How do you add a slab to a Rescheck?

Written by Jobe Leonard of Rescheck.info. Jobe enjoys all things related to Rescheck reporting and the study of home energy audit softwares like Rescheck, Comcheck, and Manual J.

Jobe Leonard Rescheck.info

A slab is one of the most common types of foundations that we see daily. A portion of the inquiries we see each day are ones asking us about the right method to enter a slab into REScheck. Today we want to examine a couple of essentials of the slab foundation as it is utilized in REScheck.

A slab, in it’s least difficult structure, was perhaps of the earliest types of foundation. Rock, solidified sand, or compacted earth could all have served as the slab of a home. Today it is a perimeter of concrete poured over footers, around the perimeter of the home. The slab will be at least 4″ of poured concrete and regularly includes vapor barriers and layer of gravel.  In certain slabs you will even see piping that permits the floor to be heated radiantly.

REScheck treats slabs uniquely in contrast to other types of foundation. Crawl spaces and foundations  in REScheck both are calculated as either square footage of wall area or square footage of floor area, contingent upon where the foundation’s insulation is set. However in REScheck it is important to enter a slab as a perimeter rather than as square footage. Essentially what you want is the LF (or linear footage of the slab) of where the wall meets the slab.

One key to acknowledge is that simply connecting your stud divider to the slab foundation with no insulation will cause your home to leak energy from that connection for the rest of your life. In blower door tests, this is one region that shines red on as time goes on. We recommend installing at least an R-1 insulation around the slab perimeter to prevent this energy loss. It is possible to upgrade the insulation to an R-4 for a few dollars more. This small upgrade could potentially save a home owner thousands in energy cost over the life of the home.

By and large utilizing a slab as the foundation of your structure that requires a REScheck can be an excellent decision. The expense per square foot contrasted with basement or crawl space is lower, alongside the excavation and material necessities. Done effectively this can be one of the strongest foundations that you can construct. Utilizing a slab accurately involves making it energy efficient and that can be dealt with in a few different ways. In the event that you need some assistance documenting your slab correctly in REScheck simply let us know. We would be happy to help.

Have you built a slab that was insulated in an innovative way?  Let us know of Facebook, Twitter, Houzz, Google Plus, Tumblr, Bloggr, or Pinterest.

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