Basements & Slab-On-Grade

Frost heaving of home foundations, basements, decks & garden walls in cold climates can cause issues - especially in clay soils that hold water - Ecohome built to prevent frost heave recently, here's what we did. Frost protected foundations - essential in cold climates Protecting homes and buildings in cold climates…

Gabion cage walls can add thermal mass to homes without adding significantly to the carbon footprint of a home like concrete can. Gabion walls are retaining walls built by stacking stone in a gabion cage or gabion basket that can serve many purposes but are most often used to create tiered or leveled ground in…

Basements flood, full stop. As a hole in the ground similar to a swimming pool, once all is done to stop water getting in, we then need to remove any water with a sump pump, a sump pump battery backup & maybe a sump pump alarm to stop basements flooding. Spring flooding of basements is very common and most times can…

Producing cement for concrete results in high levels of CO2 output and is the third ranking cause of man-made CO2 in the world after transport & energy generation. Low-Carbon Concrete is needed for Building Green Homes. Low-carbon concrete - "green" cement at last? One of the most essential and commonly-used…

One of the first decisions when building a home is what type of foundations to sit your home on - cold-climates, termites, problem expansive clay soils, insulation & vapor & radon barriers all need to be considered. What is the difference between a slab on grade & a crawl space? A slab on grade, or ‘frost protected…

This type of concrete reduces the carbon emissions by 70%, fuel consumption by 30% and water use by 80%. A new cement block manufacturing process developed by an American company named Solidia Technologies® produces 40% fewer emissions during manufacturing than conventional concrete, resulting in a dramatically…

Crawlspaces are becoming rare for new home construction in USA & Canada. If you've got a crawls space with damp, mold, odor & cold issues, here's how to insulate it properly to fix it permanently & have a more comfortable home. Crawlspace insulation - be careful to get it right A crawlspace comes with all the…

How to build on sites with expansive soils, high water tables and poor bearing capacity, and to build a frost protected shallow foundation easily in cold climates. The soil conditions of some building sites are not suitable for a slab-on-grade foundation with a thickened-edge footing without first beginning with…

Insulating the exteriors of basements and slabs leaves you with needed to finish the exterior. In this video you see an easy fix to have the exterior surface secured by set concrete, while avoiding any thermal bridges in the process. WATCH MORE sustainable building VIDEOS Once a decision has been made to choose…

How to build a slab-on-grade with a thickened edge on standard soil. There are many ways to build a slab-on-grade (or frost-protected shallow foundation), the following is a step-by-step walk though of a thickened-edge slab floor we built. XPS or EPS high-density foam is typically used under concrete slab floors, in…

A slab-on-grade home or building is more affordable, more comfortable and more Eco-friendly. Here is a technical guide & design guide for construction of a slab on grade foundation. Slab-On-Grade Construction - Technical Guide Deciding to build your home with a slab-on-grade foundation instead of a conventional…

Using naturally occurring microalgae, Prometheus Materials and a team of scientists and engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a carbon zero alternative to carbon intensive portland cement based concrete... suitable for ready mix. In a recent press release, Prometheus Materials, a zero-carbon…

The National Association of Home Builders just completed a study of home foundation trends for 2020 in the US, and the results were both surprising and encouraging! Slab on grade foundations are a clear winner. It's slab on grade foundations for the win! The NAHB study showed that 65% of new single-family home…

生态家园鼓励任何人用现成的混凝土建造，检查是否有当地的供应商的碳治愈，以帮助减少你的建筑的碳足迹。A while back Ecohome was pleased to find and report on some upcoming technologies that were producing Low-carbon and carbon-neutral concrete…

Build with Strength is partnering with Habitat for Humanity International to supply the concrete for affordable and sustainable housing in 16 locations across the U.S. Due to the significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions that come with the production of Portland cement, Ecohome has long promoted alternatives to…