Ants or termites will find a way to get into your walls and eat the studs, especially if moisture occurs. You have only two options: 1. apply pesticide every year around your perimeter or - 2. install a zinc flashing under the sill planks, on top of the foundation wall, with a 1-1/2 inch lip draping over the wall at a 45 degree angle.

A few companies manufacture them preformed, but you can fashion one from a role of zinc flashing. Don’t use aluminium or copper or some galvanized metal. They will react to the pressure treated wood and concrete and break down chemically.

This is the green thing to do. The ants are not harmed, the ground is not poisoned, but they can’t get in and you only do it once. If your house is preserved from destruction, you are conserving natural resources. That is green. Write me if you want to see a graphic detail of this shield in a wall. If you build to last, you save on material resources.

written by pencilman

Installing a 2″ rigid foam layer to the outside of the foundation will give your wall an additional R= 13. This will slow down the rate of heat loss from the concrete to the ground or the air. However, the house has to be designed to accomodate this additional thickness. The sills must hang out over the edge of the foundation wall by 2 inches to give the foam a flush surface under your sill.

Warning: If you install the 2 inch rigid foam only up to the grade line, then bury the top, then the exposed area of foundation wall will be colder than the sub-grade section, possibly causing cracks in the wall due to uneven expansion and contraction.

There are concrete forms called ICF Blocks that come with the insulation on both sides and the steel reinforcing built in. It’s a great idea. Just remember that a full two story home requires the structural strength of 10 inches of concrete, not 8 inches.

Exposed foam above grade has to be finished somehow. It is just soft foam which breaks down easily in the sunlight and is easily damaged by cats and dogs and bugs. Some suggest a stucco application with highly water resistant mortar. Some might use the same mortar to fasten a simulation stone veneer to the foam. In both cases, metal fasteners should be embedded in the concrete to grip the facing because nothing can stick directly to foam for a long time.

Here are some links to show you what ICFs look like and how they work.

http://www.owenscorning.com/foldform/

http://www.litedeck.com/

http://www.quadlock.com/

http://www.smartblock.com/index.html

http://www.eco-block.com/

http://www.arxxbuild.com/index.php

written by pencilman \\ tags: Foundation Concrete Insulation, ICF Foundation Concrete Forms

The best way to insulate an exterior wall built with wood frame construction is to use 2×6 studs, and line the interior surface with 1 or 2 inch rigid foam. Two inches of foam will yield an R-37 wall, the best wall I use in homes. Less than R-27 would loose a lot of heat in a cold winter climate. Properly assembled, the components of an R-27 wall would list as follows, from exterior to interior:

High Insulated 2×6 Exterior Wall Component R-Values

written by pencilman \\ tags: wall insulation