[Ferro List] Slab On Grade - Formely Drivel

[Christopher Glasspool]

Peter,
Go look at Rob Roy's Cordwood Home book; he goes into great detail about building a heavy masonry building on a floating slab on grade in the state of New York. The slab rests on sand, and is completely insulated underneath. the slab edges are thickened. Proper drainage is really important for this system as it relies on it being drained dry underneath to stop the usual frost heave.
The problem with wide walls is that the lengthy stem walls and then the footings that are 2 to 3 times wider than the walls start costing a lot of money. In Vermont I would add a huge extra percentage of wall thickness to accommodate the necessary economy and comfort. 
My own house was built on a tight budget and I had to follow local code on the footings, which took them down two feet minimum, and hand dug. The floor inside was a series of concrete pads, which I insulated and brought the insulation up between the top of the stem wall and the inside pads. The draw back was that I didn't get the thermal mass of the footings and stem-wall, but the plus side was that the house is insulated from thermal nose-bleed to the earth and footings. - chris


      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better friend, newshound, and 
know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it now.  http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ