Basements & Slab-On-Grade

Foundations, slab on grade and durable basement finishing

Sustainable Slab-On-Grade Foundations & Building Better Basements: Expert Tips & Help

Guide

Finishing a Basement to Resist Water or Humidity

Finishing a basement to be water resistant - reducing the damage from basement flooding

If you're unfortunate enough to have a basement that flooded, or that floods regularly over the years, this guide gives our top tips and information on how to rebuild a finished basement to make it more resilient to water damage in the future. Building a flood-resistant basement: Simple, sustainable solutions for…

Waterproof floor screeding with underfloor hydronic heating

The ultimate guide to basement under floor heating and waterproof floor screeding

Turn an old damp basement into useable living space with proper waterproofing, insulation and a nice under floor heating system. In many homes, basements are increasingly being converted into functional, comfortable, and often very livable spaces, but getting them to be warm, dry, and usable poses a unique set of…

Flooded basements; how to start fixing a basement flood

Basement full of water? How to start fixing the damage from a basement flood

All basements are prone to flooding, which is why we don't really like basements much. So, if it's your turn to look with dismay at your unplanned basement pool and wonder what to do next to fix things, read this guide and we will try our best to help. Flooded basement? That really sucks... Basement flooding can be…

Basement foundation with exterior dimple membrane for water protection

Should you buy a home with a finished basement?

Most finished basements are moldy or will develop mold in the future because they are usually built poorly. Learn what to look for when home shopping. Basements, downstairs in more ways than one For those wishing to become homeowners, one of the decisions you'll face when buying a new property is whether or not to…

Frost Heave Prevention Helps Stop Frost Heaving Breaking up Home Foundations

What causes frost heave? Preventing frost heaving is down to good foundation design

Frost heaving of home foundations, basements, decks & garden walls in cold climates can cause issues - especially in clay soils that hold water - Ecohome built to prevent frost heave recently, here's what we did. Frost protected foundations - essential in cold climates Protecting homes and buildings in cold climates…

Gabion walls can be used for building homes

Gabion walls - what is a gabion cage & how to build with them?

Gabion cage walls can add thermal mass to homes without adding significantly to the carbon footprint of a home like concrete can. Gabion walls are retaining walls built by stacking stone in a gabion cage or gabion basket that can serve many purposes but are most often used to create tiered or leveled ground in…

Why basements flood and how to prevent that with a sump pump

Why basements flood & how to prevent flooded basements

Basements flood, full stop. As a hole in the ground similar to a swimming pool, once all is done to stop water getting in, we then need to remove any water with a sump pump, a sump pump battery backup & maybe a sump pump alarm to stop basements flooding. Spring flooding of basements is very common and most times can…

Low Carbon Concrete - Lowering the Carbon Footprint of Eco Homes

Low-carbon concrete by CarbonCure Canada - lowering the carbon footprint of buildings

Producing cement for concrete results in high levels of CO2 output and is the third ranking cause of man-made CO2 in the world after transport & energy generation. Low-Carbon Concrete is needed for Building Green Homes. Low-carbon concrete - green cement at last? One of the most essential and commonly-used building…

Crawl Spaces or Slab on Grade Foundations?

Slab on grade or crawlspaces, which is better?

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…

Finished basements can lead to mold and mildew

Why are basements moldy? How to fix or prevent a moldy basement

Basement mold and mildew can easily be avoided with better designed walls. Common building practices trap moisture in wall assemblies preventing them from drying. That musty, moldy basement smell that we have come to accept as unavoidable, is actually quite avoidable. The solution is really quite simple - stop…

Insulating crawlspaces as part of home renovation

How to insulate crawlspaces properly as part of renovating an older home

Crawlspaces are becoming rare for new home construction in USA & Canada. If you've got a crawls space with damp, mold, odor & cold issues, here's how to insulate it properly to fix it permanently & have a more comfortable home. Crawlspace insulation - be careful to get it right A crawlspace comes with all the…

News

Carbon-Negative Home Bahama Stands Against Storms

World's First "Tree-like" Home Unveiled: Carbon-Negative and Built to Withstand Extreme Weather

Beyond Bricks and Mortar: Partanna's Carbon-Negative, Storm-Resistant "Tree-like" Home Offers Self-Sufficiency for a Changing World. Imagine a home that embraces nature's wisdom, not just mirroring its beauty but also actively healing the environment it inhabits. This isn't a futuristic fantasy; it's the…

Bill S287 in New Jersey to encourage use of low carbon concrete

State of New Jersey passes tax credits bill for lower carbon concrete

Bill S287 was signed on Jan 30th and signals State sanctioned incentives for the decarbonization of the concrete industry - including the supply, delivery and use of lower carbon concrete. In a breakthrough for reducing the carbon footprint of North American construction, Bill S287 was signed on the 30th of January…

Zero Carbon Concrete Alternative Product Cement Free by Prometheus Materials

A sustainable, zero-carbon alternative to Portland cement concrete from Prometheus Materials CO - BioConcrete !

Using naturally occurring microalgae, Prometheus Materials and a team of scientists and engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a carbon zero alternative to carbon intensive portland cement based concrete... suitable for ready mix. In a recent press release, Prometheus Materials, a zero-carbon…

NAHB finds Slab on Grade Foundations are Most Popular in 2020

Home foundation trends in 2020 are encouraging for sustainability as slab on grade wins

The National Association of Home Builders just completed a study of home foundation trends for 2020 in the US, and the results were both surprising and encouraging! Slab on grade foundations are a clear winner. It's slab on grade foundations for the win! The NAHB study showed that 65% of new single-family home…

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