Shallow, Insulated Foundations Lower Construction

Costs
Most cold-climate building codes require you to place foundation footings below the frost line.
That can be 3- to 4-feet deep in the northeastern United States. The goal is to protect foundations
from frost heaving. There is an exception to this standard: many codes permit foundations to lie
above the frost line as long as they're "protected from frost." However, approval depends on
local code officials, and may require special engineering. The 1995 edition of the Council of
American Building Officials (CABO) One and Two-Family Dwelling Code may simplify life for
builders and code officials alike. The CABO code, which serves as the basis for the country's
other three model codes, includes simplified guidelines for building slab-on-grade homes with
shallow foundations that are protected from frost by rigid foam insulation.

The technology cited by CABO-called the Frost Protected Shallow Foundation (FPSF)-not only
saves energy, but slashes construction costs as well. FPSFs can be used beneath heated or
unheated buildings. The technology itself is nothing new. It has been used in Scandinavia for
more than 40 years (where it's now standard practice), and the National Association of Home
Builders (NAHB) has aggressively promoted it in the U.S. for more than a decade. An FPSF
often improves the energy efficiency of a typical home, because it requires more foundation
insulation than many codes. (The exceptions are states with especially strong energy codes, like
Washington and Oregon.)

How It Works

The concept is simple. Instead of placing footings below the frost line, the FPSF uses insulation
and drainage techniques to raise the frost line to just below the surface. "We basically make the
footings think they're in Florida," quips Bill Eich, a builder from Spirit Lake Iowa, and a
nationally known proponent of the system. Even in the coldest climates, this permits footing
depths as shallow as 12 inches.

Compressive strength is an important characteristic for these below-grade applications.

Compressive strength is related to foam density. Extruded polystyrene used for sheathing above-
grade walls is typically 1.5 pounds per cubic foot (pcf). Naturally, foundation applications
require stouter material. CABO permits 2.0 pcf extruded polystyrene for horizontal insulation
and 2.0 pcf extruded or expanded polystyrene for vertical insulation. The compressive strength
of 2 pcf extruded is 40 pounds per square inch (psi) or 3600 pounds per square foot (psf). This
exceeds the underlying soil's bearing capacity of around 2500 psf. If you prefer a margin of
safety, higher density foams are available.

Designing Good Drainage

Insulation is only half the equation. The other half is drainage and moisture control. To keep
surface water from soaking in around the foundation, all roof runoff must be directed away from
the house. This means putting effective gutters all around the building and sloping the final grade
away from the foundation at least 5 inches in the first 10 feet. (That's 1/2 inch per foot.) To
protect the footing from subterranean water, it must bear on at least 4 inches of a non frost-
susceptible material such as washed gravel or rock.
Tests Prove Efficiency

NAHB confirmed the system's efficiency by placing test probes around five homes in Vermont,
Iowa, North Dakota and Alaska. Instruments recorded ground, foundation, slab, indoor and
outdoor temperatures. The insulated footings kept the soil above freezing even in the coldest
weather. When probes that Eich buried three feet below uninsulated ground measured
temperatures below freezing, those at the base of nearby shallow foundations checked in at 37°F
to 40°F.

A Win/Win System

An FPSF can benefit both builder and homeowner. Shallow foundation ditches are easier to work
around. The FPSF uses less concrete than a 4-foot deep stemwall. Smaller ditches require less
backfill material and the backfill settles less over time. Since a shallow ditch is less likely to
disturb root systems, you can leave shade trees closer to the house. (Eich has built within three
feet of large trees.)

Eich credits FPSF's with saving an average of $1500 in construction costs for a typical home.
"Even homes with full basements usually have walkout portions or attached garages," he notes,
"so we routinely plan on a shallow foundation for everything we do."

The technology has even made some customers reconsider what they want in a house. In Eich's
market, everyone used to build full basements, since the footing had to go down 4 feet anyway.
Now he finds more people building larger homes on the main level and forgetting about the
basement. In a 131-unit Denver, Colorado, housing project, the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development was able to save $3000 per unit by substituting traditional stem walls with
FPSFs. NAHB estimates that, given a realistic market penetration, the system could save nearly
$300 million in annual construction costs.

Design Guide Available

The NAHB Research Center has prepared a Design Guide for Frost-Protected Shallow
Foundations that includes the simplified guidelines referenced by CABO, as well as a more
detailed design procedure. The manual is available from the Oikos Bookstore. The simplified
method streamlines the design process, but can only be used on heated buildings. The detailed
procedures can be used for any building-heated or unheated-and let you customize insulation
details, R-values and footing depths to the particular project.

NAHB also offers technical assistance and training workshops, and will help builders get FPSF
approval for local building codes.

How does insulation stop frost heave from occurring?

"Frost heave can only occur when all the following three conditions are present: 1) the soil is
frost susceptible, 2) sufficient moisture is available (soil is above approximately 80 percent
saturation) and 3) subfreezing temperatures are penetrating the soil. Removing one of these
factors will negate the possibility of frost damage.

"Insulation as required in this design guide will prevent underlying soil from freezing. (An inch
of polystyrene insulation, R-4.5, has an equivalent R-value of about 4 feet of soil on average.)
The use of insulation is particularly effective on a building foundation for several reasons. First,
heat loss is minimized while storing and directing heat into the foundation's soil-not out through
the vertical face of the foundation wall. Second, horizontal insulation projecting outward will
shed moisture away from the foundation further minimizing the risk of frost damage. Finally,
because of the insulation, the frost line will rise as it approaches the foundation. Since frost
heave forces act perpendicular to the frost line, heave forces, if present, will act in a horizontal
direction and not upwards."

-Source: Design Guide for Frost-Protected Shallow Foundations, National Association of Home
Builders, 1995.

In a heated building, the frost protected shallow foundation (FPSF) relies on heat from the house
to raise soil temperatures around the foundation. One layer of insulation covers the outside face
of the foundation, while a second extends horizontally away from it. The rigid foam traps any
heat that the ground absorbs from the building, keeping soil temperatures around the footing
above freezing. The building's heating system can be safely turned off for a three week period in
the winter because thermal lag in the concrete will maintain the soil temperature above freezing.
The vertical foam also protects the foundation wall from "ad freezing." Ad freezing occurs when
expansive soils freeze to the outside of a foundation. In some cases, this can heave a foundation
whose footing is below the frost line.
In a standard uninsulated foundation the footing must be buried deep below the frost line.

Unheated garages and other outbuildings require a different approach. A shallow foundation for
one of these structures relies on heat from the earth, which is a fairly constant 50 degrees. The
footing bears directly on a layer of foam. The foam must extend beneath the entire structure, and
it must bear on 6 to 12 inches of gravel.