bharvey
Member
I have a dilema. I am in the process of having a 23x44 shop built (two stories, 650sqft up for office, theater, apartment... later) in Salt Lake City. The 8" thick stemwalls have been poured 6' deep and the framing is just about complete.
The builder didn't poor the floor, he wanted to frame and sheath so he could easily heat the floor during the pour. (Cold and snow all winter long this year)
I work out of the country about 1/2 the time and he backfilled without insulating the exterior stem wall because it wasn't included on my plan. (really my problem).
Beacause of grade considerations the floor will be lowered 2.5' below the top of the stem wall. The stem wall will be 8" above outside grade. this 8" thick stemwall with 2x4 construction will result in a significant protruding shelf/ledge on the interior. Finished height of first floor will be around 11.5'.
My plan to deal with the lack of the exterior insulation and the ledge at the same time -
1. Insulate beneath the slap with 1-2" of foamular.
2. Insulate the interior stem wall before the pour. this will create a "floating slab" still tied to the stem with rebar though.
3. After floor has cured, build a 40" tall false wainscoted wall to allow for insulation of the 2.5' stem wall. Wall will be surfaced with MDF and trimmed with MDF milled by me. This will make the shelf at the 40" mark about 6" deep.
Insulate under slab - check
Insulate between side of slab and stem wall, preventing frost permiation - check
Insulate stem wall AND push inconvenient ledge up to 40" mark, making it attractive and staying out of the way of installed benches and cabinets - check
I really want to make the right decisions now, given the missed opportunity to insulate the exterior. I think it would be expensive to excavate, clean, insulate and backfill again.
Is this the best course of action?
Any help would be appreciated.
bkh
The builder didn't poor the floor, he wanted to frame and sheath so he could easily heat the floor during the pour. (Cold and snow all winter long this year)
I work out of the country about 1/2 the time and he backfilled without insulating the exterior stem wall because it wasn't included on my plan. (really my problem).
Beacause of grade considerations the floor will be lowered 2.5' below the top of the stem wall. The stem wall will be 8" above outside grade. this 8" thick stemwall with 2x4 construction will result in a significant protruding shelf/ledge on the interior. Finished height of first floor will be around 11.5'.
My plan to deal with the lack of the exterior insulation and the ledge at the same time -
1. Insulate beneath the slap with 1-2" of foamular.
2. Insulate the interior stem wall before the pour. this will create a "floating slab" still tied to the stem with rebar though.
3. After floor has cured, build a 40" tall false wainscoted wall to allow for insulation of the 2.5' stem wall. Wall will be surfaced with MDF and trimmed with MDF milled by me. This will make the shelf at the 40" mark about 6" deep.
Insulate under slab - check
Insulate between side of slab and stem wall, preventing frost permiation - check
Insulate stem wall AND push inconvenient ledge up to 40" mark, making it attractive and staying out of the way of installed benches and cabinets - check
I really want to make the right decisions now, given the missed opportunity to insulate the exterior. I think it would be expensive to excavate, clean, insulate and backfill again.
Is this the best course of action?
Any help would be appreciated.
bkh