When you are in the planning stage with your architect or builder there are may things to consider, one of them is how you are going to insulate your basement walls.
In the past 5 years there have been many code changes in the building code in Ontario and one of the big ones is the amount of insulation that you have to install in the walls of your basement.
The actual amount of insulation that you have to install varies by the amount of windows you have in the house and the heating system that you are planning to use in the new house. Its an equation that has to do with the overall energy efficiency of your new house and the standard the code demands it to be before you will be granted a permit.
One of the ways that you can easily meet the minimum amount of insulation needed is to have your basement built out of ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms). ICF is a concrete wall that has foam insulation installed on both sides of it. This creates thermal mass, making it superior to conventional insulated concrete basement walls that are only insulated on the inside.
In fact ICF is such a good insulator that not only does it help your new house meet whatever minimum insulation code that is required but it also will exceed it.
It actually exceeds it in a way that it helps you not have to spend more money on insulation or higher end windows elsewhere in the house.
This means that the added cost of building your basement out of ICF is offset somewhat by the savings you achieve in other parts of the house.
ICF doesn't just help you reach your insulation requirements it also helps create a warm, dry and cozy area that most basements never achieve. ICF helps you create a real living space that is usually reserved for storage and that pool table that seldom gets used.
So remember that while you are in your planning and budgeting stage of your new house build ask about an ICF basement, you won't be disappointed.
Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.
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