[GSBN] Question about SB insulation at foundation/ceiling

[Derek Roff]

Good points, André, on the risks to floor bales from water originating within the house, as well as demon alcohol.  If only water didn't insist on running down hill.  

As far as seasonal storage of heat in earth under the floor, I've never seen a plan where the numbers come close to adding up.  There are plenty of websites out there, talking about the innovative systems just put in place or coming soon, and how great they are going to be.  The sites are usually several years out of date, with no updates.  Let us know if you find someone who has a functioning system with credible monitoring and math.  

Derek "lagging behind the times" Roff


On Jan 24, 2012, at 12:17 PM, forum at lamaisonenpaille.com wrote:

> It is true that (raised) SB floor insulation are getting more popular here in Europe but this worries me somewhat because in my pré-SB life I have seen at least 3 floors with water 'standing' on it due to : a frozen water pipe, a broken down washing machine and (the most fun) a friend who put a few beers in the botom of the shower and he opened the tab so the running water would cool the drinks while taking a siesta in our spanish hotel in my 20's. His nap was interupted when the people below saw water comming through the ceiling...  My moral of the story : If  don't use waterpipes in cold countries, wash in an outhouse and be carefull when choosing your friends if you use 'compostable' floor insulation. 
> Sure, some claim that they detail in such a way that water cannot penetrate, but I wonder how this is done in a perfect, cost effective and durable manner. In any case, the french insurance companies made sure SB floor insulation was deleted from our proposal for the recently approved french SB building rules (I wonder why? ;-).
> 
> An interesting technique sometimes used in France is using a tiny fan to blow the hot air (from below the roofing) through pipes under the slab (at a well calculate dept) so that with the time lag this heat comes up during winter. Seems like a clever idea to take away the heat where we don't want it in a way it becomes available where and when we do appreciate it. I have no details of it and there might be practical disadvantages that makes this system less ideal than one might think...
> 
> André - fan of locally made slippers - de Bouter
> France


Derek Roff
derek at unm.edu




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