Foundation Wall Thermal Bridging Solution

Thermal Bridging at foundation wall transitions creates heat loss at the foundation perimeter. This reduces the exterior wall’s effective R Value. Foundations are part of a  buildings’ thermal envelope. The intersection at a slab on grade to  foundation wall and exterior wall to foundation transition are both areas where heat flows out of a building. This is due primarily to non-continuous insulation details.

The linear transmittance (heat loss) at the base of the foundation wall can be reduced by as much as 60% by using an efficient, structural thermal break. Armatherm™ 500 is a load bearing, thermal break material manufactured in several densities to provide a range of load capacities with R values as high as R 3.8 per 25mm.

Thermal bridging at a foundation wall transition can be reduced further by increasing the length of the slab insulation.