[Greenbuilding] under slab radiant barriers

[John E. Beeson]

Great point!  I had looked for a bubble radiant with bubbles on each
side and the foil in the middle to help isolate from the concrete and
maintain some sort of air space on each side.  The bubble stuff was on
top of 1.5" of insulation.  I also did a 3/4" compacted fill with
perimeter drains to diminish the possibility of soil and groundwater
conditions.

But as Ted mentions: "That said, I completely agree with the sentiment
you guys are putting
forward and have had many an argument with radiant heating installers
who assert that 1/4" of radiant barrier bubble wrap negates the need for
insulation under a slab."

Yeah, asserting the negating aspect of bubble wrap doesn't hold teeth!
I guess, I knew I wouldn't have the perfect solution, but I figured with
some radiant blockage, it would keep 'some' of the heat where I wanted
it.


QUINN EVANS | ARCHITECTS
John E. Beeson, LEED AP
v 734 663 5888

-----Original Message-----
From: Alan Abrams [mailto:alan at abramsdesignbuild.com] 
Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2007 10:46 AM
To: John E. Beeson; jfstraube at uwaterloo.ca
Cc: greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org
Subject: RE: [Greenbuilding] under slab radiant barriers


<So do the radiant bubble barriers have a significant air gap to provide
a stoppage to heat flow?  Or is that the 0.1 to 0.5 range you give based
on installation the effective result? >

whether bubble wrap "works" efficiently or not thermally (or any plastic
or foam, for that matter) neglects the question of how long it would
remain effective after exposure to the alkalinity of concrete, and a
wide range of soil and groundwater conditions, compared to the service
life of concrete.

Alan Abrams