"the barrier" underslab insulation

[DigitalFusion]

Hey all,

Anyone ever used "The barrier" insulation in their radiant heat setup? I have a buddy who used it in his install for his garage and said it is the only way to go because it was so easy to install, is your insulation and vapor barrier in one, and was actually less expensive than 2" XPS. For the record he has experience with radiant heat as he is a union plumber and did in floor heat in both his house and garage. In the house he used 2" XPS as he was unaware of the existance of "the barrier".

A lot of the things they say on that page make a lot of sense. I know there are a lot of die-hard XPS only people on the board, so I am sure there will be several responses that will relect that. I am really leaning towards using this product in my setup, but still am a little skeptical. I dont want it to be the next foil/bubble product and be stuck with it.

 

[72Tunaboat]

Its a good idea and i would do it as well if it were cost effective. Here is a link to a similar product (in comparison to foam board) http://www.insulationsolutions.com/products/insultarp/tarp_v_foam.html

The only thing i question is its R value

 

[DigitalFusion]

in my project, its actually 300 bucks cheaper to go with the barrier than 2" XPS. I found a study where they said in real world condition with concrete it had an effective R value of 4. 2" XPS in a real world condition has an effective R value of 5.7 according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.

 

[ScaldedDog]

All those tarp products are better than nothing, but they are really designed with contractors in mind. For them, it's all about keeping costs low and time to revenue short. They really don't care what your heating bills are after the job is done.

Based on this test, I went with 2" of EPS/XPS foam. I'm sure it cost more - a lot more in my case, as I used DOW's High Load 40 at $1.20 a square foot - but I'm pretty confident it's the best under slab insulation around.

Mark