Sunday, October 30, 2005
About the foundation
Dave Stecher gave me the details on the area being excavated being larger than the actual footprint of the house:
We are digging 2 feet wider than the footprint of the house because of the type of foundation being used. It is called a frost protected shallow footing (FPSF). Instead of digging the foundation deep enough such that it extends below the frost line (32" in this climate), the area around the perimeter of the house is insulated with sheets of extruded polystyrene placed horizontally to prevent the frost from penetrating deeper than 12" (the depth of our foundation). The reason we chose a FPSF is because a normal foundation is very difficult to insulate, and if left uninsulated, acts as a fin dissipating heat into the ground.
# posted by Philip Brewer : 4:31 PM
