Building a warm, healthy home from the foundation up

MAXRaft slab in Queenstown

Good underfloor insulation can make a big difference to how comfortable your home is, and to the size of your energy bills.

Insulation acts in two ways – in winter, it’s like a blanket keeping your home warm, and in summer, it’s like the walls of a chilly bin, keeping your home cool. Whilst floors lose only about 12-14% of the home’s heat, they are easy and cheap to insulate and the comfort benefits of a warmer floor are great, so this is worth doing.

People feel more comfortable when the heat is at their feet, and it is slightly cooler at their head. By choosing good underfloor heating you allow the slow release of heat from your foundation, maintaining this balance and ensuring you enjoy that warm comfortable feeling.
A warm floor is also very important for people with poor circulation, those who are inactive for long periods of time, for children who live closer to the floor, and for babies and the elderly, as well as healthy adults. Reducing the heat loss from your home ensures it is warmer, drier and healthier which reduces its occupants’ exposure to cold and moisture.

Around 80% off heat loss within the foundation occurs out of the edge of the slab, so ensuring your foundation is correctly insulated is important, says David Reid Homes Queenstown’s director Fraser Mackenzie.

“When laying your foundations it is important to consider the different options available and the benefits associated with those. MAXRaft® have revolutionised slab systems by not only making them quicker and simpler to install but also by increasing the R Value to around 4.5 and ensuring that the sides of the concrete slab are correctly insulated, eliminating heat loss and allowing for a warmer, healthier home.”

MAXRaft 3D

As insulated surfaces are warmer, condensation is less likely to form on them. As a result, an insulated house will have less mould and mildew, and be a less appealing environment for allergy-aggravating dust mites.

Contact the team at your local David Reid Homes to discuss what type of foundations are best for your new home build.