Insulated Floating Slab Foundation

A floating slab is the basic foundation structure used for buildings that do not have basements garages sheds barns and even some homes in high water table or coastal areas.

Insulated floating slab foundation. Frost protected shallow foundation design can be used effectively with walk out basements by insulating the foundation on the house s downhill side eliminating the need for a stepped footing. Insulated floating subfloor over slabless slab. The result is a very comfortable and energy efficient basement with no thermal bridging and reduced risk of mold. As a percentage of heat loss the floor went way down compared to the un insulated slab house.

So let s look at the mechanics of actually insulated the slab. Watch this animation for the proper procedure to insulate a monolithic slab. Alternatively a basement can be constructed by beginning with an insulated raft slab followed by an icf foundation wall. This provides a continuous layer of insulation separating the concrete from the ground.

This is for a house with an r 11 insulated slab. Using conventional readily available materials fpsf is an alternative to stem wall and floating slab foundations however it is most suitable for slab on grade homes on sites with moderate to low sloping grades. The area between the stemwalls is usually filled with compacted gravel to support the slab. In cold climates most slab on grade foundations include perimeter stemwalls or frost walls that extend 3 ft.

Insulation of slab on grade foundation using.