Cold weather wall detail12/21/2023 ![]() That way you have a greater distance between the wood framing and the water near the ground. But you can decrease your risk of rot if you leave 10 or 12 inches of the concrete foundation exposed above grade. In rainy climates, if a wood framed home is close to the ground, it is more prone to rot because of excess water. Lastly, let me give you a tidbit about foundations for rainy climates. If you are curious about the frost line is in your area of the US, I’ve included a frost depth map below. In colder climates, however, horizontal insulation under a slab on grade is a must because you don’t want the cold soil cooling the houseĭown. Here’s why: Without horizontal insulation, the slab is in contact with the cool soil and that cool soil can help keep the house cooler and lower a homeowner's utility bills. In hot climates, those slab foundations should not have horizontal insulation under a slab. So, a slab foundation is often used in hot climates. In hot climates, the frost line may be only a few inches below grade, or there may not be a frost line at all. So since they have to dig that far below ground anyway, many people in cold climates decide to utilize that space and put in basement foundations. In cold climates most homes have foundations that begin several feet below grade, meaning below ground. Ground above the frost line freezes and ground below the frost line does NOT freeze. The frost line is the depth at which frost or ice penetrate the ground. Footings of most foundations must be placed below the frost line. Let’s go over some differences that you should see in hot climate versus cold climate design.įoundations can vary significantly in a cold vs hot climate. In hot areas you have to guard against the discomfort of too much sunlight and heat and in a cold climates, you have to guard against bursting pipes, chilly rooms, and icy driveways. Let's get to it.Ī home’s design and construction should take into consideration the region’s typical maximum and minimum temperatures and the amount of wind, snow, sunlight and rain that the area gets. You'll see the word "furring" in our mini lesson. Furring is used for several reasons 1) to make an uneven surface level, 2) to form an air space between one surface and another to prevent dampness 3) to make space for insulation or 4) to make the wall look thicker. Exterior siding or wall panels can be attached to furring strips. In construction, furring (sometimes called wall furring or furring strips) are thin strips of wood or metal or other material that are fastened to a wall or other surface. And learn enough so we can ask about some cutting edge and common sense options that maybe our contractors might not typically offer.īefore we get into the lesson, let’s go over our Pro Term: We don’t have to know ever detail about regional climate design, but I want us to learn enough to make educated decisions about our construction choices. My goal is for us to get a general background about the differences in building a home in these different climates. That’s why today’s mini lesson covers some different design features and construction practices that are suited for either a cold or a hot climate. They’re happy to sell customers in Minnesota the same house plan that they sell customers in Florida.” Why? Because most house plan companies ignore climate. On most of these sites, however, you can’t sort by climate zone. Martin Holliday of the Green Building Advisor website says “If you go to one of the many web sites that sell house plans, you can use filtering software to sort through hundreds of available plans by a variety of criteria: square feet, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, number of stories, or even number of garage bays.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |