Buchan, Lawton, Parent Ltd
Year:
1992
Languages: English | Pages: 55 pp
Bibliographic info:
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, June 1992

In the summer of 1991 Buchan, Lawton, Parent Ltd. was issued a contract by the Ontario Home Builders' Association Steering Committee on Full Height Basement Insulation (FHBI) with representation from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Canadian Portland Cement Association, Ontario Ministries of Energy and Housing, Low Rise Forming Contractors' Association, Ontario Concrete Block Association, Ontario New Home Warranty Program, and The Society of the Plastics Industry of Canada, to carry out a demonstration of FHBI construction methods. The project consisted of design development, construction, and follow-up testing and inspection of ten typical single-family house basements in Southern Ontario. One non-typical house was also investigated. A range of builders participated in the project constructing houses and commenting on their experiences. This is a final report consisting of results from the construction phase and the soak test phase. Of the schemes tested, six were insulated from the exterior, four from the interior, and the additional house had an insulating block wall scheme. General findings from the construction phase were that interior insulation schemes were favoured over exterior ones, but that both systems have different detailing problems for which training is required to resolve. Rigid glass fibre insulation was found to be easier to apply to exterior walls with commonly-found irregularities than were rigid polystyrene materials. Panelised above-grade insulation protection products offer some advantages over site applied ones, but they tend to be difficult to adapt for residential use. Composite geotextiles wall drainage panels and ledge blocks require further development to improve their applicability to residential construction. Other basement design configurations (ie. modifications to the methods tried) may solve some of the problems encountered by builders in this project. The soak testing indicated that for the basement systems demonstrated and the soil conditions at these sites, the moisture handling methods were generally successful in limiting leakage problems. Soil conditions on the test sites provided fair to good drainage. Care must be taken to avoid gaps with the drainage or insulation materials and finish detailing where moisture ingress can be concentrated. It is evident that builders and trades persons require more technical information and experience on the use of materials where moisture handling is important.