Passivhaus Foundation Details

Passivhaus Foundation Details

The following article contains details and information from our book Understanding Passivhaus – The Simple Guide to Passivhaus Detailing and Design.

Passivhaus Foundation Design

Passivhaus standards require high levels of insulation and airtightness throughout the building envelope. It is important to achieve a continuous line of insulation from the floor, to wall to roof. Junctions need to be thermal bridge free where possible, and the air tight layer must also be continuous.

A passivhaus foundation design will need to consider all of the usual aspects of foundation design – ie ground conditions, structural requirements, soils, and so on. However, extra attention will need to be given to the levels of insulation and the junction between the floor and wall.

A good passivhaus foundation design can be achieved with different types of foundation, whether it is strip foundations, raft or otherwise.

There are a number of insulation manufacturers who are offering ready made Passivhaus foundation solutions, like Kingspan, Isoquick and Kore.

Passivhaus Foundation Detail Examples

The following details are from Understanding Passivhaus, and include images from some of the case studies included in the book.

Passivhaus foundation detail concrete construction 3D

Passivhaus foundation detail concrete construction 2D

Passivhaus foundation detail ICF 3d

Passivhaus foundation detail ICF 2d

Passivhaus foundation detail masonry 3d

Passivhaus foundation detail Masonry Cavity 2d

Passivhaus foundation detail timber frame 3d

Passivhaus foundation detail timber frame 2d

For a detailed article on Passivhaus foundations visit Passive House Plus.

https://passivehouseplus.ie/magazine/guides/the-ph-guide-to-insulating-foundations

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1 Comment

Aston Martin on April 28, 2024 at 2:15 am
for the beam and block floor section detail, i was wonder what the fiber board between the insulation was for?
Also what the unmarked pit going down below ground next to external skin of cavity?
I thought i was just aggregate at first but it has a DPM running down the back of it by the looks of things
Reply