BUILD RIGHT

Insulating slab-on-
ground floors
Current methods for adding insulation to slab-on-ground floors have some
disadvantages. However, recent BRANZ research has developed more effective
methods.
By Ian Cox-Smith, BRANZ Thermal Testing Scientist

C
urrent practice for adding insulation
to slab-on-ground floors usually
involves either putting the insulation
under the perimeter of the slab,
or putting it on the outside vertical face of
the foundation wall, including the area of
foundation exposed above ground level.
While the first technique is relatively easy
to implement, its effectiveness is limited by
the fact that without a thermal break between
the slab and foundation, heat from the interior
environment can readily flow along the slab
and through the foundations to the exterior.
The second technique is more difficult to
implement, and even though there are some
proprietary solutions that use expanded
polystyrene formwork they are reliant on
finding an effective means to protect the
insulation. The technique is particularly
difficult to use when the wall system is a
standard 90 mm timber frame.
When is insulation required?
Addition of insulation is usually required for
small floor slabs (<80 m2) and where there
are heating elements embedded into the
slab. Insulation is also recommended when
the local water table is less than 1 m below
ground level.
Apart from very large floor slabs achieving
SNZ/PAS 4244: 2003 Insulation of
lightweight-framed and solid-timber houses,
recommended better practice (R1.9 m2C/W)
requires the addition of insulation to a slab-
on-ground floor.
New, improved methods
Figure 1 illustrates a more effective
insulation method that uses timber to

90 mm bottom plate on dpc

90 mm
bottom plate on dpc framing (insulation
omitted for clarity)
framing (insulation H3.2 140 x 45 mm
omitted for clarity) 20 mm cavity timber insert
H3.2 140 x 45 mm
battens
timber insert
reinforced concrete
cladding
reinforced concrete floor slab
direct-fixed cladding floor slab
reinforcing through
hole drilled in
timber insert

polystyrene polystyrene
insulation insulation

dpm on sand
dpm on sand blinding and
blinding and hardfill
hardfill

120 mm
155 mm

165 mm 200 mm

Figure 1: Floor slab insulation single storey. Figure 2: Floor slab insulation double storey.

32 BUILD June/July 2007

provide a thermal break between the
slab and its foundation. In this case, the
construction is single storey. For double
storey construction, the floor slab is required
to be tied to the foundation (see Figure
2). In both cases it may be necessary to
cast the bottom plate fixing in place to
avoid spalling of the concrete faces when
attempting to install the fixing later.
Some heat will still be able to bypass
the insulation in the area between the
thermal break and bottom plate. A further
improvement in the thermal performance of
the slab can be achieved by using 140 mm A Building Research Levy funded study
deep wall studs to eliminate this gap (see developed this new method (see pages 103
Figure 3). 105 for a report on the research project).
Figure 4 shows an insulation solution
for a slab-on-ground floor where the wall
is brick veneer. Since the bricks provide
some additional thermal resistance, as well
as protection for the insulation, additional
insulation under the perimeter of the slab
may not be necessary. It is important to apply
a wedge of mortar to the top edge of the
insulation and to align it with the weep holes
to ensure proper drainage of the cavity.

framing (insulation
140 mm 90 mm omitted for clarity)
bottom plate on dpc
masonry veneer
wall underlay
140 x 45 framing H3.2 140 x 45 mm cladding
(insulation omitted timber insert wedge of mortar bottom plate on dpc
for clarity) sloped to exterior
reinforced concrete
direct-fixed cladding floor slab reinforced concrete
weep holes floor slab

50 mm
16 mm (10 mm setdown
plaster coat & 6 mm
capillary break)

polystyrene
insulation polystyrene
insulation

dpm on sand
blinding and dpm on sand
hardfill blinding and
50 mm hardfill
polystyrene
insulation

120 mm
240 mm

165 mm

Figure 3: Floor slab insulation single storey with 140 mm studs. Figure 4: Floor slab insulation single or double storey with masonry veneer cladding.

BUILD June/July 2007 33