WRB) Strapping Exterior cladding * Both homes are built on a raft-slab ‘ slab on grade ICF Forming kit ’ with 12 inches of EPS foam insulation John Hodges' Passive House with Larsen Trusses © Ecohome Exterior insulation for home renovations: Beyond new home construction, usi...

...on your investment if you use it primarily as a heat source. How long it takes to pay for itself depends on your consumption and where you live, estimates range from 10 to 15 years. The environmental benefits however, are instant. update: there is a new solar thermal water heater with overheating protection that is w...

...on't be pulling it behind an electric car, that's for sure. Most likely you'll need a big honkin' truck that will drink an easy 16 litres per 100km. So despite the best of intentions in reducing home size and carbon emissions, tiny houses on wheels can force you into a diesel-fueled vagabond lifestyle staying one step ...

...on in concrete floors now because they provide a very balanced and comfortable distribution of heat. Those systems are most commonly hydronic, meaning heated liquid is pumped through tubing in the concrete which then radiates that heat into the house. Hydronic radiant tubing for a slab-on-grade ...

...on to reduce the total carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions during construction and operation. The result of this low-carbon design approach: Calculating the carbon footprint of its construction, and assuming a 60-year lifecycle of the home, the total carbon emissions of the S-1600 amount to 10.6 tons of C...

...slab depressurization, you can pour an additional concrete slab on top of the existing floor or even consider a sidewall mounted self contained radon removal system . The intention for pouring an additional slab is to create an air-sealed cavity where radon can collect and be removed. This can be done with a ridged l...