Getting the sub-floor completed adds a whole new level of progress, allowing the next stages of the build to continue with greater ease. The main floor of our straw bale addition went from an 18″ deep mucky clay hole to a finished concrete surface that we can directly lay the final tile floor on. Here is an outline of the different layers and the process of putting them in.
1.First we filled the bottom with 6″ of gravel to cover the 4″ drain tile that runs under the house (as we are on a hillside with many springs weeping from the bedrock) and will allow any water that gets under the house to drain away easily.
2.Preliminary plumbing- all the plumbing is laid out across the floors and supported by the drain rock to create a slope across the main floor towards the septic. The bathroom, utility room and kitchen water fixtures all come together into one 4″ main drain that exits to the east where it will end up in a septic tank/lift pump to take up to our existing septic field.
3.Insulation layer- placed directly onto the drain rock, we used whole bags of perlite that we laid out tightly side by side and gently flattened (by foot) to create a solid layer of 8″ insulation, which gives a R value of 25. We chose to use perlite because it is an amorphous volcanic glass that has a relatively high water content, typically formed by the hydration of obsidian. It occurs naturally and has the unusual property of greatly expanding when heated sufficiently. (Rigid foam insulation is the usual building material for this use, but it is made of polystyrene.) In some places we had to customize the bags by emptying them partially to help fill the spaces which were not the same shape as the bags. Here is a link to the Perlite Institute which has complete information on using perlite for construction insulation below slabs – https://www.perlite.org/library-perlite-info/insulation-perlite/Perlite-underslab-insulation.pdf
4.On top of the perlite bags we put 2″ of sand, filling the spaces around the bags and then compacted the whole floor.
5.The next layer we put down on top of the sand was the 6mil construction poly vapor barrier and then laid out the metal rebar mesh that would be pulled up into the 4″ slab.
6.And the last thing we had to do before pouring the slab was attach the hydronic infloor heating Pex tubing to the metal mesh. It is best to consult someone about the layout and spacing of your tubing as it will greatly affect the heating potential of your hydronic system. It is also important to use sleeves to cover the Pex tubing where ever it comes up through the slab.
7.Once everything was ready we ordered the cement and Colin worked with a crew of 3 others to pour the slab in less than 3 hours. The slab is flat, but not super finished as we will be putting 12″ mexican tiles down as the finish floor surface on the lower floor of the house.
The upstairs currently has a plywood subfloor. We haven’t yet decided what we are going to use to finish it.
bathroom- exposed is the box with water lines for the bathtub, as well as venting and drain openings
Inspirational Village 