Above grade insulation and protection

[Mark100]

My garage foundation is complete and I am using 2" eps panels to insulate the outside of the concrete wall. The foam is currently all the way up to the top of the poured wall. Final grading will leave 16 to 6 inches of exposed foam around the perimeter.
I am debating on cutting the foam at grade and leaving the 8" thick wall exposed vs. Leaving the foam in place and coating or covering it with a material and drop edge while siding.
If I cut the foam out, will this be a huge mistake with regard to insulating the building? I dont want to place insulation on the wall inside the building. I plan to heat the building during the winter and the walls and ceiling will be heavily insulated.

Mark

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[Jlbc212]

IMHO placing solid foam insulation panels on the outside of the concrete foundation provides a route for termites and other vermin to travel up to the sill and beyond without being detected. A large portion of the United States is prone to termite damage. I don't think it is worth the risk. However, you could cover the top of the foundation and the foam with a termite barrier. In the old days lead flashing was the go to material for the barrier, but very few homes and garages were/are provided with this protection. It really is a dilemma, the need for energy conservation vs the need to protect the structure against vermin invasion.

 

[Tduby]

If you have a menards near you they sell a heavy duty vinyl that you pop rivet on that I used it seems to work good.
https://www.menards.com/main/buildi...nsulation-barrier/1599581/p-1444449842118.htm

 

[matt_i]

I think what I would do is to insulate behind the walls (outside, in the dirt), then leave a gap of say 8" below where you put the sill plate.

So there's going to be a small area where the wall is bare concrete.

But, heated air is going to be up high. If you ran a very simple "Manual J" heat flow the thin uninsulated ribbon is pretty small in area compared to the much larger wall area.

I think materials for this application are going to be better developed in the future, but we're not quite there yet.

 

[egdede]

I believe the best practice is to insulate the out side of the thermal mass.